New Britain herald., 1916-12-15
BASEBALL CLASSIC
 PRICES LOWERED
American League MaSnates Make
 -Four Bits" Entrance Fee

T Chicago, Dec. 15.-Prices of worlds
 series games in the American league
 were sharply reduced at the annual
 meeting of the club owners last night
 It was decided unanimously at the
 suggestion of President Ban Johnson
 to charge only double the regular sea-
 son prices.
 The new scale will be fifty cents for
 bleacher seats, $1 for seats in the i pavilion and $1.50 and s2 for grand
 stand seats. Box seats, however, will sell for S5. Heretofore s1 was usual ly the lowest price of admittance. The owners decided to enforce the rule prohibiting players from writing snewspaper stories or permitting their names to be used in connection with them. Under a former rule the play CTS if given the consent of the club owner could do newspaper writing on Worlds S series games and other events, but it was decided to abolish the . practice.
 Harry H. Frazee and Hugh H. Ward of New York, the new owners of the Boston club, and James F. Dunn of Ch1cago, purchaser of the Cleveland Ilfranchlse, were unanimously voted in kto the league.
 let Johnson Decide. The magnates had planned to hold fta two day meeting, but decided after a five hour session yesterday after 1snoon to wind up the meeting last Knight.
 The club owners empowered John son to decide the appeal made for the |sabolition of the draft from Class A leagues and the plea of the minor and major league clubs instead of having the National baseball commis- sion hear them, as at present. A. T. Baum, president of the Pa ciffc Coast league, was chairman of the committee representing the three Class A-A leagues which sought to have the draft eliminated. The other memb bers of the committee were Ed 1 ward Barrow of the International league and Thomas J. Hickey of the l American association. The same proposals were presented to the National league club owners in New York. Barrow said that a de- cision might be expected within a week on both questions. The request l for the abolition of the draft prob 1
  ported. Charles A. Comiskey, president of i the Chicago club, was elected vice president of the league, succeeding Charles Somers former owner of the Cleveland club. The new board of di- rectors is composed of presidents of the Boston, New York, Cleveland and Chicago clubs. Trend Toward Economy. The American league played to l. OOO,0 more patrons in 1916 than it did in 1915, it was revealed in the treasurer's report.
 Proposals to reduce the high cost of the national game in the coming season were freely discussed by the cub owners of the American league.
 Suggested reductions include curtail-
 rnent of practically every expense,
 especially salaries of players. Johnson
 told the magnates that he believed the game had been conducted on too $ extrava gant q basis.
 Action by the league a unit seeIxine the reduction of salaries ap-
 oarentIv was favored by some of the
 league leaders, including the presi-
 dent while others were inclined to
 leave the matter in the hands of the
 respective managers.
 The club owners also took up the
 new form of players contract, which
 includes the liability clause. This is
 the contract recently approved by the
 National commission at it's Chicago
 meeting and the American league de-
 cided the new contract needed no oth-
 CT ratification than the commissions s
 approval.
 The New York club was represented
 by Col Jacob Ruppert and Capt. Til Huston. Manager Bill Donovan re-
 mained in New York, as the Yankees
 are not in search of any trades and
 seek to buy no players.