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i , 1 GOV. HUGHES BACKS UP HIS MESSAGE. ! Addresses Delegates from the Agricultural Societies ! of New York. Albany. N. Y.. January 10. — Coventor Charles E. iliithes addressed the delegates of the ninety-three agricultural societies of the state which met here today for tiie purpose of formula ing campaign plans against Hie passage of the recent anti-gambling bills introduced by Senator Agnew of New York City and Assemblyman Hart of Oneida Onunly. The two delegates from each of the different county and district societies in aUend.ince at Ihe meeting are in favor of retaining lite five per cent clause in the present law. and nor lake chances every year Willi the liberality of the legislature to appropriate every year a quarter of a million dollars from the stale treasury towards the support of their societies. Covernor Hughes reiterated his views made known in his message to the legislature, when he recommended that it enact appropriate laws upon the question of betting in conformity with the provisions of the constitution, and said that so far as the nianagenient of ihe race tracks was comer, ted this plain mandate of the people in their funda-ineiual law had been ignored and betrayed. The effect of the governors remarks upon their final action is being watched with much intetest by both friends and foes of the Agnew and Hart bills now before the legislature. Covernor Hughes in his address said in oart: . "I made this recommendation in my message became it was right. And llieie isnt a man here. whatever his interests may be in agricultural societies, or whatever his opinion may be with regard to tin- reJation of the present law to thai* aejeCMB, who dues not know that what I said was right." Tlie governor declared that "everyliody respects and obeys the laws he likes, hut the test of respect for the law is where the law is obeyed and it is upheld in ils majesty, although it hurts And we cant afford in this country and in this state to have a constitutional provision, which is the fundamental law of the land, ignored and betrayed. "I may add that we arc dealing .with a matter which is a serious menace to the morals of the community. My mail is burdened with letters from lathers and mothers, from employes, from those who come in dose contact with the demoralization that is spread through the encouragement of the gambling instinct — not with reference to matters thai are beyond the public ken. not susceptible of proof and impossible of change on account of human na- tare, but because of things that are encouraged.
