view raw text
. Hot Springs Seeks Racing Amendment File Petition With Attorney General to Place Measure On State Ballot in November HOT SPRINGS, Ark., May 8.— The Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce will try for adoption of a constitutional amendment specifically authorizing horse racing and pari-mutuel betting here. The move is a frank attempt to nullify, so far as Hot Springs is concerned, a campaign by the recently-organized Arkansas Christian Citizens Council to end horse racing and proposed dog racing in the state by outlawing all pari-mutuel betting. Mort Cox, secretary-manager of the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, revealed yesterday that he had submitted to Attorney General Tom Gentry at Little Rock the forms of petitions by which the C. of C. hopes to get its proposed amendment on the November general election ballot. Ish Beam, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said the action was approved by the organizations board of directors. It was prompted, he said, by an expression from a membership meeting held late last year in which over 90 per cent ol those present expressed themselves as desiring horse racing continued in Hot Springs. Beam emphasized the economic importance of horse racing to this resort. city. The attorney general must certify that certain legal requirements are met before the petitions can be circulated. Next step then will be to try to obtain signatures of some 33,000 qualified electors 10 per cent of the total vote in the last general election to place the measure on the ballot. Petitions Must Be Certified Cox said Gentry, who has already approved the form of petition to be circulated by the anti-racing group, told him it would be several days before he could act cn the form of the pre-racing petitions. The popular title of the proposed amendment is "Hot Springs Horse Racing Amendment." The amendment itself reads as follows: "Section 1. Horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering thereon shall be lawful in Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas, and shall be regulated by the general assembly." Pari-mutuel wagering was legalized in Arkansas by legislative action in 1935; but there is presently no constitutional provision on the subject. An initiated move to repeal the pari-mutuel law was defeated in 1944. Later the law was attacked on grounds that horse racing is a lottery which is outlawed by the state constitution, but the Supreme Court held that horse racing is a game of skill, not a lottery. The Christian Citizens Councils campaign against racing grew out of the controversies last year over the Hot Springs horse racing franchise and the proposed dog racing at West Memphis. Provide for Conflicting Measures A constitutional amendment proposed by the group, which is headed by Protestant ministers and laymen, would end both horse and dog racing by outlawing pari-mutuel betting. A delegation from the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce appeared before the councils leaders at Little Rock, April 13, in a futile effort to induce the group to separate the horse and dog racing issues. The constitution provides that if two conflicting proposals are approved at the same election the one getting the biggest majority shall become effective. That apparently means that if both pro-" posed amendments should be on the ballot and should be approved, the future of horse racing here would depend on which proposal got the larger vote. If the Hot Springs racing amendment got the larger majority, that would nullify the effect of the other measure insofar as the city is concerned. Cox said several competent legal authorities have advised the C. of C. that it is acting on sound legal grounds. Hot Springs Oaklawn Park is the states only horse racing track. A move to establish a horse track at Texarkana was de-feated last year in a local option election. The dog racing law contains no local option provision and this contributed to anti-racing sentiment in Eastern Arkansas where a dog track was built at West Memphis despite strong opposition in that area.
