and determine at the expiration of said ten days. The player, at the expiration of said ten days shall be freed and discharged from all obligations to render service to the club."

It thus appears that the defendant could rely upon only 10 days of compensated service with the plaintiff under the contract.

For the purpose of determining to what extent, and for how long a period, the defendant is bound by this contract, as affected by the National Agreement and the Rules of the National Commission, it will be necessary for us to consider analytically what the whole transaction represented by the three instruments, namely, the Player's Contract, the National Agreement, and the Rules and Regulations of the National Commission, undertakes to accomplish, and, in practice, actually does accomplish, as shown by the papers read on this motion. Section 1, article II of the National Agreement provides as follows:

"Article II.

"Section 1. Each party to this agreement retains the right to conduct its affairs and govern its players according to its constitution and by-laws, not in conflict with this agreement."

Section 1, article VIII, is in part as follows:

"Article VIII.

"Section 1. All contracts between clubs and players in the Major Leagues shall be in form prescribed by the commission. All contracts between clubs and players in the National Association shall be in form prescribed by that association, provided, however, that no nonreserve contract shall be entered into by any club operating under the National Agreement, until permission to do so has been first obtained from the commission when such contract concerns a Major League player, or from the National Board of Arbitration of the National Association when such contract concerns a player of that organization."

Section 1, article IV, is in part as follows:

"Article IV.

"Section 1. A commission of three members, to be known as the National Commission, is hereby created with power to construe and carry out the terms and provisions of this agreement, excepting when it pertains solely to the internal affairs of a party to this agreement. One member shall be the president of the National League and one the president of the American League. These two members shall elect by a majority vote a suitable per

son as the third member."

It thus clearly appears that the Player's Contract, together with the National Agreement and the Rules of the National Commission adopted pursuant to that agreement, must in law be considered as evidençing the general agreement or plan regulating the employment and conduct of the defendant as a National Agreement player. The Player's Contract further provides as follows:

"1. The club agrees to pay the player for the season of 1914 beginning on or about the 14th day of April, 1914, and ending on or about the 15th day of October, 1914, a salary at the rate of $4,500 for such season; and an additional sum at the rate of $1,500 for such season, said additional sum being the consideration of the option herein reserved to the club in clause 10 hereto;

the total compensation to the player for the season herein contracted for $6,000."

"S. The player agrees to perform for no other party during the period of this contract (unless with the written consent of the club). *

*

"9. The player will not, either during the playing season or before the commencement or after the close thereof, participate in an exhibition baseball game unless the written consent of the club has first been given to him.

"10. The player will, at the option of the club, enter into a contract for the succeeding season upon all the terms and conditions of this contract, save as to clauses 1 and 10, and the salary to be paid the player in the event of such renewal shall be the same as the total compensation provided for the player in clause 1 hereto, unless it be increased or decreased by mutual agreement."

Section 3, article VI, of the National Agreement provides:

"The right and title of a major league club to its players shall be absolute and can be terminated only by release, neglect to comply with requirements under this agreement for reservations, or failure to fulfill its contractual obligations. When a major league club serves notice of release on a player, not secured within that or the preceding year from a minor league club by it or another major league club, he shall be ineligible to contract with a club of another league, if, during 10 days after service of such notice of release, a club of the league in which he is at the time playing shall demand his services."

Paragraph II of the Player's Contract is as follows:

"II. The club shall not transfer the services of the player to any other club without furnishing the player in writing all of the conditions under which said transfer is made and showing what team has claim to his services and what that claim is."

Section 9 of article VI of the National Agreement provides in this

connection:

"A Major League Club shall not be permitted to sell the release of a selected player until he has been actually in its service before the close of the season in which he was drafted or during the following training or regular season, and then only after waivers to him have been obtained from all other Major League Clubs and notice has been received from the secretary of the National Board that no National Association club has claimed him at the draft price."

