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Okay Melbourne For 56 Olympics Group Takes Unprecedented Action in Voting to Hold Equestrian Events Elsewhere ATHENS, Greece, May 11 UP. The International Olympic Committee today confirmed Melbourne as the site of the 1956 Olympics but voted to hold the equestrian division of the games outside Australia in an unprecedented action. After voting, 30-13, in its morning session to hold the equestrian events outside Australia, the IOC met in a closed session this afternoon to pick a site but adjourned until Wednesday without reaching a decision. Committee attaches said Brussels, Belgium, was the most likely choice. A protracted rules dispute was averted when the committee voted 30 -in favor and 13 negative with two abstentions, on the resolution proposing holding the equestrian competition outside Australia. The Olympic charter calls for all events of any one Olympiad to be "held at the same site, but the delegates decided to make an exception in 1956. Frances Armand Mas-sard, vice-president of the IOC, and A. Bolanaki of Greece led the fight against moving the equestrian events and Bolanaki said theNdecision meant "the end of the Olympic games." Six-Month Quarantine Reason For Action Avery Brundage of Chicago, president of the IOC, said the horse events were taken off the Melbourne agenda because the Australian governments six-months quarantine on imported horses would make it impossible to stage the equestrian tests successfully. "This is a departure from the rules and does not set a precedent," Brundage said, indicating that the Australian quarantine law forced the IOC to make an exception for the 1956 games. "The Australian organizing committee never stated it would not hold the games in conformity with the rules," Brundage said. "These require that all events be held in the same city. The Australian government intervened with its quarantine law. "The equestrian federation has stated that it cannot stage the equestrian events successfully in Australia because of that quarantine. Therefore, the IOC decided to stage them in another place." "This action is completely contrary to regulations established by the founder of the Olympics, Baron Pierre Coubertin," Massard said. "The vote was taken against the rules," Bolshaki said, his voice broken by emotion. "This is the end of the Olympic committee and the end of the Olympic games. I have done my duty and have a clear conscience." The committee approved both progress reports submitted for the 1956 Olympiad. Lewis Luxton of Australia reported on Melbournes progress in preparing for the summer games. Count Paolo Thaon de Revel of Italy reported on plans for the winter games, which will be held at Cortina, Italy. "Im very pleased with the committees action," LUxton said. "I am just as confident as ever in Melbournes ability to stage the games in a manner fitting the Olympic tradition." Brundage admitted circumventing the rule on staging all the events at one site in order to avoid a more serious split a tussle to move the entire Olympiad away from Australia. The delegates voting against the transfer of the equestrian events from Melbourne included those from France, Italy, Greece and Belgium. It was learned that Stockholm also has put in a bid for the equestrian events. The delegates also decided to add two cross-country skiing events to the winter games at the request of the International Ski Federation. Chancellor Otto Mayer of Switzerland said the new events would be a 30-kilometer mens race and a 15-kilometer womens relay event.
