New Britain herald., 1927-01-21
MAY NOT
 LOSE PRESIDENCY
Ban Says That He Has Been in Harness Steadily for S4 Years

Chicago, Jan. Fl R,-The grow ing list of nominations for the job of President Ban Johnson of the American league is bit premature, the founder of the league and its ruler for more than . quarter of century intimated today.
 Asked whether he had given thought to resigning, President Johnson declined to commit himself but he did remark:
 T have been in harness steadily for 34 years"
 Under his written contract and later resolution Of league directors, Johnson's presidential authority runs until 1885 at s40,000 a year.
 The main issue at next Sundays session of the American league dl- rectors MT. Johnson indicated. is to decide what to tell Commissioner Landis the following day about the dismissal of Ty Cobb and Iris
 
 discussion around the publication of the Dutch Leonard letters, given the commissioner by the league direc- tors last September. All but John- son signed a waiver for the com missioner. authorizing him to use the letters as he saw fit.
 If the league directors sustain their president In his handling of the CobbSpeaker case, as they did last September, the possibilities of fireworks at the commissioners hearing the next day will be largely eliminated
 If. they vote to withdraw their support from Johnson because of his remarks since the Leonard let ters were made public by the com missioner, it may mean the resig- nation of Johnson. with indications that he may have something more to say in that event.
 The league directors are F. S.. Barnard, of Cleveland, Clark Grif filth of Washington, Phil Ball of St. Louis, and Frank Navin of Detroit Three other club owners were in vited to Sunday mornings confer ence, completing the league roster except for Charles A. Comiskey of the Chicago White Sox with whom the American league executive has long been at odds.
 The division of support behind Johnson and against him, among these seven, has not been clearly drawn yet. Ball and Navin parti- cularly are known to be Johnson's staunch supporters, with recent evi- dences of approval from Barnard and Tom Shibe of the Philadelphia Athletics. Colonel Jacob Ruppert Of New York has expressed himself as "open minded" on the situation, | while Clark Griffith of Washington has been quoted as saying John son should have retired two years ago." Bob Quinn of Boston, the | other guest at the directors meet ing Sunday has not expressed his opinion.
 One man mentioned as a possible | successor to Johnson. should he step out, was Edward c. Barrow, business manager of the New York | Yankees. but Barrow said he was not candidate for the position. Het declared he was pleasantly situ- ated" at present and quite satis- fled to finish my baseball career | with Colonel Rupert"
 About the only new note sounded | in the baseball overture came from John H. Heydler, president of the National league. who expressed the l opinion that the talk about scandals in baseball was bound to hurt the game.
 My personal opinion" he said | in statement to the St. Louis Post | Dispatch. lis that you cannot pa rade scandal and gossip for three | weeks on the front page of nearly | every newspaper in the country and | not hurt the game"
 He held that baseball players | were no closer to being angels than any other young men and that the effort to make them angels was be- ing overdoae.