Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-19
w WHETHER Commissioner
Y n l. Lands action in slap
Wv ping fines on a bunch
OF ball clubs and max

" ping fines on a punch
of ball clubs and max
ing a squad of athletes free
agents will check the practice
of covering up" players re-
mains to be seen. One may as
we'll speculate on whether the
Jones bill will put the boot
leggers out of business. A
guess is that one will prove
about as effective as the other,
but in both cases all hands are
sitting up and taking notice.
This thing of one club osten-
Sibly purchasing a player to
prevent him from being drafted
and then turning him back to
save the original owner from
losing title to his services is
widely practiced. 1t is doubt
full If there is a club in organ
lied base ball that hasn't done
such favor for some other or
ganization at some time and
there is little question that a
number of them do it regu-
larly.
AS to the merits of the con-
troversy between Clark Crit
fifth and Lands growing out of
the judges action in cutting
the strings on Mel SimonS and
Guy Cantrell and filming the
Washington ball club a total of
$500, this column chooses to
be non-committal.
According to statements at
tributed to Griffith in Tampa,
all his deals were bona f1de.
And according to a summary
of the data on the cases re-
ceived from the headquarters
of the commissioner Of base
ball, they were not.
The Data From Landis..
Here's the dope from the
judges Office concerning the
deals in which the Washington
club was involved:
Under date of September 10,
1928, Baltimore transferred to
Washington the contract of
player Guy Cantrell, and Wash
ington sent to the commits
sioner a check to Baltimore for
the initial payment. 1t has
now been aScertained that this
was merely a refund of a check
for the same amount previ-
ously sent secretly by Balti-
more to Washington. Cantrell
was not reserved by Baltimore,
but by Washington.
"In investigating the Cantrell
transaction it developed that
Washington's initial payment
to Birmingham for assignment
of contract of player Melbern
E. Simons was secretly re-
funded by Birmingham to
Washington on April S, 1928,
following Washington's reserv-
ing and subsequently returning
the player to Birmingham; also
that in acquiring the contracts
of players Charles Glazner and
J. B. Partridge in September,
1928, from Mobile and Atlanta.
respectively, Washington acted
for Birmingham, and that the
money payments for such as
Signments were made by Bir-
fningham to Washington,
which then issued it's checks to
Mobile and Atlanta. Glazner
and Partridge were reserved by
Washington, and on December
II, 1928, and January Is, 1929.
respectively, Washington filed
agreements transferring these
players to Birmingham; Bir-
mingham, which had secretly
paid Washington for them in
September, sent to the commits
sioner checks payable to Wash
ington for the amounts named
in these. new transfer agree
ments, which amounts Wash
ington thereafter secretly re-
funded to Birmingham. Like
wise 1t was found that Wash
ington acted for land with the
money of Birmingham in pur-
chasing contract of player
Ralph Judd from Peoria in Sep
TENDER, 1927; that while on
Washington's reserve list he was
actually Birmingham's player.
Washington making the formal
transfer on January 8. 1928, re-
ceiving from Birmingham a
new check for the amount spec