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POINTS TO BE SETTLED BY COURTS. Jufiicial Definition of Bookmaking Deemed Probable 3 Solution of Racing Quandary. New York, November 24. Turfmen appear to be much ..ncouraged by the decision of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court In the Collins case, sind many of them are inclined to believe that racing wll be on" a fair footing next season. From the fact that it seems to be legal for two persons to make a bet on x horae race, turfmen say there should ; , I . 3 be no reason why an unlimited number of bets can not be made. Sifting it down, race track attorneys say the whole situation hinges on what is the legal meaning of the words "bookmaker" and "bet." One of these attorneys, in discussing the matter yesterday, said: "1 think it will develop after some court proceedings that if it is legal for two persons to make an oral wager and settle after a race in cash It is also legal to make some kind of private memorandum of the same. I cannot see how a man can be charged with misdemeanor for recording a bet that is not illegal in the eyes of the law. It is simply a common sense proposition, that is all. There Is no reason why a memorandum of an oral wager cannot lie made any more than it is a crime to jot down in your notebook the sale of a house or a piece of property. A man cannot be convicted of a crime unless he is guilty. "With that point in view and considering the decision of the Appellate Division that two persons can make oral wagers and settle in cash without committing a violation of the law nobody with any sense at all will believe that a man who makes a record of such a transaction is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by Imprisonment for not more than one year. "In the Bischoff decision which has been sustained by the Appellate Division It is clearly pointed out that, oral wagers are legal when not made by bookmakers or poolsellers. That raises the point which will settle the entire controversy one way or another. What is a bookmaker or poolseller? ".Magistrate Geismar. over iu Brooklyn rendered a decision not long ago which will probably be passed upon in time by the highest court iu the state. Kighteen so-called bookmakers were arraigned before him charged with violating the law because they had been accepting oral wagers at the race track. Magistrate Geismar finally discharged them all, at the same time declaring that a bookmaker was a man who stood in a fixed place, displayed odds on a slate or card, solicited business from all comers, accepted and recorded cash wagers. Not one of the eighteen bookmakers, so-called, had conducted business iu this manner. They did not stand iu fixed daces at the track and displayed no odds. Neither did they accept cash wagers nor recorded them. "If Magistrate Geisniars ruling is sustained, therefore, racing will be conducted absolutely without so-called bookmaking, but there will be betting among individuals and men who were formerly bookmakers will not be ineligible. They will be individuals like other people and will have equal privileges. "Just what a bet is in the opinion of the court must be learned before another racing season. If no money is posted in the hands of a stakeholder it is my opinion that no bet is made, for there is no way to collect the amount of the wager unless the loser consents to pay up. A stakeholder is in the same class with the bookmaker and poolseller, so that if a man accepts cash wagers promiscuously he may he charged with violating the law. "If it is decided that a man who accepts a wager cannot record it or have it recorded by a clerk, the courts may be asked to pass on the question as to whether or not a man who makes a cash bet can record his own wager on a slip of paper or a card and hand it with the money to a so-called former bookmaker. "The Hart-Agnew law as it stands prohibits liook-. makers, so-called, from doing business, but according to court decisions it does not prevent a man from making a bet. Then why shouldnt a bettor make his own record of the wager without violating the law? "You see there are a number of knotty questions which must be solved, but I believe that when things have been smoothed over youll find that race track patrons can hare plenty of leeway without getting into trouble. Just as soon as we find out what we can do at the race track without fear of arrest the oppression and persecution by county authorities and the police will cease. It was this oppression that kept people away from the tracks last summer and caused the various associations to lose thousands of dollars."
