e National League owners were built of sterner
stuff.

They fought back resolutely and hard and while for a time they were
combated by a fickle opinion, based upon sentiment, it developed within
two months that the public had learned thoroughly the reasons for the
organization of the new league and declined to lend it that support
which had been predicted and expected.

Meanwhile, Base Ball had received a setback greater than any which had
befallen the sport in an organized sense from a professional standpoint.

The Brotherhood League was a pronounced and emphatic failure. This is
not the verdict of personal opinion, but a record which is indelibly
impressed upon Base Ball history.

It was the theory of the Brotherhood League that it, in part, should be
governed by representative players, but the players would not be
governed by players. Discipline relaxed, teams did pretty much as they
pleased, and the public remained away from the games. It may be added
with truth that the National League games were not much better
patronized, but that was due to the prevalent apathy in Base Ball
affairs throughout the United States.

When the Brotherhood League was formed and withdrew so many players from
the National League the latter organization undertook to strengthen
itself where it could and when Brooklyn and Cincinnati applied for
membership in the circuit both were admitted.

The New York National League club had lost many of its players and, upon
the substitution of Cincinnati for Indianapolis in the National League
circuit, procured from Mr. Brush many players of note, among them Rusie,
Glasscock, Buckley, Bassett and Denny.

Relative to the withdrawal of Indianapolis from the circuit it may be
said that Mr. Brush flatly refused to give up his club, asserting
stoutly that he was perfectly able to continue the fight, but when he
felt that the exigencies of the occasion demanded that Cincinnati become
a member, he agreed to give up the franchise, providing that he be
permitted to retain his membership in the National League, and transfer
such of his players as New York desired to the latter city. It has been
alleged that he demanded an exorbitant price from New York for the
transfer of the players.

This is untrue. He asked the price of his franchise, the value of his
players, and the worth of giving up a Base Ball year in a city in which
there was to be no conflicting club and, as he had expressed full
confidence i