The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-12
NJ INTENTION OF BASEBALL PLAYERS ID CALL A STRIKE Fultz Denies Report That Players Will Strike
 After April 12 CONDITIONS
 ARE SATISFACTORY Expects National Commission to Act on Gilmore's Statement Before
 Reorganization-Prospects
 Bright for Year


 Baseball Players fraternity to call strike of its members following the open , ing of the major league season on April F. This official announcement comes i from David l.. Fultz, president of the fraternity. Futz not only denies that there is any such action contemplated, l but declares he never knew the matter had been discussed by the players. Just why the ball players should con template strike against the magnates of organized baseball is a mystery. Base ball has just gone through two years of strife through the invasion of the Fed eral league and survived in healthy con- 6ition. It would be folly for the players, who really were the only ones to profit in the recent war, to deal the game an- l other blow at present, when the future of baseball never appeared brighter. Nothing could be gained by the players ! in strike. They have an association which was organized for the purpose of protecting the rights Of it's members and this association has been granted con- I sessions by the national commission | which have benefited the player to the | extent that he is better treated today l than at any time in the history of base 1 bail. Contract troubles have existed for years, and will no doubt continue to ex- ist as long as there is any one connected with the game who questions the legality of the ball players contract.
 NATIONAL BOARD TO ACT It is expected that the members of the national commission will take some &C., tion regarding the reframing of the na- tional agreement and constitutions of the leagues operating under the direction of what is known as organized baseball so that the federal laws will be satisfied. James 4. Gilmore, eX-president Of the defunct league. is authority for the re- port that the players plan strike and also that organized baseball is about to be probed by the trade commission, and also that the Players fraternity might call a strike about April 20. It has been several weeks now since MT. Gilmore has been able to crowd his name into base ball affairs. It was MT. Gilmore who talked a lot of men with biS bankrolls into the belief that there was money to be made by organizing third league to war on organized baseball. It was the Federal league which tempted Q number of ball players to break their contracts by Jumping to the independents and it was on the advice of Mir. Gilmore that the suit was instituted by the Federals against organized baseball which was recently withdrawn before Judge Landis.
 NO FEAR OF ATTACK
 Now the former president of the Feds declares that organized baseball must be reorganized before it can operate without fear of attack. Baseball had been going along pretty well for several years before Mr. Gilmore broke into the game, and the writer can remember very well when there were ball players who played al- most through the entre season without even signing a contract and salaries in those days were far below what the play CTS are receiving today.
 But to talk of a strike at this time is absurd. Ball players are stf1l being paid good salaries, many Of them being signed to contracts calling for more money than they could ever have hoped to get if 1t had not been for the Federal league. Should strike be called now. when the magnates of organized baseball have spent many thousands of dollars in set ting a two years warfare the club own CTS would benefit. ana the players would suffer. Every player who went out on strike would invalidate his contract, and 1t is safe to say that more than two- thirds of these contracts would never be renewed. The club owners signed many of their players to contracts for big sal ares DefOrS IL was Q6IlnlIely known tHdL the Federals were about to blow up," and many a club owner would be glad if some of his players who have contracts calling for those wartime salaries would go out on strike.
 MAY REORGANIZE
 It is probable that in the near future the national commission will be reorgan-
 zed, maybe a representative for the minors and one for the players beng addi- ed to membership. It may be, also, that the national agreement will undergo a few changes, and that the players con- tracts will contain some new conditions But this will never be accomplished if forced through the players going out on a strike. President Fultz has been quot ed as declaring that the reserve clause and the option clause contracts are not equitable, but recognized that it would practically be impossible to operate base ball without some such conditions, and therefore the Players fraternity would make no fight against contracts. This is taking a sensible view of it, and 1t is just about the way the Federal league magnates began to look at it when it was too late to save themselves, the boasting of MT. Gilmore notwithstanding. The ball players have no kick coming, and the best thing they can do is to let well enough alone.