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, " j New Jersey Racing Commission Hears Petitions for New Track a q r 1 s 1 r c 1 ; , c 1 g t t t I 1 j j I ; , , ; , ; l Applications Filed by Two t" Groups With Proposed Sites Close to States Turnpike By FRED GALIANI JERSEY CITY, N. J., Aug. 28. The New Jersey State Racing Commission took the question of allowing petitions for a fourth race track in the state under advisement today, and adjourned after a four-hour session in the local court house. The commission will have until October 1 to announce its decision on the two applications on which todays hearings were based. The petitions for a license to operate the last remaining track authorized under New Jersey law were filed by the Metropolitan Racing Association headed by James J. Colt, of Deal, and the Hudson Racing Association, of which John Milton is president. It was made known today when the commission adjourned that in the event that group acts favorably on either application, the issue will be decided in a, referendum to be voted on by both the. residents of the City of Secaucus, where one of the tracks is .proposed to be built, and the residents of Hudson county. The afetrnoon session opened with the Metropolitan Racing Association presenting its arguments. Meyer Ruback, attorney for that organization, stated again that the question at this hearing was not whether There should be a fourth track in the state, as this had already been previously de- T cided by the voters, but where this track should be located and who was to be granted the license to operate it. 1 Filed Previously in 1950 The Metropolitan Association had filed J previously for the license in 1950, and a great amount of testimony submitted at hearings three years ago was carried over ! to the current record. However, the asso- 1 ciation added new data this aftrenoon, and 1 reiterated its financial position. The group declared that it is able to raise two to three million dollars in cash within 24 hours, and up to 10 million, if necessary; and where it was prepared to spend six : million dollars on a new track in 1950, it 1 is now ready for an expenditure of 10 : million dollars. The Metropolitan group was known as the Parkview Racing Association in 1950, and officers and directors of both outfits are the same, with the exception that the Metropolitan group has added Horace ; Wade, Willaim H. Cane and Ralph Cornell. , The main subject of the afternoons i hearing was traffic problems arising from . the construction of a new track. Colt submitted for the record letters from various ; bus companies and railroads, traffic surveys, and other pertinent data showing : that the increased traffic could be handled L in the Secausus area. He documented his statements with maps and photos. In connection with the traffic problem, . several reports from various bodies ordered I by the commission to study the situation l were filed today, all of which said existing roads "could not handle the increased traf- fic. Those reporting were Col. Russell I Snook, superintendent of the New Jersey t State Police; Herbert Klar, chief of the - traffic engineering section of the state bu-s reau of traffic; Howard Rigby, traffic en-l - gineer of the highway department; Charles Noble, chief engineer of the New Jersey turnpike department, and Edward Wetzel, assistant chief of the planning division of the Port of New York Authority. , Would Create Traffic Problem 1 All declared that a new track would cre-5 ate an acute traffic problem. Each, how- " ever, stated that its report was only for its 7 own department. 1 Other testimony heard during the after- - noon came from groups generally opposed 2 to the construction of a new track in Hud-r - son County. They were, Rev. Lawrence e 5 Richards, speaking for the Jersey City Council of Churches, the Hudson County Y Methodist Parishes and two other organiza-i - tions; Warren Tweedy, chairman of the so-1 - cial, education and action group of the e Presbyterian synod of New Jersey; Rev. S. Jeans, of the Lords Day Alliance; Henry y Stan, of the Greater Paterson Chamber of ,f Commerce; Rev. David Newsom, president - of the Bloomfield Ministerial Association; ; k Robert Hinkel, of the Secausus Home News; l g Charles Kara, president of the Greater r t Paterson Council of Churches, and Law-ti - rence Tesin, Jersey City merchant. 1 The hearing concluded with the summa-a - tions from both sides, John Milton, Jr., .. n speaking briefly for the Hudson association n h and Luback at length for the Metropolitan n of if group. rTn- cr..; aHflO wittl h T 1 J ! 1 1 : 1 : ; , i . ; : L . I l I t - - " - - e Y - - e S. y of ,f ; l r - - .. n n h T. ALIE GRISSOM Co-owner of the G and G Stable whose Eternal Shock goes postward in the First Graders Purse at Hazel Park today. chairman Hugh Mehorter presiding, and he turned the proceedings over to Benjamin Taub, deputy attorney general of the state. The latter outlined the order of hearing, with the Hudson Racing Association being given the floor first. In reference to objections, Taub stated that the commission was not concerned with any objections to the philosophy of racing as that question was settled by the vote of the people in the state some years ago. Only specific objections to both, or either, applications would be heard. Asks Postponement Until 1954 Senator John Milton, president of the Hudson Racing Association, started off on a negative note, declaring that the issuance I of a license should be postponed until next year. The senators point was that there are twp statewide referendums on the ballot this year, in addition to the election of a governor. The referendums call for granting widows of World War II. veterans 00 personal exemptions and the second the legalizing of bingo games. He felt these issues should not be decided in addition to a referendum on racing, all of which would lead to confusion. After taking that stand, Milton read the deposition of his group, and its financial position, starting that ,000,000 could be raised in 24 hours and that all necessary funds would be raised by private parties. A map of the area was presented before, the commission, with engiener James Logan noting the two proposed sites and giving his opinion on the traffic problems. According to his findings, the Hudson Racing Asso- ciation property is transected by the New Jersey turnpike and an access could readily be built right onto that property, making that in his opinion a far more desirable site ! on the score of traffic. Following the Hudson Racing Associa- tions brief deposition, deputy attorney-3 general Taub asked the Metropolitan Rac-f ing Association to present their views ,but attorney Meyer Ruback objected on the ! grounds that the advertised time for their hearing was set at 12 oclock and that failure to do so might later arouse a technical 1 objection to the legality of the hearing. Taub then offered the objectors a chance to state their views, said statements to per-5 tain to both racing petitions. Rev. Lawrence " H. Richards, chairman of the North 1 Jersey Anti-Race Track Association, in-i " troduced Frank McCormick, of 770 Hudson 1 Ave. Secaucus. The latter, in his address, urged the commission not to grant a li-y " cense, stating that the residential area of Secaucus would be destroyed, that the - traffic problem, already acute in that area, would become unmanageable during the 2 racing season and that the presence of a 1 track would stop any potential growth of f industry in the town. John B. Crowell, chairman of the cornet " mittee on gambling for the committee on 1 churches, was the next objector. He cited 3 various magazine articles, a number of ones in fact which he had presented at the pre- " vious hearings in 1953. Since some of them 1 were already in the previous transcript, they were entered for the record. The morning session recessed at 11:30, the hearing to be resumed at 1:00 p. m., " with the Metropolitan Racing Association 1 and a number of opponents of racing to be e hpgrri
