Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-12-04
Harris Among Those
Called by Judge
In Rehearing
BY SID FEEDER,
Associa ted Press Sports Writer,


NEW YORK, Dec. 4.-High Com
missioner Kenesaw Mountain Lands,
the star Of baseball's midwinter pro-
duction now playing the local
boards, put on the final show of the
run today by switching his role from
1.-THE wrecker of the revolution" to
repeat performance in the dia-
mond's philadelphia story"
Two days after his greatest
triumph in putting down a rebellion
that threatened his baseball reign
for the first time in % years, the
white-hared judge shared top billing
In today's offering with William D.
Il Used to Play for Yale) Cox, re-
Gently resigned president of the
Phillies. Two weeks ago, in the
premiere of his Philadelphia story,
Lands ousted Cox from baseball for
life for alleged betting on Philly
ball games, and now Cox says there
was positively nothing to it.
The two of them-the high COM
missioner and William were on stage
together in today's scene, sitting
across the table from each other at
hearing which Cox requested to
clear himself and which the Judge
granted to let him try.
Asked Hearing Week Ago.
Through an attorney-Lloyd Paul
Stryker-Cox asked for the hearing
last Saturday, saying he never made
q cash wager on the Pills games,
despite Lands statement that the
New York lumberman had told him
on November and again a week
later, that he had made between
Is and Is bets of from $25 to $500"
from the time the 1943 season start
ed through May 90 And, on Novem-
Der %, in radio broadcast, Cox
said he had made a few "senti-
mental bets" on the Phils. These
admissions came, Lands said, weeks
after Cox, at the first hearing in
the commissioner investigation in
mid-August, had denied betting.
On November %, Lands an
nounced Cox's Punishment from
baseball and the same day the Phil
lies directors approved the sale of
CoX's stock in the club to Robert
R. M. Carpenter, jr., young Whining
ton, Del, sportsman, and the cleo
ton Of Carpenter to the presidency.
Lands said Stryker, in asking for
today's hearing, told him Cox orig
inally made admissions of betting to
certain man in the Phillies' Or
ganization in order to test this fel-
lows loyalty, and it was on this
premise that he came to the hearing
today.
''Stryker said he was convinced
Cox had never made bet" Lands
explained yesterday in announcing
the hearing. "Stryker said, too, he
was convinced Cox could convince
me. If he can convince me that
everything he told me and Ford
Prick CNational League president)
was just a story and conclude
that he did not bet, I will make a
public statement to that effect
Harris Supports Judge.
In preparing the backdrop for to-
days hearing, the commissioner has
rounded up quite cast of charac-
tiers. In the chief supporting role
was Bucky Harris, deposed by Cox
in midseason as manager of the
Phillies. Harris had been summoned
before the bushy- browed head man
of baseball in mio-August, early in
the investigation. Lands also lined
up George Fletcher, the Pills Sec
retary-treasurer; Jimmy Hagen, the
road secretary; Bill Phillips, the
publicity man, and Nathan Alexan-
der, an Office employe, for parts in
the production.
The judges announcement of the
reopening of "the Cox case" put the
final fancy icing on the cake to a
set OF winter meetings that had only
one real player deal-the sale of
Indian Bob Johnson by the Wash
ington Senators to the Boston Red
Sox-but came up with more po-
litical furore than either baseball
conclave or a national party con-
vention had ever seen.