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PROGRESS ON THE GITTINS BILL. Codes Committee at Albany Gives Public Hearing and Then Allows Time for Briefs. Albanv. X. Y.. May 29. — Following a public hearing on the bills Of Senator lit tins of the Niagara-Orleaaa district to eliminate the liability of officers :.ii.l direct..:- ..f racing associations for gambling carried on without their knowledge and to define I kniaking as the laying of odds to all comers and to the public. Hie Codes Committee of the Senate has given the proponents and opponent! of the proposed legislation time to siibhiit briefs before pto-ii. ding to ad upon the measures. At the hearing which was held on Tuesday last R, T. Wilson, president of the Saratoga Racing Association lor the Improvement of the Breed ol Horses, told the committee that the statements of clergymen and others that boys and girls visit race tracks and thereby get the gambling instinct made him smile. "For years we have been told aliout the corrupting intltiences neaped upon the rising generation." said Mr. Wilson, "while as a matter of fact, which almost everybody knows. Imi.vs and girls never get nejrr the race tracks. The talk, tea, that horse i achat is responsible for innumerable defalcations of bank cashiers, rshheiies and suicides and Harden is all bosh. Theres nothing to it. In most cases it costs the race track patron at least to see a horse nice and it requires him to take a half holiday t.. enjoy the privilege. The BOOT boy doesnt go to the race track as much as these opponents of the sport would have you think." "We do not come here for the repeal of any of the antirace track gambling laws." insisted Mr. Wilson. "We would not ask you to repeal them. We are satisfied 1o eliminate the bookmaker, but we object to being made responsible for any and every clinic that might be committed on a race track Whether we know it or not. How aliout the hotels, the railroad trains, the dub or your own private haaaal Dont you know that you cant even play bridge whist at your club or play pinochle for money in your h e without being liable to arrest and imprisonment under this law V Suppose your servants play a little poker whrio yon are not at In. me. You are responsible, and the New York Central officials are liable to be locked up if any of us happen to play a game of cards for money on one ol their cars from New York to Albany. "Betting is going to live as long as the world goes on Oct rid of tiie lM.okmaker. You have already rlvea him his deathblow, bat you have roae beyond •ill sense of reason in this law making every official of i racing association responsible for any gambling which in-iv" go on wh.-ther lie knows it or not." Others "who spoke in support of the Gitttaa bills were Andrew Miller, secretary and treasurer of the Saratoga Association: Baward A. Tipton of ihe Breeders and Thoroughbred Dealers Association of .v York- F. N. Haiti and Fred A. Reed of the New York State Hotel Keepers Aaeociatloa; Charles K Lcxow of the Livery Stable Keepers and Motor Owner- Association and John Sanford ..I Amsterdam. C.inon W S. niaso of Brooklyn, tin- Rev. George W Peck of Buffalo, the Rev. 0. H. Miller and lien:-, Broiaski. who stbs himself a "reformed bookmaker,** appeared in uppositliT to the hills. Canon * Chase admitted that private betting would never i . a-.-, but like the other opponents of the bills he professed to believe they meant tin- first attack on the antirace track betting laws. Canon Chase said that he hoped the members of the Legislature would not touch the race track hills. "But you would not send a man to fafl for a crime committed on his premises if he knew absolutely nothing about it. would you?" asked Senator ; it tins. "No. not knowingly." replied Canon Chase. "Now. thats just the point, " insistid Senator Cittins. that is it exactly — not knowingly — that is what we are gelling al." Canon Cnasa conceded that this was fair, hut he said the lawyers were shrewd enough to get technical language into a bill, and that both the iittins measures were drawn with that intent. Senator Cittins said Canon Chase and his aaaoclatca had no keener desire to abolisfi race tiaek belting than he himself and that he would not tolerate any insinuation that there were "joker" clauses in the measures. Broiaski said there were a hundred poolrooms in full blast in New York Cily. The racing official* retorted that if all the poolrooms in the state were in operation it would be a poor argument against prohibiting horse raeiag entirely, because most of the poolrooms get their information from races outside the state, while successful efforts had been made in many instances in this state to shut out information to the poolrooms. Canon Chase thought the argument about hurtiiig the breeding of good horses was a poor one. lie be lieved it was just as cruel to put a Hi ice year old horse out to race as it would be to send a three or fear year old child to work. Tliis made the sup porters of the bills laugh, and Canon Chase then said maybe it was true that he did not know much about breeding horses. Al the outset of the heating Senator Black, who is a member of the committee, objected to giving the Rev. Dr. Miller, who runs the reform bureau at Albanv. the right to address the Codes Committee. Senator Black said that as Dr. Miller had cast aspersions upon the Legislature in connection with an alleged baseball boodle fund, he ibould not be permitted to address any of its committees. Senator Btillwell, I hall atari of the committee, overruled Senator Blacks objection and said tiiat all comers would be heard.
