New-York tribune., 1921-02-24

The old national agreement was dis
carded at the solicitation of the minors
two years ago. Last December in its
place was substituted a new agreement.
or rather two agreements. One bound
together in working harmony the two
major leagues; the other was an instru-
ment calculated to improve relations
between major and minor league base
ball. Commissioner K. NJ. Lands and
George Wharton Pepper, who had most
to DO with the drafting of these agree
ments, made them as terse and clear
as It was possible to do.
The agreements which have been
ratified by all parties concerned are
nothing more than plain and simple
contracts. Rules and regulations for
the conduct of the business end Of the
game, which had been included in the
old national agreement to a degree
that il was unwieldy and ambiguous
were disregarded entirely.
Committee Empowered to Act
It was for the purpose of framing q
code to replace that which had been
discarded that yesterdays committee
meeting was held. Since the big joint
conference of all baseball in Chicago
last January the matter has been shap-
ing up favorably. There had been
in various suggestions and amendments,
until finally it was decided to permit
the committee named above to act def
nltely in the various interests.
Every phase of baseball administra-
ton has been covered thoroughly.
Rules have been adopted for the pro-
lection of the clubs, their players,
rights. Likewise rules have been
adopted for the protection of the
players rights. Provision has been
made for the enforcement of player
limits throughout the various classif-
cations of leagues; for the enforcement
of the draft, and for the enforcement
of the placing of players in leagues OF
lower classification under agreement
for optional recall. The code includes
transfers of players as we'll as to out
line and define in detail the office of
Commissioner Landis
With the exception OF FIVE minor
leagues, all Of organized baseball will
again be one big happy family under
one big tent; conditions will hark back
to the days before the minors abro-
gated the old agreement. The five ex-
ceptions are the three Class AA leagues
the New international, the American
Association and the Pacific Coast
League-the Western League, Class
A circuit, and Three League of Class
B. The last two mentioned leagues are
controlled by Al Tearney.
Five Leagues Repudiate Draft
These five leagues have used their
prerogative to repudiate draft privi-
leges upon them by leagues of higher
rating. To them will be denied the
privilege Of draft upon leagues of
lower classification. Nor will the five
be permitted to share even indirectly
in any benefit that might accrue from
leagues mentioned will be allowed TO
receive from any of the leagues bound
together by the draft tie any drafted
player within the term of one year of
such draft.
Among the leagues bound together by
the draft pact there Will be radical
reform in the matter of optional agree
ment privileges. Hereafter each club
of the two major leagues will be per-
option, The scale down through the
various grades will be: Class AA, 6;
Glass A, s. Glass B, 4; Glass c, g.
But even more drastic will be the
application of the optional agreement
rule in another quarter. This has ref
crence to the player limit. The term
"roster" hereafter will not signify the
number of players a club may have on
the pay roll, but the number it has
under control. Hence all optional
agreement players will count in the
roster limit. The player limit in the
major leagues at the beginning of the
year is forty. Presuming a major
league team during that time should
have eight men out on optional agree
ment. it could have only thirty-two on
it's local pay roll.
The rules of administration which