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LEGAL TANGLE OVEH NEW YORK BETTING Licensed Race Tracks Cannot Be Closed Poolrooms Increasing and Win Cases One of the leading lawyers for the Jockey Club In commenting on the publication of Governor GovernorHughes Hughes possible Intention to Taid or clpse the race tracks said saidThe The fact is apparently lost sight of that under Justice Blschofls decision oral betting and settle ¬ ments after each race are legal The police can ¬ not therefore prevent such speculation while under the injunction recently secured by the race tracks they cannot Interfere with groups of men The police however have the right to arrest all per ¬ sons who record Tacts and they have been particu ¬ larly vigilant to this end It Is one thing to arregt a man on the charge that he has recorded a bet and another thing to produce conclusive evi ¬ dence As far as closing the tracks is concerned It should not be forgotten that the tracks are all licenced by the State Racing Commission and there ¬ fore have a legal right to operate There is no law against horse racing in this state stateMagistrate Magistrate Wahle on Saturday discharged a lot of ihen captured in a raid on an alleged poolroom In Eighth street In commenting on the case the Judge said saidAlthough Although the HartAgnew laws have been printed in every newspaper In this city and have been the subject of discussion for weeks there are many po ¬ licemen and police captains as well who have not the Intelligence to grasp the fact that keeping a poolroom is no longer a felony but a misdemeanor misdemeanorNo No policeman has a right to break into a place he suspects of being a poolroom unless he has ob ¬ tained a warrant The new law safeguards a pool ¬ room from entry by the police in the manner of days when the maintenance of a poolroom was a felony felonyTne Tne police have no more right to break into a poolroom than they have to smash their way Into my own home There are few of them that realize this however and I suppose I shall have these cases coming before me for months to come It takes a policeman a long time to get a new thought into his head headWhen When the HartAgnew laws were being considered It was fully and clearly set forth that their Intent was solely to make poolroom keepers as nearly as ixsslble Immune from the laws and to protect them Jig much as possible by reducing the degree of the offense and by denying to the police the right of forcible entry without a warrant warrantHereafter Hereafter it will be noted that there will be very few poolroom raids in this city and that although they multiply day by day as was pre ¬ dicted when the HartAgnew bills were passed there will be no Increased activity on the part of the police Hughes has been effective In so arrang ¬ ing matters as to make it possible for the poolroom men to gather in again the dinnerpail brigade of bettors bettorsFor For a long time poolrooms of New York have been doing almost wholly a credit business with men who con d pay by check and whose promises were good for their losses The open poolroom with the prices on the wall and the man behind the wicket taking fiftycent bets Is with us again and by the HartAgnew laws so fully protected against distur ¬ bance that they are likely to remain remainThe The arrest of Charles Mahoney of the Hoffman House last Friday for accepting a wager on Enlield mny result In a test case it is said Mahoney when arrested was found to have a record of the wager In his pocket He said that the record was made by the man who made the bet and that he received the wager simply to forward It to another man who intended to place the same at the track It was said that the Jockey Clubs lawyers would look Into the case and might decide to test the new law as the matter covers several Important points at issue issueThe The new betting law is going to make some trouble on election bets If It Is a misdemeanor to make a record of bets the wagerers are a trifle up against it It seems to be generally admitted that the re ¬ cording of a wager will be a violation of the law The new law specifically prohibits betting on elec ¬ tions tionsAs As the contest will not be decided for months yet it is necessary that some record be made of any money put up The Broadway contingent thinks it has difficultyNo found a way out Of this difficulty No record will be made of bets or kept of them Instead if any bets of any size are arranged the terms of the wager will be published in the news ¬ papers It is not believed the antisporting element could successfullv prosecute a newspaper for simply printing a statement of fact That statement of tact however will be the terms of the wager and will be all the books that will be kept between the parties concerned
