The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-12-21

more rigid and slave-like, going much
further than the we'll known and
hideous ''yellow-dog contract" in their
form las is known, the slaves of
baseball nave no union, although
Davey Pultz attempted many years
ago to form such an organization.)
Some RevOlts.
This might be of interest to the
youth for a detailed article some
other time, as would also be probably
the history of the occasional rebellions
and revolts in baseball: the successful
one of the American League and the
unsuccessful revolt of the Federal
League.
In essence, this struggle is strug-
gle between the bourgeoisie of base
ball and the petty bourgeoisie, in
which the players themselves have
very little say, except occasionally,
and particularly when there is one of
marked calibre who is able to sell his
labor power, or ability to play, at a
high price, such as Babe Ruth or Ty
Cobb.
No Longer a Sport.
Hereafter, therefore, it will be an
increased method to dig up rockies, to
train them for years on minor league
teams which are owned by that par
ticular big league team, and then to
bring them to the big league team.
Some may lament this development
in baseball, believing that it is still
sport instead of a purely COM
mercial proposition. 1t still is a sport
in some places, (sandlots mainly but
not in very many, and surely the re-
cent scandals in baseball should
awaken everyone to realize that this
sport" is no different than selling
potatoes, cabbages, railroads, or seats
in the Senate.
1t would be well for the youth es-
pecially to learn these lessons and to
recognize that professional sports a1s
purely capitalistic enterprises ar
that the entertainment of the youth is
of really no concern to them, not to
speak of their physical and mental
development.
Professional and Employers Sports
Against Workers Sports.
The outcome of this conflict be-
tween big business and little business
is quite clear: the little fellows will
be squeezed, cry and resist as they
will. AS Miller Higgins, Yankee
manager, puts it: whether or not it
will be a good thing for baseball, |
won't attempt to say, h&t it's surely
contingencies of course, legislation
should be passed by baseball itself to
prevent the practice"
The Trend of Development.
Cheap materials, control of raw
material, ownership of the products
from top to bottom-that is the de-
velopment of baseball today in
America. Other sports will show
similar developments. Professional
baseball is hokum and clever exploit
tation, both of the players themselves
and of the masses who come to watch.
With scandal, gambling, corruption,
exploitation in this field of profess
sional baseball, it becomes more neces-
sary than ever in this country to de-
velop a workers sports movement.
Here and there, in the soccer field, for
example, we have already such work
ers' organization, but the mass of
young people in this country are in
terested in the two major sports of
baseball and football.
Sport and Company Unions.
Owners of large factories, such as
the Western Electric and many other
big corporations realize this, and
take advantage of this natural in
terest to develop a greater loyalty,
interest and speed of work on the
part of their employees. They toss
out few pennies of their profits for
gymnasium, baseball or football
field, and then tell the boys to go to
it.
Workers Sports.
classification, monopoly, company
union baseball, all these parallel the
development of capitalism in the
fields of industry and finance. AS we
endeavor to meet and resist capitalist
oppression on the economic and
political field through our trade
unions, cooperatives and political par
ties of labor, the working youth must
consider the formation of workers
sport organizations, for their physical
and mental development, on class
basis.