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FATHBADBD LEGISLATIVE IDEAS An obtuse racing bill has been injected within the Wisconsin legislature by a trooly rooral member It threatens to kill off all racing of all kinds The lesson of Illinois is too neigh ¬ borly and broad for any bill of the kind to be adopted by the Wisconsin or any centralwestern legislature Wise regulation is healthy when it surrounds racing trade or religion But the notions of an ignoramus in either avenue have but a small chance after such a term of trade stagnation and a spell of fanat ¬ icism through lack of legislation which cost Illinois many millions of dollars and gave Wis ¬ consin Missouri Indiana and Ohio a few of the millions millionsMissouri Missouri is similarly afflicted An obscure legislator Peers by name has fired a clumsy measure into the Missouri Senate It prohibits betting of all kinds in a peculiarly comprehen ¬ sive way The Peers measure has no chance It would should it be adopted cripple or kill an industry worth some ten millions of dollars to a state which has shown strong and steady growth in equine avenues for the last five years The honesty of the builders of the Wisconsin and Missouri bills are not within survey The right and knowledge of rooralists from a 5000 vote district to legislate for millions can be seriously questioned however Strangely too all the recent western legislative mischief about racing usually has an agricultural spon ¬ sor In these days too the East in which anti racing mischief started out of the villiany of factions shows an intelligent and concise effort to amend the wrong and treat an industry of great worth and scope with respect and liberal fairness It is about time that the West fell into line
