East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1922-01-12
HELD BY
EARS ON DRAFT YET
IN THIS LATE AGE
Fight Between Major and Mi
nor Leagues Undetermined /;
Lands Thinks it is Just.
BY HENRY L. FARRELL


United Press Staff Correspondent
NEW YORK. Jan. fg.-commis-, !,
sioner Landis in coming out strongly !
| for the draft takes the stand that II
is the only way to guarantee justice
to young ball player.
/ All the major league owners are
! for the draft, but if they gave the
| same reason they would get nothing
but big laugh.
i Iandis no doubt is sincere in his
concern for the young players, but the
4 club owners want the draft merely to
1 save money. -
i The New York Giants this year palo
! SIS. 600 to the san Francisco club tor
1 First Raseman O'Connell. Ii the draIt
were recognized by the Pacific Coast
League. o'Connell- would have been
available for $4,000.
That's the club owners desire for
the draft in nutshell.
There is no doubt that there is some
arguments both for and against the
draft.
The prO-draft partisians point out
!, the Baltimore Club as their best argu-
ment. Jack Dunn has four players on
I his international League club good
enough for the major leagues, bus the
majors cannot draft and he will not
Z sell.
n Answering the same argument, the
anti-draft party admits the situation
4 but asks-'Do those players want To
go TO the major leagues
Thomas j. Hickey, president of the
American Association, which recently
voted against the draft again, main
\ tains that the association will not keep
n n PLAYER who wants to go up and on
4 tho other hand his eight clubs do not
want to lose player by force who Is
contented to stay where he is. -
\ Jack Hendricks. manager of the in
dianapols club, and Clarence Row
n land pilot of the Columbus club, main
a tain that the majority of the player!
\ in the association do not want Il
4 leave.
They point out that any number o1
PLAYERS in their league can make more
money by playing every day in the as
Y sociation where the going is not 50
ndT0 anu tilt SlIui iSoo oS'SAN e''"'
a they could earn as a bench warmer IL
Z the major leagues. Many of the play
4 ers have been up before and they a.
= not want to go back. e..
Another concrete argument was cit
ed as occurring several years ago whel
Y Louisville bought Bert Niehoff in mid
" season. At the end of the season h
u was drafted for $4,000 less than tn
q Louisville club had paid for him..
It would be interesting to learn hoy
the players figure about the draf'
Bentley, I.awry, Jacobson and the 9th
er Baltimore stars have never openl
expressed their desire to go up and il
view of this, 1t might be taken tha
they are contented to stay.
When Commissioner I.andis decide
to appeal personally to the five lea
CUES fighting the draft to come bacl
under the old agreement it wa
thought that the point of the majo
leaguers would be won.
But the American Association vote
against it and with the lead beinj
taken, it is a cinch that the Interna
tional League and the Pacific Coas
League will not desert the cause.
The draft thing is yet to be solved
Neither side will give an inch. tTh
: minors might have been placated i
:, the "spendthrift' owner of the Brook
lyn Robins, Charles Ebbets, had no
recommended boycott of the Clas
III AA leagues at the National Leagu
meetings.
HI OF course, his move was overruled
but the minors didn't like the indica
tion of such sentiment.