New Britain herald., 1919-10-20
PLAYERS ALREADY
 TALK OF INCREASES
Prosperity Wave Of Last Season
 Leaves Effect in Both Leagues


 quainted intimately with ball players are predicting that the chickens matched during the recent eight-game worlds series will come home to roost before the winter is over In other words, magnates will hear lot about that three-quarters of million worlds series when it comes time to talk terms with the players.
 That half-million dollar worlds series of 1912 gave birth to the Fed eral league. At least, that series started the idea of a third major league, and the gate receipts of that eight-game clash between the Giants and the Red Sox was the stock argu- ment of Jim Gilmore when he was inducing men like Robert Ward, Charles Weeghman and Sinclair to invest fortunes in his rainbow circuit.
 The fate of the Federal league probably will deter any zone who has ambitions toward starting a third major league for some time, but there is no telling what will happen in base ball. One thing is certain, namely, that the players intend to get in on the prosperity wave that hit the game last season.
  Well, they'll have to come across next winter We were working for wartime salaries and they took in more money than ever before.'
 Clubs Debts Paid of.
 Tn a measure that is true. Salaries were lower last year than at any time since the Federal league war raised the remuneration of the players to artificial figures. But it also is true that many clubs used their 1918 sur plus to pay off debts contracted dur ing the lean baseball years that fol- lowed Americas entry into the World War. For the first time since buying the Yankees in 1915, Colonel Ruppert and Colonel Huston are ahead of the game Their profits last year made up the losses of other years and left margin to their credit.
 One argument of ball players is that while they have to meet the higher cost of living like other citi- zenS, their pay has been reduced to meet it. They also have taken cog nizance of the fact that the magnates are thinking seriously of trying out a 16S-game schedule next season. This schedule is eXeremely likely, as Sun day ball in New York and Washing ton makes it possible to keep most of the teams engaged seven days in the week. Philadelphia, Boston and Pittsburgh now are the only towns where Sunday baseball is not a fixture.
 If they play a 16Sgame schedule. will we be paid accordingly, or on the basis of the 140-game schedule of 1919?' asked one of the players re- gently during a discussion on salaries. Charley Ebbets the Brooklyn squire, evidently isn't experiencing any trouble with his athletes, despite the fact that the Brooklyn players share in none of the profitable purses that went to the clubs that finished in the first, second and third positions. Ebbets announces that he already has six players lined up for the cam- paign of 192O-Pitchers Rube Mar quard and Clarence Mitchell and h. fielders Jimmy Johnston, Ivan Olson, Ray Schmandt and Charles Ward. That is a good start.
 Lack of Confidence Amazes. i When one takes into consideration that pra ctically every American has played baseball or understands the game, it is amazing that there have i been so many hints, suggestive re- marks and shakings of the head in regard to the last worlds series. A writer who has covered most of the worlds series played between the champions of the National and the l American leagues states that never , has he observed such Q lack of COnfi- dence in the integrity of the series.
 There can be no blinking at the fact ] that reports and rumors that every 1 thing connected with the last series are widespread. On every side one returning from the series is accosted | by such remarks as:
 Was it really on the 1evel?"
 Why should there be all this i doubt? Was it the size of the purse |? Has the American public so little faith in the men who promote or play it's national game to believe that pro- fessional athletes couldn't play for a three-uuarters of a million house and not fall for temptation?
 How could a series like that be fixed and kept quiet? Anyone who came in contact with the worlds series players and saw the strain thev were under can realize how hard the games were contested. Three hun dred of the cOuntry's leading sportina 2 experts saw the series and not one of .| them saw the slightest thing that I might be regarded with suspicion And they were men who know base | ball.
 Gamblers Responsible.
 A writer traces many of the mean stories connected with the series tc , sore head gamblers who lost heavily on the Sox not only in the series bu4 | tl,o frct came Many np0nIo r,o,.