tion, as it afterwards attempted to do.
It first made itself felt in the fall of 1887, when it compelled the
League to draw up a new form of contract; in which the rights of the
players were better understood than under the form that had previously
been used. When the new contract was adopted the full amount of each
player's salary could not be written therein, because of the National
Agreement, which contained a $2,000 salary limit clause, and as the
American Association Clubs would not allow this to be stricken out the
players were greatly displeased, they having to sign contracts at
$2,000, and make outside contracts for all compensation over that amount
that they received. Threats as to what the Brotherhood would do were
freely made at that time, but nothing came of them. At the annual
meeting in 1888, the Indianapolis, Pittsburg and Washington Clubs
demanded of the League a scheme that would limit players' salaries,
which had grown to enormous proportions, and the result was that a
classification rule, which divided the players into five classes, as
follows: Class A, to receive $2,500; Class B, $2,250; Class C, $2,000;
Class D, $1,750, and class E, $1,500, it being agreed among the clubs,
however, that this classification should not apply to players with whom
they then had agreements, or to players with whom they should make
agreements, or to whom they felt under moral obligations to do so,
previous to December 15th, 1888, and it was also provided that the
players then absent on the world's trip should be accorded two weeks
after their return in which to arrange matters before they should be
subject to classification.

We were abroad at that time, but the players at home remonstrated
strongly against the classification, claiming that in a few years it
would have a tendency to lower the salaries very materially, but the
absence of John M. Ward, who was the Brotherhood leader, prevented any
official action by the organization. When Mr. Ward reached, home again
contracts had been signed and nothing could be done, though it is now
known that he favored a strike at that time, but was out-voted by the
cooled-headed members of the order. In the meantime the New Yorks had
agreed to release the Brotherhood leader to Washington for the sum of
$12,000, the largest sum ever offered for the release of a player, but
Ward's flat-footed refusal to play in the National Capital team caused
the deal to fall through.

In the meantim