Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1916 — PAID LARGE SALARIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PAID LARGE SALARIES

Federal League Was Not Stingy Toward Its Players. v Club Owners Surprised at Immense Amount of Money Spent to Becure Stars From Major Leagues — A Few Examples. The liberality of the Federal league toward itof'Tjall players left the club owners of organized ball dumfounded when the Feds showed their salary list at the recent peace meeting. A club owner in one of the major leagues stated that he was surprised when the Federal league officials told of the thousands of dollars they had spent on inflated Salaries. In order to lure the players away from the major leagues their salaries were doubled and some of them tripled. According to the officials of -organized bah, it was this unusual extravagance of the Federal league which caused its downfall. A few examples of the increase which the Federal league gave in salaries, shows that it was impossible for the Federal league to ever come out even financially. The following table shows how much salary some of the players received under organized baseball and what the Federal league paid them: • T" Organized Federal Player Ball. League. Tinker $5,500 $12,000 Campbell 3,200 8,600 Cooper 2,500 7,500 Falkenberg 4,000 8,500 Kauff 2,000 7,600 Seaton 2,600 8,200 Chase- 6,000 9,000 Not only did the Federal league sign these players and many others at these exorbitant salaries for long terms, but It gave them bonuses of from SI,OOO to $5,000 advances at the time they signed. Old, seasoned baseball men state that the most prosperous days that baseball has ever had could not afford such high salaries. When the assem-

bled National and American league officials listened to the Federal league men as they unfolded their tale of woe they lookefl at each other in surprise. An official of organized baseball said: “They estimate that the Federal league lost $3,000,000 in this venture. I tell you that $4,500,000 or $5,000,000 would be nearer the mark. It was the biggest piece of folly I ever heard of to imagine that any baseball league could live and pay the plhyers such salaries.” It Is estimated that more than sev-enty-five of the ball players whom the Federal league enticed away from organized ball with the big offer of money received more than twice as much as they received with organized balk This item alone would represent an annual expenditure of $225,000. It can readily be seen now why the big issue in the peace negotiations is the seventy or more players whom the Federal league has under iron-bound contracts at these inflated salaries. Organized baseball has told the Federal league club owners that they cannot hope to pay these salaries, even if they take the players back. It is believed that the compromise will be effected by organized ball paying the greater part of the salaries to the players they take, while the Federal league must make up the balance.

Joe Tinker.