view raw text
; i i [ ■ i i - I | ; I I I I j : . , I I : - i 1 - -i j 0,000 A DAY RACING TAX First Move in Counter-Offensive to Preserve Racing in Maryland. STATE HOrSB, ANNAPOLIS. Md., February 10. — The counter-offensive of the race tracks of Mary- land in their struggle against the reformers is now under way. It is understood here that the racing lines are forming for a desperate resistance against the efforts to put them out of business, The first move — at least the first overt move — in the counter-offensive was the introduction of a bill in the senate providing for the raising of the per diem fee paid by each of the four one-mile racks to 0,000, with the provision that a proportion of the money so paid shall be turned over to the state asso-j ciation of agriculture fairs. Senator Friek introduced the bill today. It amends the law creating the State Racing Cummis- sion. providing that instead of the ,000 paid the state each racing day there shall be paid 0,000 and of the gross amount received 00,000 is to be distributed among the various fair associations. It follows the lines indorsed by the Agriculture Fair Asosciations at a recent meeting in Washington, In the judgment of some of those who have examined the Frick bill it would deprive the commission of authority to have the accounts of the racing aaaociations audited. As construed here the bill would also repeal the clause in the Burke law providing that the four one-mile tracks pay to the state, in addition to the per diem fee, a tax of 15 per cent on their net profits. The racing interests have been cheered by the action of the Kentucgy legislature in snowing under the anti-racing bill proposed for that state. They are indulging in the hope that as Kentucky has gone, so will Maryland go. Their intelligence department, if they may be said to have one, ia reported to have been doing its best to assemble data; and that now, information having been sup- plied, the time for action is at hand. It appears that this action is taking its first form in the present action of the bill just men- tioned, which it is hoped can be supported as aa alternative to the anti-gambling bills, which are in both branches of the assembly, having been in- troduced in the house by delegate Hall and in the senate by Senator Byrn.
