Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-02-20
Lands to Devote
All of Time to
His Baseball Job

LID DdOCOdll JUL
Chicago. Feb. 1S-Judge Kenesaw
Mountain Lands will end his II
years service on the federal bench
March /, to devote his entire time to
his duties as national commissioner
of baseball, he announced today
when he forwarded his resignation
to President Harding.
For Is months Judge Lands has
held both positions drawing $4,000
year from organized baseball less
the $500 salary he received as fed
eral judge.
Finds Day Too Short
At the time he took up his duties
as baseball's dictator he was offered
a contract for $4,000 a year, but in
sisted that as long as he remained ON
the bench the amount of his salary
as judge be deducted from the total
paid him by baseball. The contract
was for seven years.
There are not enough hours in
the day for these activities" Judge
Lands declared in announcing his
resignation. There isn't time enough
to do everything. I've worked hard.
I've been getting up at o'clock in
the morning and have had to go
without lunch for two weeks"
Uniformed that 1t had been rumorcd
that he had been advised by his ply
stefan to go South for a rest, he
snapped out:
Il will take no vacation. l will con-
tinue at the bat. l am not going
South" He added that he would hold
night sessions of his court to clear his
docket before his resignation takes et-
feet.
According 10 his friends, Judge Ian
dis intended to resign the judeeship
shortly after he accepted the post as
dictator of organized baseball, but de-
layed because of criticism of his &C
ton. At that time he was quoted as
saying he would not resign under fire.
To Restore Confidence
Judge Lands accepted the chairman
ship of professional baseball after il
| had been rendered him by unanimous
vote of the 16 major league clubs on
Nov. -, 1920. following the 1912
world series scandal and the trial OF
several members of the Chicago Amer
lean League club on charges of taking
, part in it.
| His acceptance of the post was
| sought on the pleas that it was neces-
! sary to restore public confidence in
the game.
| Eumors of the resignation have been
current for months and intimate
| friends have known for some time
! that the action was imminent.
! 1t has been generally understood
j that Judge Lands would have resigned
some time ago but for the attacks
| made on him by Senator Dial of South
/ Carolina and the notoriety brought
! through his handling Of the case OF
J Willie Dalton. 17-year-old bank rob
.. Der. On the verge of resigning when
I these things came up, the judge chang
cd his plans, informing friends that he
would never resign under fire.
Senator Dial had attacked the Judge
because of the latter's statement that
bank officials sometimes were partly
responsible for robberics by boys,
since they did not make adequate
salaries.
Shortly before Dalton robbed local
bank, Judge Lands had made his re-
marks about the salaries of bank
clerks in another similar case. Nari-
Gus newspapers quoted Dalton IS say
inr that he had committed his rob-
berry because ne felt through Judge
Landis's remarks, that nothing would
be done to him. Dalton never said
that he had never before heard Of
Judge Landis's remarks.
Senator Dial and Representative
Welty of Ohio later proposed i'm
parchment proceedings against the
judge, the representative basing his
case on the holding Of two positions
by the judge. Both cases were drop
ped.
Although IS years old, Judge Lam
dis has always been known as boy
at heart and a lover Of all forms of
sport. The baseball magnates urged
him to reorganize baseball "for the
sake of the American boy" and 1t
was this plea which won.
His unique conduct in court, where
he frequently took the cases out of
the lawyers hands and took over the
examination of witnesses himself,
caused him to be feared by all law
breakers. At the same time his repu-
tation OF administering justice, re-
gardless of the technicalities OF the
low, brought him universal respect.