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GOVERNOR MX TAKES HAM NEW YORK EXECUTIVE MAKES SUGGESTION TO ENCOURAGE HORSE BREEDING. Requests Opinion from State Commissioner of Agriculture as. to Best Method to Be Followed and Racing Men Feel Encouraged. Albany. N. v.. February IT. —The racial interests ■we re cheered yesterday by ■ tetter which Governor Dix Meat i" State Commissioner of Agriculture Chirm .1. Husott suggesting a state appropriation to on-courag*. horse in-ceding In this state. Tin- raciag lni-ii bare all along contended that tho abolltioa of the race tracks has discowraged the breeding of high-grade horses. ■| would I"- glad." writes the Goreraor in his commissioner, "to bare yoer »i i 1 1 i« 1 1 as to the best method of sttatalatinc the Interest ami co-operation of the breeders of this state toward the improvo-iii nt "I this braacb ot animal husbandry." The branch icfeircd to by the Goreraor is suite ale mounts for the army, aatloaal guard ami police departments of the eitJei sad of the state. Racing iimi contend thai the abolition of the spurt in New York bad ■ bad effect n t only on thoroughbreds but also on blooded horses fot oiler purposes. in h» of Goreraor l i • expreeaed desire to re habilitate the breeds of borara la New York, race tracft men reel thai be h disposed to ! K,k farorably i!j"Hi any attempt to change the radix laws so that belter bereea will be produced. The editorial advocating the repeal of the ilrec-toes Hahilty law recent lv pabllshed in the Albany Evening Journal, arbicb influential newspaper is the property of William Haines. Jr.. chairman of the Republican State Committee, bristles with heir aad common sense-. It appeared under the caption "Be Seasonable." sad its text is as follows: •Cub-- burse racing is made again possible In tiiis country, sad particularly in this state through lepeal ol an un.iusi. stupid provision of law which makes an. man associated with the management of ■., raciag track liable to prosecution ami penalty for :. violation of the aati-bettiag law which may have occurred aasoug thousaads of freqaeatera of a track. Withoat his ailpwlldg the complete disapi«arame of the thoroughbred from the Halted States will t c-eoaae a fad la a very short time. _ -in a recent report to the Congress, Major General |P. Wood, calling attention to the luck of suitable biases for the, army, said: As a result of recent state legislation affecting racing, there has been and still continues to be a very extensive sliipnient out of tin untrv of the lH-st thoroughbred blood. and, tin- .1. pietlou of the thoroBghbred breeding rstab-j -h iiici . t • of thi- country is now assuming the magnitude of a aatloaal calamity. •He quote- from statistics that registration of theroii-hbred foals has decreased from 4.."W 0. a small igb number, in 1901, to 2.400 in t»ll. ami add-: •li i- iet oal bow a question of number, but of qaal-Ity as will, ami in lxvth respects there have been serious decrease ami deterioratioa in this country. Both ince-scs. dei rease and deteriorat ion. will lie farther i.cca tetatcd if legislative inaction destroys the hist hope thai the sport of raciag, maintained and en joyed in all countries but this, may be revived ••And then the I niicd states will be disgraceful Ty Known throughout the world as the one country in which oiil draught horses are wanted. And not only ate tic thoroughbreds illsanpearlag. but also the raciag tracks are be big put to other uses from Which tiny cannot be reclaimed for their original paraoae. One after aaother they are being cut up into building lots And available sites for others are tew. Moreover, the cost of establishing* a race track With the necessary structures js treat, and will let b n a.lih undertaken if the apart is permitted to remain dormant much leaser. "Whatever that there wea of evil in the bettmt: that was don.- on the race tracks was effectively checked by the aatt-hookaaaking bill la dts origtaal firm. lint there were fanatics who observed, or surmised, that men who went to the race- -—till did a little quiet betting; SO they decided to have the sport killed in order that the betting must cease. So they prepared an absurd amendment to the anti-he t flag law which Brakes the men who have to do 1 with the management of a rue track criminally liable if among the crowd at the track Smith bet-Jones live dollar-, or ten. or any more trivial sum that a eertin horse will win a race or Intsh placed. "Naturally, with such a foolish law in force, no man will take responsibility in conjunct loa with !.!• track manage Hunt: therefore, there can be aa manageaieut. and consequently no raciag. only the repeal of the unjust law that make- nun alienable to law for something that others, wheal they can neither control nor keep under supervision, mav do 1 -urnpiitiou-iy. will be necessary to make the revival of racing possible. The inti-bookmakmg law will always be adequate to hold in cheek the evil that Would mow nut of betting if there were BO restraint. and which did grow out of it when there was none. •The Legislature should take the altogether rea- : enable view of this matter and act accordingly."
