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Here and There on the Turf Setback for Chicago Racing Lack of Unity of Action New York View of the Matter Judge Joseph A Murphys statement from New Orleans Friday was not willingly made but was forced from him by the obnoxious tactics of certain elements who are doing their best to prevent the restoration of high class racing to Chicago There was an object lesson furnished here nearly twenty years ago Washington Park was the bulwark of the sport here As long as it continued in being other tracks operated with less elevated motives could go on and did go on When Washington Park decided it could no longer conduct racing and maintain its self respect it quietly with ¬ drew Without the protection its high fame gave them the other tracks were quickly wiped out of existence and since 1904 Chicago has been deprived of an immensely popular sport sportUntil Until right now a grandly appointed track backed built and supported by an association of men akin in standing to those leaders of Chicago life who founded Washington Park seemed almost certain of accomplishment Judge Murphys statement dispels this pleasing seeming Of course present obstacles may be removed after he comes here to survey the situation If there is a scintilla of common sense in the makeup of the people who are making trouble they wilL wilLIn In the meantime as an example of how the local situation appears abroad the follow ¬ ing editorial from the New York edition of Daily Racing Form is here presented presentedJoseph Joseph A Murphy has seen the handwriting on the wall and has withdrawn from the par ¬ ticularly active part he had in the restora ¬ tion of racing to Chicago He gives as his reason that he does not want to be one of the many in a wild scramble to promote racing and Mr Murphy has done wisely wiselyUnless Unless there is a halt called in the promo ¬ tion schemes that arc on foot there win be other desertions of the reputable sporting men and the field will be left open to those who are not sportsmen and have at no tune been identified with the turf to its advantage advantageChicago Chicago has shown that it will support rac ¬ ing and racing of the best but Chicago cannot any more than any other city support racing that is proposed merely for its business possi ¬ bilities bilitiesSuch Such racing cannot endure anywhere and it is a calamity at this tune when the future for a revival appeared so bright that it should be wrecked before it is even launched launchedSince Since it has been shown that Chicago wants racing and that Chicago will handsomely sup ¬ port racing there have sprung up men who have never been known to the sport who are busily engaged in this or that project to be in on the revival Such men have no place in the turf world and only bring reproach to the greatest of all sports sportsIt It seemed for a lime that Chicago was destined to bring back racing in all of its old time glory but that hope is rapidly fading away in the wild scramble that has ensued There are sportsmen enough of the right char ¬ acter to make this restoration possible but the only successful method will be for them to come together in a common purpose and drive out the speculators who are not sincere Un less this is done Chicago is further away from the right sort of racing that it was before the experimental meeting was conducted at Haw ¬ thorne thorneAt At no time in the long and glorious history of the turf in this or any other country has it endured when conducted merely for gain It must be a sport and it must be conducted by cleanliving sportsmen of means who are willing to devote their time and their money in its promotion promotionIt It is well that racing should pay its way but the only manner in which it can pay is to see to it that it is a sport at all tunes It spells disaster when men of scant reputation and little or no knowledge of the sport itself are attracted entirely by the promise of revenue revenueIt It has been possible for racing in New York to weather many a storm merely because of the fact that it has always been dominated by sportsmen who could well afford to give it their support For a considerable time the racing in New York was conducted at a loss of immense proportions These sportsmen held the sport worth the price and they paid At no tune have they looked upon their racing investments as a business It was a cause for satisfaction when these investments paid dividends but losses did not mean a desertion from the turf They would take their losses with their gains but always remained loyal to the turf Take the sportsmen away from Kentucky and how long would the racing endure even there in the recognized home of the thoroughbred thoroughbredHow How long would racing continue in Mary ¬ land without the support of the sterling sports ¬ men who made it possible and who make it continue continueCanada Canada owes its racing to sportsmen alone and it like other sections has from time to tune made heavy demands on the men who have brought it to its present high plane planeIt It is not too late to save Chicago but the saving must be done if there should be racing worthy of the American turf There must be a community of interest of the real sports ¬ men and the speculators must be driven out Unless they are driven out the sportsmen them ¬ selves will be driven out and that will mean that racing even should it be brought back cannot endure
