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I ! DIVERSE ELEMENTS OPPOSING RACING. 1 Poolroom Men and Reformers Work for the Same End — Governor Hughes Deceived. Strong arguments in favor of the retention of raclag in New lork Stale are heing presented h.v the admirers of the sport. It is pointed out that he lackey Ch*. having planned to make of racing . i sport in which only those who could afford to do so could participate, incurred the hostility of all those interested iu the poolroom system, says the New York Sun. Years ago Do L.-oey was the -iw.kesman of this fail ion. and he has fought the •Carta of the controlling body of the turf when with iiacliincry elaborate and effective il crippled l ot-l ing where it aright he indulged iu h.v those who I would fee! the pecuniary strain. The Jockey Cluh las sought to minimize spccula-tloa every where. Il has made it Tlifflcult ii|M»u i courses under its control and has done its fiest to I liscoiirage It. and in these efforts it has met with i nore than a fair measure of success. The up -late reformers v. ho have allied thejnselves with tin- disgruntled few iu .New York who want •o slop raclag have no idea of the strange coinpauy hcy arc keeping. Many of them have heard the names of Peter De Lace.v or Allen, those emi nent exponents of the poolroom system who cjaiuor so loudly for deliverance from the racing hugahoo. Bath De Lace.v and Allen arc now telling people "What we are doing in Alhany." During 1 lie season of Itti there were l.ol" races run on tracks under the jurisdiction and supervision of the Jockey Cluh. Ueports from undoubted authority -how thai no information whatever was received from the tracks on !»"j:i of these, while on ;l e others the jockey- and other data so neeessary lor the londiict of the poolroom trade was so he-alod that not more than five minutes was had. for ■ hetliiT Thi room keei»er» -truggleil for a time, nil finally had lo acknowledge defeat, as they could I not operate under the handicap. This condition prevailed until the close of the rae-baj season iu the east, hut since the sport shifted I . to the tracks in New Orleans. Los Angeles and Sun , tr.iiieisco where there are no restrictions on the . information, many of the poolrooms throughout the country have opened. If the other racing bodies i would join Ihe Jockey Cluh in its erusade against - the evil the poolrooms would soon he only a memory. iu a recent talk Covernor HughA said that he , was in receipt of many letters daily from persons ■ who told him of young men who had heen ruined Bttaagh the medium of the race track. It yroaM probably be a source of much surprise to the governor . if he knew that these letters emanated from , one -oiirce. practically, and that arrangements had I beea made lo see that he would get a certain nuni-bar each day. Coernor Hughes, of course, is not t aware of this. On one occasion last summer a report was sent t to him h.v an official of a county in which there was racing. There were no colors too dark in which P. paint the evils incident to racing, and among other Btateaaahfa vouchsafed was one to the effect t lhat those now conducting racing were the same 8 aecaaaa who had heen responsible for the outlaw meetings many years ago at Maspelh. when the • races were held at night ami the coin -.• was lighted by electricity. It was to stop MCh abuses as night I racing and to close the poolrooms that the present I Percy -Cray law was drawn, and one of the provisions - of that measure was that no races could ■ be held between sunset and sunrise. 1 1 was represented also that the racing associ.i tions had a direct connection with licttiiig and that I ihe live per cent, tax paid to the fair associations ■ came directly from the revenue derived from this - service. everybody who knows anything about the e apart as eeaaaeted under present condition- is aware • that there la no connect ion betweea belting and the ,is-. , iat ions and that no leveinie is derived therefrom. In fad. speculation is discouraged and is s decreasing yearly. The tax paid into the atakt " treasury i- derived exclusively from the gate re eeipt* and the privileges, such as programs, stall II rents and restaurants. Prior to IBBB there was a a loll for the telegraph privilege, hut it was urged I that this helped Hi" poolnioiii- and it was discontinued, i- and all BMeeagea from the tracks are now under strict censorship. The writer of the report aliove refeired to admitted I when his attention was called to palpable * misstatements that he had only been at a rat-track on a lew occasions, and thai most of his re-part was hearsay. Not very tangible evidence on " which to il.-troy ihe million- of dollars worth of " racing property in the Kmpire stale, to say path hag of the other millions in oilier localities invested in stallions and males, which would have little beyond a common horse value #J racing should be * done away with, but ii appears to l*» sufficient for ihe reformers, who would apparently kill first and then investigate. 1 1 i- safe 1 say that not five per cent, ot those who are actively engaged in the erusade agalaat the sport wen- ever on a race track, know nothing alxiut the turf and have never •r had tlie thrill which comes to tin.se who ttiiuk it no sin to cheer and throw up their hats when :1 a good lioi-e lead- his op|iouents houu*.
