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Atlantic City Memos By FRED GALIANI Aftermath of New Jersey Hearings Traffic Conjestion Poses Problem Commission Decision DueOctoberl ATLANTIC CITY, Mays Landing, N. J., Aug. 29. Afterthoughts on the hearing conducted -by the New Jersey State Racing Gommissioin Friday on applications for the last remaining license for racing in the state . . . A hilarious highlight came when James J. Colt, soon after the start of the afternoons proceedings, ,got up to support his application and a photographer planted himself in the midst of the room to take the Deal snorts- ; i , , , j L I I 1 1 k ; ; j . 2 " mans picture. Instead of a flash there was a resounding bang as the bulb exploded, showering the court reporter with glass. There was a moment of absolute silence, and as the photographer clapped his hand to the side of his head the laughter rolled through the court room. About 30 seconds later, when the would-be flash gun Casey came back to take another shot, there was more silence until he completed his mission, without mishap this time . . . Commission chairman Hugh L. Mehorter opened the second session by removing his coat and urging all the spectators to do so. . Horace Wade, who flew in from Chicago for the hearing, kept the plane lines busy this week with quick trips between Detroit, Chicago, New York and Detroit again. Wade is one of the directors of the Metropolitan Racing Association, of which. Colt is the head. The main arguments resolved about the traffic problem, and representatives of the highway bureau, New Jersey turnpike, port authority, state police and state bureau of traffic survey all submitted reports painting a desperate picture of traffic conditions if a track were erected in Secaucus Edward Wetzel, assistant chief of the planning division of the port authority, reported that the backing up of traffic on Highways 1, 3 and 9 was serious enough now and that an added load of cars from the track between the rush hours of 5 and 7 would, he said, add something like 2,460 vehicles over the saturation point. If the cars were lined up three abreast they would be backed up from the Lincoln tunnel, a distance of five miles, or behind the race track itself, he said. Earlier Colt had stated that the track had planned to avoid adding to the rush hour by starting the races with a 1 oclock or even 12:45 post time. . . . On that spore it might be suggested that they could go even better than that, in the event a racing permit were ever granted, by returning to seven race cards, which would mean a much earlier release of patrons from the track. One of the most incisive questions concerning the traffic problem was proposed by Sidney Englehardt, who operates the Orange and Black bus lines, among others, and has franchises to transport passengers to all the New York race tracks. Englehardt wanted to know that if General Motors or some other large industrial concern were to build a factory on the proposed race track site, employ-! ing 20,000 people a day or more, would there be such similar and stern objections to the erection of a plant as there was to a track. He didnt push the point other than state it. briefly. It was this same Englehardt who blamed most of the traffic backups on breakdowns in the Lincoln tunnel and was well on his way to offer solutions for same when deputy attorney general Benjamin Taub, legal counsel for the commission, broke in to remind Englehardt that this hearing was not being conducted to improve traffic conditions for the port authority. Meyer Ruback, counsel for the Colt group, made an impassioned summation at the end of the hearing urging the granting of a license. He protested vehemently that the traffic problem was insurmountable, citing the handling of large crowds at the Palmer Stadium, Yale Bowl and the Camden race track. He predicted that the new track would bring something like 0,000,-000 in revenue to the state. On that score, he maintained, his clients weTe. willing to invest 0,000,000, and if their operation failed, his clients would be out that much, and the state would lose nothing. If the track were a success, the state would gain that much more revenue. He also cited the efforts of New York in striving for a new track, and the de- Continued on Page Forty-Three Atlantic City Memos By FRED GALIANI Continued from Page Five mands made by the Wicks Committee for a new plant. This, he contended, was prompted by the threat of the Secaucus track and the resulting loss of revenue to New York which would accrue as thousands of New Yorkers came to Jersey for the races. Delay now only helps New York, he said. John Milton, former United States senator who headed the other group, known as the Hudson Racing Association, took only a comparatively short time to state his case. He felt the issue should be put off for a year or so because of two scheduled state wide propositions to be decided on the ballot this year. The addition of a third would only lead to confusion, he stated. This caused Ruback to remark that he doubted the i.q. of Hudson County voters was so low that the addition of a race track referendum would add chaos to confusion. William H. Cane, vice-president of the Metropolitan Racing Association and promoter of the famous Hambletonian, was among the sweating spectators. Cane was the first racing commissioner ever appointed by the state of New Jersey... In addition to the sweltering heat, the court room left much to be desired, as the acoustics were bad and the constant thunder of traffic noises through the open windows made hearing extremely difficult at times. . . . The commission has until October 1 to make a decision.
