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COMMENT ON NEW YORK SITUATION. •Reading carefully the bill just signed by Gov ernor Hughes prohibiting the making of book, with or without writing, you will find nothing that pre vents individual betling," said a lawyer familial with race track cases recently. "The term uiak ing trnok is out of date and does not cover the present form of speculation on the race courses. It is a fact that few of the legislators and Ilormei-know the exact meaning of the terms •bookinaking ami •|toolselling. whiili were used prior to the enactment of the I.rcy Graf measure. •Bookmakiug in Hie opinion of eminent legal authorities iu this state is a combination of things. To convict a person of •hookiuakiug it must lie shown that he quotes .Kids, accepts cash bets, records the conditions of these wafers and gives to the bettors tickets by which winning bets can be collected. By doing all of these things iu connection with a single transaction a man violates the law against iMiokmaking as defined bv the highest courts. "Last November the Cimrt of Appeals decided thai oral lulling at stated odds without a Written 01 priiiled niciiioranduiu was not ■bookinaking a prohibited bv the . oust i I ill ion of the state and the peaal code That is the form of betting that prevails on the tracks today, and it cannol he railed •bookinaking. hi view of these fails one nnturalh asks the in. aning of the term "makes book without willing." How can such a thing be doiieV Is a man I bookmaki i who bets 2 to 1 with a friend or sey ••ral friends that a certain horse will not win a cor lain race.- Where is the evidenc-V I think youll linil that persons apprehended under the new law ■ ■aunot In- convicted without written records of trans •CtlOM as e idi me. ■Kxeii the making of such a bet cannot be established unless there is proof that money was Boated by both parties to it and that the whole amount was paid t i. or tin- other after the lace. hi the opinion of eminent lawyers with whom I have talked il is going to be extremely difficult to Mean cmclii sui i ideiice and to enforce this law. which Bat been termed ambiguous by tile racing Interests. Il it is not a, crime to make a bet. and there is no law on the statute books thai prevents betting, how can a man who makes a wager al stated odds with out the passing of cash beforehand or a written record of the transaction be convicted of a misde uieaiior ! "It is my contention that when the giving of a ticket to a bettor in return for a cash wager was eliminated by law bookinaking was wiped out. So was "poolsi Ming." From a strictly legal point ol view there is m such thing as a "jioolroom : the term is applied to places outside of race tracks when bets are made. Retting room is the name for such a place. As the matter stands How. c lit ions have not b.-en changed by legislation except to make the law mole ambiguous relating to "bookinaking." If a t sl case is breath! after September 1 I feel sun- that the courts will decide that a person who makes a bet at odds with a friend is not a liook-uiakcr unless he uses paraphernalia iu the shape of sheets, tickets and a slate by which he can display odds to solicit business from all coiners. If this ami race track bill had been properly drawn by the advice of practical bettors more effective results would have been obtained. As it is the term "bookinaking. with or without writing. is meaningless, and 1 think it will be so demons l rated iu time. The point not to be overlooked at any tiuie is that it is not against the law to make a bet. On that alone depends the future of racing in the State of New-York, and as soon as the courts have passed upon the matter the atmosphere will clear." Regarding the probability of conducting race meet ings after September 1. it inav be said that the Jockey Club will leave the matter entirely to the judgment of counsel. There is no law against rac ing and it is just possible that some of the tracks will try to run with all forms of betting prohibited for tlie time being. It Is a sure thing that the new-laws will 1m- carried to the courts, however, whether the tracks open or not after the above date. — New-York Sun.
