Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-27
GIVES BASEBALL
PLAYERS RESPITE
Baker Will Not Enforce
Work-or-Fight Order
Until September l
237 MEN ARE AFFECTED
shington, July 81.

Washington. July 81.
Major league baseball was saved from
immediate decentralization yesterday and
granted n reprieve until September
under the work -or-fght" order of Cen
eral Crowder.
Secretary of War Baker, in deciding
the appeal of the National Commission
and major league owners that they be
allowed to complete the current season.
denied the application for suspension Of
General Crowder's order until october
Is. but agreed to continuance of the
sport until September l.
Secretary Baker announced his ruling
in the form of memorandum to Cen
eral Crowder. 1t follows in full:
"A petition has been filed for an eX-
tension of time within which profess
sional baseball players shall seek essen
tiai or productive employment, and the
order asked is one which will extend
until October Is. 1918. As grounds for
this request it is alleged that there are
only 237 persons affected by the So
called work fight order, but that. in
spite Of this small number. their taking
would lead to the immediate breaking
up of the entire game.
1T is further said that the notice is
too short to allow the leagues TO adapt
themselves to the ruling and that the
failure of the clubs to adapt themselves
to the ruling is due to the fact that the
Secretary of War caused it to be known
through the newspapers that the question
of the application of the order to base
ball players would not be decided until
an actual case arose.
"A hearing has been had on this sub
ject by the provost marshal general. who
reports to me that it Is not clear to him
that the game will have to be discon-
tinued, even If the order is made i'm
mediately applicable.
THE purpose of the work-or-fight
order, so far as the War Department is
| concerned, is to strengthen the military
| forces Of the country and not to control
| the labor situation. incidentally 1t will
undoubtedly have the effect of adding to
the number of persons usefully en-
| ployed and decreasing the number of
persons uselessly employed In this way
| the order will strengthen the military
| forces by making it less necessary to eX-
empt for industrial reasons men who
| otherwise would be taken into the mill
tary service. This is an indirect result,
but one of very great Importance. and If
1
are to he made in the enforcement of this
order it will require a very careful study
| to determine whether those exceptions
| ought to be the persons in whose behalf
this petition is filed or some other group
on. of the large number affected by the
order many of whom have already COM
piled with 1t, and brought about read
| lust nent of the trades and occupations
which they had previously followed.
II am impressed. too, by the repre-
sentation made that the baseball players
may have been put in a less favorable
attitude by reason Of their reliance on
my statement that the question Of their
inclusion in the terms of the order would
not be decided until case had arisen.
For these reasons 1t seems to me en-
tirely proper and fair to extend the time
during which the readJustment can take
place, merely in order that justice may
be done to the persons involved; and
do, therefore, direct that the application
of the order be made to date from Sep
tember l. The order for the extension
to the 18th of October Is denied.
NEWTON ID. BAKER,
Secretary Of War"