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FAVORABLE RACING LEGISLATION Judge Murphy Tells Sportsmen at Derby Dinner That It ItWould Would Solve Revival of Racing In Illinois Other OtherWay Way in Case Measure Meets Defeat Harmony was the keynote sounded at the Derby Dinner of the New Washington Park Breeders Association at the Hotel LaSalle Monday evening Judge Joseph A Murphy told the 400 persons seated at the festive board that while it was possible to race in Illinois regardless of any action in the legislature the enactment of a favorable racing racingsure sure would clarify the situation and reestablish the sport on a permanent founda ¬ tion Such legislation was desirable and the New Washington Park Breeders Association was willing to work in harmony with the group of prominent Chicagoans who are now preparing a racing measure shortly to be presented to our state lawmakers for their consideration considerationThe The banquet was a get together meeting for persons not only interested in racing and breeding but also other lines of sport A band and lady soloist furnished entertain ¬ ment for the guests while they partook of the hospitality of a group of men banded together for the laudable purpose of restor ¬ ing the great sport of racing in Chicago on a high and permanent plane planeMessages Messages and letters were read from prominent breeders owners and others inter ¬ ested in the thoroughbred and racing from all parts of this country from Havana Cuba and Tijuana Mexico They contained pledges of support to any movement to restore racing here Many men prominent in the business life of Chicago also were pres ¬ ent entJudge Judge Murphy was the principal speaker of the evening and his address is here pre ¬ sented Gentlemen of the City of Chicago ChicagoWhen When I return to New Orleans tomorrow to resume my duties in the stand there I will have traveled approximately two thou ¬ sand miles to be present tonight at the com ¬ munion board of congenial souls soulsI I have come here with no selfish motive I am not a promoter nor by any stress will 1 be forced into such a position I am a graduate of the St Louis University By twentyfive years as newspaper man and racing official I have made an exhaustive study of the legal breeding and sporting side of thoroughbred horse racing and if that fundamental education and that acquired knowledge can be of benefit to the citizens of Chicago in reviving and perpetuating the wonderful sport of thoroughbred racing that is at your disposal disposalI I might say that we can approach the sub ¬ ject of the revival of racing in the City of Chicago from two viewpoints The leading questions to be discussed tonight are whether we can race and whether we shall race I believe that I can answer both questions in ¬ telligently I am reliably informed that a coterie of the most prominent citizens in the City of Chicago are at present engaged in drafting a bill for presentation to your legis ¬ lature at Springfield legalizing some system of betting under which racing can be carried on My personal judgment is this That un ¬ der no condition should anything be done tonight in the way of progress or in the way of arrangement that would interfere with the work of these gentlemen Racing is indeed fortunate if men of the class who are lending their names to this movement can be induced to go on and lend their aid and lend their influence toward the passage of such a bill I think that we as the originators of the plan to have racing in Chicago can well mark time and wait until these gentlemen have finished their labors laborsIt It goes without saying that if such a bill can be passed at Springfield the question of financing and the question of perpetuating racing has been answered If however they fail in the passage of a bill or if it is thought inadvisable to attempt to force such a bill through the legislature I say to you gentlemen of Chicago that you still can race successfully under the present statutes statutesIn In the legislature of 1SS7 an act was passed which was intended to legalize a system of betting on horse races on regularly organ ¬ ized race tracks By some unfortunate mis ¬ take the gentlemen who drew that bill failed to repeal conflicting statutes statutesThose Those of you who can look back over the past of racing in Chicago will remember the bitter feud which came out of the gam ¬ blers war and the fight they had when Kd Corrigan made an attempt to stop the pool ¬ rooms in Chicago and the consequent clos ¬ ing of Garfield Park and the killing of Jim Frown there Racing was never stopped in the City of Chicago by any legislative act It was stopped by decision of your Supreme Court known as the Swigart case The Swi gart case was brought without any effort to create any moral condition but was an in ¬ vidious attack to drive Kd Corrigan out of racing I was a member of the Tribune staff at that time and afterward the first secretary of the Harlem race track It would be