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WESTERN GOVERNING BODY Judge Murphy Seeking to Unite All Western Interests. Outlook Bright for Revival of Racing In St. Louis, Tennessee, Texas and .Other Points. Joseph A. Murphy announced yesterday that he had already done some missionary work on the proposed western governing body. A number of managers of western tracks were in New Orleans this winter and all were enthusiastic over the proposed plan of welding all western interests under one head. Charles Trimble, manager of the Omaha meeting ; S. N. Holman, of Maple Heights : "W. H. Stratton, secretary of the State Fair of Texas ; R. Brinkley Snowden, of Memphis ; "W. T. Moore, resident manager of the proposed new track at St. Louis, and the officers of the State Fair of Oklahoma, are all pledged to the proposition. Dallas last year revived racing for seven days at the state fair. It met with such enthusiastic crowds that thirteen days of racing will be given this fall and a circuit is being arranged to include Oklahoma City, "Wichita Falls, Texas, Dallas and the State Fair of Louisiana, at Shreveport, Racing is already legalized in Louisiana, and the legislatures of Texas and Oklahoma will be asked to take state control over racing. "With this accomplished a syndicate of wealthy oil men are already planning a modern plant at Houston. San An-tcnio and El Paso are also in line for racing. The Tri-State Fair at Memphis gave some racing last year and will give a more pretentious meeting next fall. This is expected to bo the opening wedge for racing in Tennessee. At the proper time it is also expected that the two New Orleans tracks can be brought into the association. "I am carefully investigating the question of organization of a western body," said judge Murphy, "with the hope that we can divorce racing from politics. The old "Western Jockey Club was a voluntary organization of individuals who took arbitrary jurisdiction only over those who voluntarily placed themselves with that jurisdiction. I am looking into whether we can incorporate under the federal statutes an organization with headquarters in Chicago. I expect to have some voice in the bills that will be introduced in Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee the coming winter and I am going to try and limit the powers of commissions to merely the regulation of dates and power to see that the statutes are strictly enforced and see if we cannot incorporate in the bills that all the racing must be done under the reasonable rules and regulations of the federal corporation. This should keep us out of politics, a result to be devoutly hoped for." Judge Murphy will be busy with the affairs of the Chicago Business Mens Racing Association the coming week. He will go to Bowie for the opening of the Maryland season, then to Columbus, Maple Heights and Thorncliffe. He will give the entire month of June to the Chicago and St. Louis situations and take active charge of the Hawthorne meeting when it opens.