It appears that originally the defendant was a "selected" player; but whether he was a selected player at the time he entered the service of the plaintiff is immaterial. Had he come from the vacant lots of the cities, or the fields of the country, or from the college campus, and therefore been "a free agent," at the time he made his entry into "organized baseball," the result would have been the same. If a sale or trade is to be made by one major league club to another, section 3 of article VI governs, and "The right and title of a major league club to its players shall be absolute."

If a sale or trade is to be made by a major league club to a minor league club, section 9 of article VI governs, and the sale or trade is not absolute until waivers have been obtained from the other major league clubs. Thus a player in the highest league, without the exercise of any individual choice, may be required to take service with a club of a lower league where smaller salaries are paid, and where both the aggregate of the salary list and the salary of each individual player is

subject to strict limitation under the terms of the National Agreement. No opportunity is afforded the player to solicit employment upon his own account. No right is afforded to enable him to resist an unjust limitation upon his power to earn. No consideration is afforded either himself or his family with respect to choosing a home. In short, he is placed where he must, at all times while playing in "organized baseball," consider that his home is only the place in which his services are for the time being controlled.

The baseball player, even though about to be discharged, is still a thing of value to the club owner. The termination of the obligations by the club owner pursuant to the 10-day provision, is not accomplished by him without securing some return. If the player goes to another major league club, it is either in exchange for some other more desired player or players, or for the waiver price; and the same is true if the discharged player is sent to a league of lower grade.

It seems that the promotion of the ball player is also hedged about with such limitations as to make the property in him absolute whether he will accept terms or not, and to make those terms when arrived at only liberal enough to prevent the player from seeking other means of earning his livelihood.

Section 6 of article VI is in part as follows:

"Section 6. The right of a Minor League Club to its players under this agreement shall be absolute except that from September 15th to September 20th of each year each Major League Club shall have the privilege of selecting players from the National Association Clubs for the following season upon payment of the following sums: $2,500 for players selected from class AA. $1,500 for players selected from class A. $1,200 for players selected from class B. $750 for players selected from class C. $500 for players selected from class D."

This section also provides for the selection or drafting of players. by the different minor leagues in the order of their baseball classification. It provides that if there be conflicting drafts, the conflict is to be determined by lot. The player is not given the right of choice. If such an opportunity were given him he could perhaps obtain a consideration for the exercise of his choice either in the form of a cash bonus or a larger salary.

"Organized baseball" as conducted under the terms of the National Agreement further seeks to enforce and perpetuate its title to and control of its players as follows:

Section 1, article VI, of the National Agreement provides:

"Section 1. All parties to this agreement pledge themselves to recognize the right of reservation and respect contracts between players and clubs under its protection. No club operating under this agreement shall at any time negotiate for the purchase or lease of the property of another club without first securing the consent of such club."

Section 2 of article VI is as follows:

"Section 2. Any club or league which harbors a player who refuses to observe his contract with a club member of any party to this agreement, or to abide by its reservation, shall be considered an outlaw organization, and its

Thus the baseball player is made a chattel; the title of the club to the player, if he be a player of a major leaguge, is made absolute; if he be a player of a minor league, its title is absolute, except in so far as the draft provisions are concerned. Section 6, article VI.

Section 2 of article VI recognizes the property of the club in the player as existing under two conditions: First, under a contract; and, second, under reserve without a contract.

Section 1, article VII, provides the manner in which the reservation is to be made, and the effect thereof, and is as follows:

"Article VII.

"Section 1. On or before the 1st day of October in each year, the secretary of each party to this agreement shall transmit to the secretary of the commission a list of all players under contract to each of its club members on that date or at the close of the championship the following season, together with those secured for future service by purchase or draft, or while free agents, and those under suspension or insubordination or other cause, as well as those ineligible for refusal to respect reservation by, or contract with such club, for that or a preceding season. The secretary of the commission shall thereupon promulgate all of such lists which conform to the limitations of the reservation privileges of clubs according to rank and classification as shown in section 3 of article VI, and no player thus promulgated as reserved shall be eligible to contract or play with any National Agreement club other than that on whose list his name appears as a reserved player until he is regularly released by the reserving club."

