The Washington herald., 1917-09-17
WAR WILL kill OFF
MANY Minor CLUBS
Few. if Any. Leagues Will Be in
Operation During 1918 Season.
BY JOHN ii. FARRELL,

BY JOHN ii. FARRELL,
Secretary of the National Association
of Professional Baseball Clubs.
Auburn, N. Y, Sept. 16.-The minor
leagues this year have experienced
the toughest shedding they have seen
for twenty years at least.
The declaration of war and the pro-
mitigation of the rules and regulations
governing the drafting for the army
have almost completely occupied the
attention of the public, especially in
the smaller cities.
The loyal minor leaguers stood the
strain as long as they possibly could.
When they reached the breaking
point they confidently looked to the
national board. which is the minor
league governing body. for relief and
help from a condition that had not
existed before for fifty years. In all,
some twelve leagues applied for relief
from the burden, after making great
financial sacrifices.
After due consideration the board
directed a ruling which has brought
about peace of mind among minor
league club owners to a great extent.
for through this ruling territory and
the title to players has been protected.
The board felt that crisis entirely
beyond the control of any human be-
ing existed; that the situation was not
of the making of the club owners.
due to extravagant operations or any
other cause, and that the request of
several leagues had a genuine basis.
All were more than eager to preserve
their organizations, and the board, as
the father of the family. was their
natural haven in distress.
With the ruling which protects
players and territory until such
time as the national board may
see fit to maks further rulings
or the war comes to an end, the
temper of the minor leagues Is now
reconciled in so far as possible to
conditions.
The hands of the minor leagues
are virtually tied by conditions they
cannot control, and for this reason
it is more than probable that 1918
will see but few. if any. minor
leagues in operation. 1t Is to be
hoped and expected that the leagues
will exhaust every possible effort
before giving up the struggle. yet
it is the consensus of opinion that
should the war continue minor
leagues in general should suspend
operations for that period.
1t is believed that the rest given
minor league territory would bring
minor league baseball back with a
bang the following year. The club
owners and board members feel that
the players. fully realizing the un-
usual conditions caused by the war.
will glady and willingly cooperate,
thus retaining local league organ
izations and thereby guaranteeing
employment for thousands OF play
ers in the future.
There is no way of computing
the actual losses of the minor
leagues due to the war. That they
have been tremendous is GER
tainty. for with patronage thread
bare and many players taken in the
draft, the minor league magnates
have been buffeted about on the
stormiest financial sea which they
have ever attempted to sail. That a
few of the minors finished the sea-
son is a big tribute to the stability
of the National Association, for
those who went through did so only
by shouldering losses in the aggre-
gate, and few club owners will be
g. -,