The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-06
fsnaciaI to The Argus.)

expenses.
This was the message delivered
to the members of the National As
sociation Of Professional Baseball
leagues, in session here this after
noon, by M. Fl. Sexton of Rock Is
land, president, in his annual re-
port, covering his first year of &C
tive duty in the field. He declared
this to be the greatest problem con-
fronting the minors today.
n The report is exhaustive. 1t cites
in detail the evils attendant upon
high salaries paid players owned
by major league clubs. decries the
so-called bonus contract, urges en-
forcement Of salary limits and COM
prehension of operating costs, APP
proves split seasons without extra
compensation to athletes, takes
note Of financial gain by post-sea-
son inter-league series, and advo-
Gates discovery and development OF
young players by insisting that the
majors keep their hands of until
they are ready to graduate
Summing up general conditions
affecting the national game during
the last season, he says gambling
in all its phases has been reduced
and praises selection of Judge h
NJ. Lands of Chicago as baseball's
chief. He comments on thoughts
and suggestions given him by men
interested in the game, which, if
followed, would prove valuable,
urges changes in the national as
ISOLATION agreement, to correct and
minimize unsatisfactory conditions
and concludes by thanking the
members for the friendly interest
and cooperation displayed in the
activities and efforts of his Office
Players and Contracts.
Referring to players and con-
tracts, the report reads: This
topic l believe to be the most i'm
portant and far reaching of any
with which we have to deal, yet is
subject to the most abuses and to
the greatest possible carelessness
on the part of club officers whose
duty it is, and should be, to see that
the proper sort of talent, at proper
and reasonable compensation, is
signed TO contracts to represent
their respective cities on the ba Sc
ball diamond
In our very smallest leagues,
away down in class d, we find out
ball clubs loaded down with high
priced ball players taken on op-
tional agreements from clubs Of
higher classifications, even from
as high as the majors, and strug-
Cling through from the start to the
finish of their season with lot of
ball players in whom they have
absolutely no proprietary interest
whatever, and whom they are sure
to lose at the close of each play
ing season without reward or COM
pensation. Very few young play
ers, paratively speaking, are
now being signed and developed for
sale or draft to the higher leagues.
The conditions just described
apply with equal force to all CLASH
fcations up to and including class
A One very dangerous and ex-
tremely foolish practice has fasten-
ed itself upon this feature of our
business within the last few years
and should, in my judgment, be
positively and absolutely prohibit
ed. l refer to the so-called bonus
contract or agreement.
when a player signed a con-
tract with a certain club, it was al
ways contemplated, and is now
specifically stipulated in the new
contracts, that he was obligated to
render his very best efforts TO his
club during the term of contract
Yet we find managers everywhere,
and club officials acquiesing, offer
ing special bonuses and emolu-
ments for specific performance.
In one particular case coming
under my observation, a class d
league club signed a manager to a
contract providing for a certain
salary and SO per cent of the sale
or draft money on all players dis
posed OF. This manager igned an
infelder at 5000 per month, a fair
salary in any class D league, with
bonus agreement that said player
should have 90 per cent of all
money paid for him, either by sale
or by draft. This player was sold
10 major league club for presum-
ably $4,000. Result-the manager
got 81 900, the player got 81, 900 and
the club got nothing.
But the worst feature about this
transaction was that this player,
IN league that WAS making an
honest effort to enforce the salary
limit, received just double what his
contract called for, and semi
monthly afidavits stated he was re-
-ceiving, and. the five other clubs in
that league were cheated and de-
frauded on the monthly salary limit
to just that extent.
Another baneful practice is that
or placing q player out on option
with a side agreement that the club
holding title to the player shall paw
a portion of his monthly salary
while in the employ of the lower
class club. 1 am firmly of the be-
lief that little or no effort is made
to induce players to accept a re-
duction in salary when slipping
down the line, as is specifically
provided for under our rules.
Salary Limits.
The enforcement of salary limits
IS a serious problem, yet its full and
perfect accomplishment is essential
to the life and prosperity of our
whole organization. Dependence
upon reports from league presi-
dents, or the voluntary statements
made by individual clubs is entirely
unreliable. Because of the frequent
and numerous changes in the-per-
sonnet of a particular club. any
statement OF salaries paid on June
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