If the club has not been able to obtain the player's consent to the salary which has been offered him for the ensuing season, section 2, article VII, accomplishes his release as follows:

"Section 2. No club shall be permitted to reserve a player while in arrears of salary to him; and the failure of a club to tender a reserved player a contract for the ensuing season by February 1st, shall be construed as a revocation of its reservation and shall operate as his unconditional release."

If the player has ideas of his own, which fail to accord with those of the club, the National Agreement enables the club to enforce its own terms, leaving the player the option to enter some other trade, calling, or profession, if he is not satisfied.

The scheme of the National Agreement to perpetuate control over a player by means of contracts apparently legal is interesting and pertinent. Each term contract, as appears by section 1 of article VIII, must contain a reserve clause or option to renew, and this article of the National Agreement is further enforced by section A, rule 17, of the National Commission, which is as follows:

"A nonreserve clause in the contract of a major league player without the approval of the commission or of a minor league player without the approval of the National Board shall not be valid."

So that each new contract of the player must contain a reserve clause, and so by a series of contracts, "organized baseball" is able to perpetuate its control over the services of the player. But if, upon the other hand, a contract is at any time unobtainable, or even in fact not in good faith sought to be obtained, as the club owner might offer an immoderately low salary, then the provisions for reservation and the

respecting thereof, apply and safeguard the "absolute title" of the club.

But why should a player enter into a contract when his liberty of conduct and of contract is thus curtailed? The answer is that he has no recourse. He must either take the contract under the provisions of the National Agreement, whose organization controls practically all of the good ball players of the country, or resort to some other occupation. Section 2 of article VIII is as follows:

"Article VIII.

"Section 2. Any agreement between club and player for service, evidenced by written acceptance, whether by letter or telegram, or receipt from player for money advanced to him to bind such agreement, shall be construed to be a contract and held to be binding, provided the player declines to enter into a formal contract; but his refusal to sign such formal contract shall render him ineligible to play with the contracting club for more than a period of ten days, or to enter the service of a club of any party to this agreement unless released."

And this provision of the National Agreement is further enforced by rule 23 of the National Commission, which is as follows:

"A fine of $25 shall be imposed on any National Agreement Club that permits a player to play on its team for a longer period than that prescribed in section 2, article VIII, of the agreement, without a formal contract, and the right to reserve such player will not be recognized."

Rule 19 of the National Commission provides for blacklisting players as follows:

"A National Agreement player, adjudged to have violated his contract, shall be declared and promulgated to be ineligible to play with or against any club in organized baseball until reinstated on his application by the commission, if he be a Major League player, or by the National Board if he be a Minor League player. If, after full investigation, the tribunal, having jurisdiction finds that such violation of contract was premeditated and without palliating circumstances, the application of the offender for reinstatement will not be considered until the player has given satisfactory assurance that he will not repeat the offense, and will not be granted without the imposition of an adequate penalty."

And also by rule 20:

"A player who fails to report to or deserts the club having title to his services shall be declared and promulgated to be disqualified as a National Agreement player until restored to good standing on his application by the commission, if a Major League player, or by the National Board, if a Minor League player. In all cases of failure to report or desertion the offender may be reinstated with or without a fine, in the discretion of the tribunal having jurisdiction, provided, however, that if the player shall have joined an outlaw team his application for the removal of his disability shall not be acted on within three years after the commission of the offense."

There are other provisions of the National Agreement indicating its purpose. Section 1, article VIII provides that a drafted Major League player's salary shall not be over 25 per cent. in excess of that paid him by the Minor League Club from which he was secured, the amount to be established by affidavits from him and the president of the club from which he was obtained. All salaries of Minor League