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OPPOSITION SWEPT AWAY New Orleans Merchants Declare Themselves in Favor of Racing Ketract Petition Signed Under UnderFalse False Impression Government GovernmentWished Wished Suspension of Sport Xew Orleans La October 31 All opposition 1o X w Orleans racing was entirely swept away today when fiftisn of the twenty merchants who had signal Charles W inl ergers petition asking for h suspension of nicing here came out with a petition of retraction signing a statement that Ihey bad endorsed tiic Weiulterger petition under a false impression impressionWeinberger Weinberger who is tlie manager of the Fruit Dispatch Co branch o the United Fruit Co also is tin head of the local American Protective I aKiur and when be started the movement against racing he used bis position as tlie head of the American Protective League to obtain signatures to a petition Merchants who signed declare Wein Iwrairs reiiresentat ivts told them the govern ¬ ment had asked the local racing associations to KUS j nd raring but that they bad refused Thesr representatives further said a refusal to sfeu for Mn suspension would lx looked IIIKMI as disloyalty disloyaltyTy Ty Tyiity iity Iftnliiig merchants signed a petition fn i ik ovprnor Pleasant to stop racing for the dura lion of the war Through the signatures of these twenty merchants many others fell in line Then I Time news from Washington that tlie remount 1 division General H K Wood and other high mili ¬ tary officials had urgently requested the con ¬ tinuance of racing Mayor Behrman of Xew Orleans llieii took a stand in favor of the sport and said 1 lean racing properly conducted would have all tho MiiijMirt be could give it itGovernment Government officials then insisted that Wein ¬ berger stop immediately using the name of tile American Protective League in his campaign against racing and Wcinlnrger was compelled to come out with the announcement that be was going to carry on his fight as an individual and in no way would omiect tlie government with it He appealed to Governor Pleasant to stoy racing but the Louisiana 1 state executive flatly told Weinberger he would 1 take no action and that if the United States gov rnment desired to stop racing it had it in its jMnvcr to do so soThe The iiiisbot of it all was the great majority nl the merchants who had signed realizing they bad been misled into the l elief the government bad asked them issued a public statement today 1 withdrawing their names and declaring themselves heartily in favor of clean racing as long as tin government does not desire it stopped stoppedThe The directors of the Business Mens Racing As ¬ sociation thanked the merchants and gave them assurance that the racing interests were heart and 1 soul with their country in the winning of the war and that they would immediately comply with any request tile government might make regarding the suspension or curtailment of racing
