Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-11-17
MINOR CIRCUITS
MEET IN CHICAGO
-Four Leagues In Midwest May Join
.'Live" Towns in New Proposed
Baseball Deal.
SEXTON TO Do INVESTIGATING
Committee Appointed VIM Held Inter-
view With Ban BarroHs Is
Ready TO Quit.

Chicago. Nov. 17.-The baseball
spotlight moved from Louisville to
Chicago yesterday when Ed Barrow.
president Of the international league
Mike Sexton, president Of the Na-
tional Association OF Professional
Baseball Clubs, and James Price, own
er of the Newark club. arrived here
10 confer with President Johnson Of
the American league. He is expected
back from Georgia hunting trim
Monday
The minor league officials, Sexton
and BarroWs. still are doubtful as to
what viii happen to baseball next
year Barrow was one OF the big men
interested in the formation of new
I league consisting Of four American
association and four International
league cities, which was voted down
By the minor league officials. and, ike
I Garry Hermann, national commission
chairman. he believes baseball is in
for hard time next year unless some
/ changes are made.
Leagues in on Deal.
The four organizations involved viii
( be the Western, Three-Eye and Cen
| tral leagues and the Central associa-
/ ton. Each of them has one or more
of what Bill Rourke calls sick cities
and the outcome is expected to be the
amputation Of the diseased members,
with the consent Of the victim, and
| the formation Of new bodies which
may or may not bear the name OF the
old ones. President Tearney ex-
/ pressed the belief that at least two
and possibly three very healthy
leagues could be salyaged from the
four mentioned and Mike Sexton con
Cured in this belief
! Nothing will be done that will SAVIOR
| Of outlawry or lead to law suits, but
the club owners who have no ineen-
4 tive to continue in unfertile territory
will be asked to drop out Of the game
unless they have the nerve to go on
and pocket farther losses,
This consolidation Of middle west
territory SO as 10 produce more com
pact circuits has been on Al Tearney'
mind for more than two years He
came close to putting it over at tbs
Louisville meeting, but got tangled III
with the proposition 10 amalgamatC
the American association and Inter
national leagues. An attempt to in.
volFe that scheme with the Tearney
proposition defeated it for the time
being. but it is the belief of the OK
ecutiVes most vitality interested tha
an amicable agreement can be reached
to redistrict the territory so that in
. terest can be revived .and costs re
duced.
President Barrows Of the Interna
tionai league, disheartened By thu
, failure of the plan to consolidate thu
, best towns of his circuit with fou
: American association cities, was in
; clined TO be pessimistic regarding tn
q outlook for the International mex
: season. He said he would put it u
! to the club owners Of the league t
2 decide whether or not they would star
the season Of 1918 and abide by thei
p decisions. but if they left 1t to hin
} he would advise them 10 shut dow
for one year and await developments
Might Lose Players.
The International league, he dc
= claTed, had been kept alive largely b
sentiment. and his reasons for clos
= ing the gates temporarily were t
avoid continued losses and to allo'
the fans to recover their appetite
o for baseball. He thought it who'll
. possible TO retain claim TO the teri.
tory now occupied by the Information
al league, but was not willing to e1
press an opinion as to the chance
n OF retaining title to the players no
a under contract to the league in cas-
Of suspension of operations.
:, At Cub headquarters yesterday pre-
liminaries were under way Tor tn
y spring training trip of Mitchells mel
q Tentative dates for exhibition game
in California and on the way shac
are being sought by Cub officials, th
. actual dates being dependent on whe
n the championship seasons OF 1918 wi
9 begin. 1t is planned to play only on
! set Of exhibition games next sprinI
! as the training roster OF the Cubs wi
Il be reduced TO less than 80 player
at the start and below that hefol
i the return trip begins.