Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-11
BASEBALL
LAWS SAME AS
VOLSTEAD ACT
Held as Infringement on Per-
sonal Liberty of
Players.
BY |. &. SANBORN

Many baseball players seem to re-
gard the laws of organized baseball IN
much the same way that a lot Of folks
do the eighteenth amendment. They
are held TO be an infringement on
personal liberty; they are correspond
ingly unpopular and hard to enforce.
Moreover the majority of the Ameri-
can public sympathizes more or less
with those who violate them.
Most fans undoubtedly are more ia
miIiar with and better informed re
garding the Volstead act than they are
with the prohibition clauses in the
constitution on which the nations
p~astiIne is founded. That may be true
of the majority Of ball players, too.
That may be why they regard them so
make unfamiliarity the parent of con-
tempt.
Kerr Knew His Mistake
When Dick Kerr. the d~iminutise
White Sox southpaw. decided to cast
his lot with the semi-professionals in
Chicago last spring on account of Il
difference of opinion regarding the
value Of his services to Comiskey. he
hiitN lie WIS iildhiiS i4iiiIoS4I iAEASAbiS
TO play under the big tent. but appar-
emily he did not for how long. Recent
lv from kerr's n~eighbrohood in Texas
came the announcement that he had
applied for reinstatement coupled with
the naive statement that he expected
Commissioner lands to reinstate him
in time to permit him to reioin the
Gleason tribe on its next spring train
ing trip.
Hard TO Get Back
Possibly if Kerr had known it was
not as easy as that to get back into the
fold he might not have jumped organ
lied baseball. But he ought to have
known it. Or at least to have consulted
somebody who could tell him just what
his leap meant. Before Kerr can be
reinstated it will be necessary for him
to remain out of baseball entirely for
one year. His application cannot even
be considered by the commissioner I'M
til such period of inactivity on kerr's
part has elapsed.
He may not understand why players
like Rousch and Schmidt, who were de
clared ineligible for holding out, ware
reinstated on application during the
lasf championship season. Neither
Roush nor Schmidt played with n
other team during the period of their
holding out. Kerr Joined n team which
not only competed for patronage With
other teams in organized baseball, but
with the very team which had prior
claim to his services under the laws of
the pastIme.
Babe Ruth Broke Rules
Babe Ruth broke the rules in the fall
of 1921. although fully informemd as to
the CONSTITUENCIES. He could not plead
ignorance of the law in palliation of his
defiance of the high commissioners
warning. But the commissioners pun
jshment of Ruth for this offense was
so severe and caused such Il decrease
in the players value as q drawing card
that the club owners decided to make il
easier both for the ball players AMI for
Commissioner lands in the matter OF
post-season transforming.
To that end the rules were modified
TO permit even worlds champions TO
tease 4 little soft money out OF the
fans by engaging in exhibition games
up to November /, providing that
mot more than three players who have
engaged in a worlds series shall play
in the same exhibition aglne' on any
pest-season tour. This was necessary
to prevent any such occurrence as that
which was responsible for passing the
rule which Ruth violated, So few re-
member it that it is worth repeating.
Piekups Take Mans
In the fall of 1906 a team advertised
as worlds champions" transformed
the middle west after the worlds Sc
ries. Not more than five or six of the
players were actually worlds cham
pions and the rest were pickups. With
no one to enforce discipline the play
ers put themselves so far out of con-
dition that they were badly beaten Ivy
teams reresenting smaal towns in
teams representing small towns in
rule against worlds champions barn
stormiug was passed to prevent drag
ging the worlds pennant in the mud
any more.
1t was thought sufficient to allow