absurd for a layman like myself to attempt to criticize the Supreme Court in the Swigart decision The Supreme Court of Continued ou twelfth page the United States in the Swigart decision placed the American Derby with its riot of color and patronised by wealthy men and the negro up an alley shaking sevens and elevens with a pair of dice in the same cate ¬ gory Every racing man knows that horse racing is a contest of skill speed and en ¬ durance and not one against chance chanceIn In the event the bill dees not pass however we can still have racing in Chicago without an evasion of present statutes We will find a way of racing successfully in Chicago ChicagoSince Since the revival of racing last fall we took the bold stand that a mere written offer to place a commission if accepted orally is not a violation of your present statutes 1 am satisfied that if we ever reach the Ap ¬ pellate division under such a decision it will sustain our construction of this statute I even believe that if a person would hand money to a person with a written request asking him to place that commission it would be within the law 1 can find nothing in the statutes to prohibit If the Louisville Derby was run tomorrow and we were seated at a table with the proper authorities of this city and county present and some friend of mine came to me and presented a card bearing the name of a horse with the request that 1 place a commission that would I believe be within the statutes of the slate Of course as I told some people today this is not the best system It puts me in mind of the boy who went to school with a dirty face The teacher sent him home telling him to have his face cleaned before lie returned He came back with his face clean up to his nose and very dirty above She asked Johnny why he had not cleaned his whole face Hs answer was My shirt tail wouldnt reach any farther fartherWith With the revival of racing in New Orleans the Business Mens Racing Association had to force ils way three times to the Supreme Court of the stato When racing wus revived in Xew York August Belmont and other prominent men members of the Xew York Jockey Club went three times to the Court of Appeals and it was established that a mere written offer if accepted orally was not a bet within the meaning of the statutes I believe the court of last resort would hold the same opinion here hereWe We came together tonight to evolve some method of financing to carry on the views of those who have been active in tha re cstablishment of racing here I am author ¬ ized to say by a syndicate of wealthy men in this city that if the present bill being drawn at Springfield fails of passage they will underwrite this tentative organization here tonight for a million dollars or over if j necessary to erect a plant in this city com ¬ mensurate with its dignity dignityI I cant add anything further than that I would like to say something on the patriotic side of thoroughbred racing For some years past experts have held that it is essentially the proper type of cavalry horse Prior to the war the French government distributed among the farmers of the country 3500 slal lions with a lien on the produce of these horses The French cavalry at the incep ¬ tion of the war were for this reason the best mounted in the world They were vital in deciding the first battle of the Marne and thus saved Paris Should Paris have fallen the entire civilized world would have been threatened They also played a strong part at Calais and Chateau Thierry The Ger ¬ mans recognized the value of the horse in warfare when they established government breeding farms for when the Russians en ¬ tered Galicia they seized 150000 brood mares and took them back with them Despite the war horse racing was continued in France FranceOne One deduction from this is that the horse still remains a potent factor in modern war ¬ fare Europe is sitting on a bombshell Japan is friendly but Russia was entered and in ¬ vaded before a declaration of war I might add too that fifteen years ago anyone who had predicted that we would be at war witli Germany would have been scoffed at But such a war has been fought and won and thousands of our boys lie in Flanders fields I pray God that there will be no more wars But in case of war you would want your son mounted on a real horse unafraid to march on to glory or death Such is the horse gentlemen that we will reintroduce to the people of Chicago ChicagoIn In addition to Judge Murphy other speakers included Judge A M Eberhardt of the Mu ¬ nicipal Court Harvey T AVoodruff former secretary of the old Western Jockey Club and now connected with the Chicago Tribune and William 1C Dee president of the local Horse Shov Association AssociationDuring During the afternoon a business session of the various committees of the Washington Park Breeders Association was held when i it was determined that the new plant will be ready for its first meeting as early aa August providing work is started by March 15
