Clipping:A rumor of a planned July 4 strike
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| Date | Wednesday, July 3, 1889 |
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| Text | [editorial matter] The air is full of rumors of an impending strike by the League players, unless their demand for a hearing is promptly acceded to, and some of the know-alls even fix upon July Fourth as the precise date for this portentous event. If the Brotherhood really contemplates such a move it should take grave counsel with itself. Such a step at this time would inevitably defeat all the ends the players have in view. It would mean temporary disorganization for the League and grave financial consequences to the various clubs, which would surely be shared by the players; public opinion would be turned against the players who would place themselves in a false position as contract breakers and thereby render themselves liable to various harassing legal proceedings; and finally any triumph achieved or concessions gained by means of a mid-season strike would be but short-lived, and any obligations assumed by the League under such conditions would be inevitably repudiated at the earliest possible moment. The value and efficacy of strikes as a means of redressing grievances and forcing concessions depend altogether upon the conditions governing the case, and in this instance the conditions are altogether unfavorable to the hopes and chances of the players. Unlike manufacturers, base ball clubs are not in position to be materially or permanently damaged, they have no valuable plant or vast capital to lie idle at great loss; no product subject to damage; there is not a single official connected with any club in any manner dependent upon base ball for subsistence; and, finally, base ball is not a necessary of life, but a luxury, and the laws of supply and demand affect it but little. So it will be seen that a base ball strike will only, in the end, inflict serious injury upon those having most at stake in the matter—the players, whose livelihood depends altogether upon the game, and whose interests are therefore too inextricably bound up with those of the League to make a strike either desirable or profitable. Let us have no more talk of a strike. |
| Source | Sporting Life |
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| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Origin | Initial Hershberger Clippings |
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