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OPPOSITION FOR FADDISTS IN ENGLAND The political situation in England has taken on a sporting turn for the Amalgamated Sports Com ¬ mittee and the National Sporting League are can ¬ vassing the candidates for Parliament as to their views on racing and betting These organizations have been formed for the special purpose of fighting the faddists who aim to abolish racing and if they discover anyone with antiracing tendencies they will work against him The sporting bodies are going about their work in a systematic way and have issued two questions as follows 1 Would you oppose any interference with the present freedom of the press in respect to racing matters 2 Are you opposed to further restrictions of the liberties of the people and would you vote against any legislation thut had for its object the prohibition of betting by telegraph telephone or letter To make the matter clear may we quote an imaginary case A business man at Liverpool takes an interest in the Derby and desires to speculate a sovereign of Ids own honestlyacquired mouey on his judgment of the horses running He does not wish to leave his business and travel to Epsom but desires to tele ¬ graph his bet to his turf commission agent Would you vote against any legislation that had for its object the prohibition of such a transaction transactionIt It makes no difference whether the candidate is Unionist Liberal Labor or Socialist he is asked to answer the questions The project is getting all sorts of backing from the press and as one big newspaper put it We cannot urge upon sportsmen too strongly the necessity of using their every en ¬ deavor to work unceasingly to vote against these faddists who would squeeze out of our national life all enjoyment to which they themselves are not in ¬ clined Today we want statesmen not politicians merely We want broadiuindcd men not narrow minded bigots bigotsAlthough Although the movement has only just been started a number of replies have already been received and published One of the earliest and most prominent was from Sir Charles Cayzer who said he was not only in favor of everything asked but stood pre ¬ pared to support legislation making it possible to recover sporting debts by law He is a Unionist of Monmountli borough The first answer came from Mr II Belloe a Liberal of South Salford who said My atitude upon all matters concerning betting racing buying and selling speculative stocks and shares gambling with cards for mouey or with dice Is very simple and I have often expressed it I do not think it is the business of the state to interfere with it in any degree and I can see no reason why hazards of this sort should not be indulged In bv those who take their amusement in this way if they so feel inclined Further I am particularly of the opinion that the law should be eijjial which at present it is not for all classes of society iu this respect anil for all forms of hazards
