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ANTI-RACING LAWS WORK POORLY. Eas-.crn Professional Man Points Out Where They Fall Short of Accomplishing Purpose. The Baltimore Sun prints the following letter from toe pen of Dr. a. y. ffcrceay, that city. "Da are need an anti racing law.- Before an-wer-ing tlic inquiry it vvuld be well to learn something .1 the practical result- of the anti racing laws else •There. During the preliminary agitation some in ■luted that neither racing nor breeding need !•■ affected, as both eoald go on without betting. Other* admitted the probable suspension of racing and injury to the breeding industry, but claimed that the losses, though large, would only fall on iili owners and wealthy bookmakers. ••Both argument- were proven atterty false, and these arho advanced them were ahaern to have been either very short aighted or utterly insincere, f r the laws quickly put a -top to racing ald many of tie great breeding establishment- have bean broken up: and. while il is quite true that owners and luokmakers bare ■affered, maay ethera have beea subjected to kwiaea which tiny irere utterly unable to aajetala. "Number- of trainera and stable hand- and many .•f the most e|M-rt bene abaci* have In in thrown out of employment. Manufacturers of high-grade blankets, saddler] ami varum- -table supplies hare Buffered I"— of trade. farmers have had a re duced demand for the beat grade* "f oat- and hay. Hotels and transportation companies have doae less business. ••Tin- atateaeent went tin round- of the preaa la-r sunnmr that becaaae of the cloning of the raee c. .in-. at Saratoga the town area .lend. The hotel* a 1. empty, the street* deserted ami baainesa men of :il! classe* were Confronted with bankruptcy ami ruin Naturally, the churches also suffered. "Recently Gen. Leonard Wood called the attention of Congress to tile fad that tin- wholesale i porta lion of thoroughbred- constituted a aerioaa menace to the military strength of the nation, and th.it while are are .hiving them free* our shores by boatile legislation, they are being heartily welcomed in ..lliei leading countries, whore broader and more ealightened ideas prevail, ami the governments are expending immense sum.- to encourage hacae breeding ••All military expert* agree a- to the great value of the thoroughbred horse in time of war. and they likewise agree thai the -uresl mean- of preserving peace is the maintenance of a strong military force. ••The above are aoaae of the results directly and unquestionably cbargeable to the anti racing law-. The aie not -iippo-nioiis. but bard, bruiai facta, •Vhal are the l«n.:i:-- •The list is neither long nor iuip -ing. ••Hi.- law- have certainly stepped betting on the raee tracka. f« where the track* are closed there U uo opiH rtuuity for betttug. "But have they stopped betting on the races? Ab-ohitely not. "They have stepped bookmaking oa the tracks. where it wns publicly conducted under the supervi sion of men of wealth and reepoaafblllty, and driven it inti» the liand- of unknown parties, who operate in secret under the supervision of no one: and as it i- universally conceded that vice rtouri-hes more under cover than in the open, it is a grave question if the anti racing laws have not actually caused an increase in betting. •"Are we not. tlen. paying a fearful price for a questionable hem-tit when we cause h--e- in many legitimate industries, when wc break up the homes Ol industrious people, -.altering w.ini and misery broadcast, adding recruits to the army of the unemployed and accessions to the rank- of the house-breaker*, footpad* ami murderers, ami where are knowingly weaken our countrys resources for de tense and lower its prestige among the nations of th ■ earth 1 • A few. whom we might justly designate as super ultra -extremists, have tacitly admit led the failure of the anti lacing law-, though they have not had th. candor to own it and ask the repeal of theec obviously harmful ima-ures: but. r. cognizing the increase of secret betting. *hey have suggested a- a remedy the enactment of laws making it unlawful for telegraph companies to transmit racing laforma-tion. Such a suggestion i- so nianife-i an absurdity as to deserve only pa — ing mention, for any scheme contemplating interfei. nee with the free dMaeanlaa Ilea of the news would not be tolerated for a moment by the American | eople. though they are. above all ra.es. the most tolerant of grotesque and ill framed legislation. •Why should our reformer* so often expend all their zeal on some minor phase of an evil and m-gleci its greater maalfaatathaaal • Betting on rates is gaiubbug. but it is a trifle compared with the plunging in the slock, grain and 1 i o Ision markets. "Do our refetaaaca know that Wall etreet is widely credited with having furnished the money which put through the anti racing bills.- The strong have ever prey, d on the weak, so it is small wonder if the big gamblers hfcaaae jealous of the liltie ones and helped to break up their game. "Can we learn more valuable lessons than those gotten by long experience • All questions concerning the regulation of racing were studied and settled many year* ago in England and elsewhere. The laws of England, generally, are just and reasonable. Bacing has beea i national institution for centuries. Bookmaking is openly carried oa under Wise ami rigid BUpervlsioa, aad it is neither regarded as i national disgrace nor a menace 1 0 the morals Of the kingdom. "We should not look at this subject in | spirit f narrowness and fanaticism, but from the high. opea vantage ground of statesmanship, and the m.ie it i- studied from that standpoint the clearer will grow the conviction that we can scarcely hope to do better than to closely follow the racing regula lions of Kngland. the land to which so many of a* trace our ancestry and to which we are indebted. not alone for our language, but for so much that is excellent la our laws, our custom-, our literature, and a great deal more which has tended to promote our welfare and advancement."
