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Legislative Group Votes Down Anti-Race Measure Louisiana Committee Turns Down Bill Against Fair Grounds Track BATON ROUGE, La., June 22.— A Louisiana legislature committee yesterday ap-parantly killed efforts being made to close down the Fair Grounds track in New Orleans. A judiciary committee of the House of Representatives voted six to two to turn down a bill aimed at closing the track because it was a gambling venture. The same committee last week approved a bill which would block a night harness racing track scheduled to open in suburban New Orleans in September. A south Louisiana legislator, Rep. John Jumonville, sponsored the bill to close the [Fair Grounds, and challenged New Orleans Mayor De Lesseps S. Morrison to state on the record "whether or not he favored gambling." However, the question was not allowed. Attempts to close the 85-year-old track, which opens each Thanksgiving Day, followed an anti-gambling drive which has been conducted by state police the past year, mostly against slot machines. Mayor Morrison said the track yielded ,400,000 annually to the city and that it is hard pressed for the money. He told the committee that the issue was not a "moral" one or ministers would have entered the fight and that he was not against "those modes of gambling legalized by law." Rep. Jumonville said he would attempt to bring the bill out of committee on a minority report and take itto a floor fight in the House. However, such action requires signatures ol two committee members. Those backing the measure yesterday said they would not back a minority report, thus apparently killing the measure.
