St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-04-13
Mr.. Withers' Work Against
Pool Rooms Proved a Big
Boomerang.
The "Disopderly House" Act
Strong Enough to Close
Monmouth.
Religious Cranks and Gam
blePs Work Together for
Common Ends.


Monmouth Park associations magnifi
cent race course at Long Branch, says
the Chicago Tribune. Established IN
1870 by John Chamberlain. the old Mon
mouth Park track was opened July 80
of that year with what would now be
considered an Insignificant meeting. at
which the famous horses Enquirer,
Glenelg, HeImboId and Maggie B B,
dam of IroQuois, winner of the English
Derby, were among the principal per-
formers. That meeting made Long
Branch racing center.
During the last decade, with such
prominent turfmen as Pierre Lorillard.
ID. d. Withers, A. j. Cassatt, ". l..
Scott and James Galway the leading
spirits i'll its management, the Mon
mouth Park association became the
leading racing organization of America.
Its hberality was unrivaled by any
other association or jockey CLUB, and its
prosperity surpassed that of any other
racing establishment in the country.
While other gentlemen figured in its
board of directors, ID. ID. WitherS, owner
OF the largest amount of stock, was the
actual manager of its affairs. Possessed
of several millions, great energy, and an
arbitrary and stubborn disposition, with
aprepOssessiOn for English methods and
ideas III relation to the turf, he was the
autOcrat of the American turf. gener-
ally unpopular and to some extent
hated.
As the ruler of Monmouth Park he
was a man for whom there should have
Leen no room in a republic. Yet the
course tiOuriShed under his manage
ment. DiSliked because of his arbitra-
~, unreasonable, and unyielding quail
tiles, he was respected for his honesty
and admired for his enterprise. Singu-
lar as 1t may appear, turfmen who dis
liked him personally openly avowed sat
lSfaction because he was at the head of
an organization that was doing so much
TO expand and improve the sphere and
value of the thoroughbred horse.
AT the close of the season of 1889 the
track built by John Chamberlain was
abandoned and new course construct
ed, Mr.. Withers furnishing the designs
and experimenting the work The
cost was 81, 900. and the product was
altogether too English to suit Ameri-
can patrons of racing. There were
Stright tracks on which the horses
started even so far as a mile and half
from the grand stand and ran toward it
at almost right angle. and a circular
track on which the horses turned to the
right and came by the stand from right
to left. These innovations did not
please either the horSemen or the pub
lie. who had been so accustomed to see
ing the horses make turns to the left,
run on stretches parallel to the grand
stand and come to the wire from left to
right. The common verdict was:
You can't see the horses start; you
can't tell their relative positions until
they get close to you, and they finish the
wrong way"
In spite of all this the Monmouth
Park meeting of 1890 was a great sue
cess financially, and Mr.. Withers was
able to say that if this years meeting
would not be interfered with, at its
close the new track would be paid for.
Present indications are that the track
will not be used this summer. and
therefore will not be paid for at the
close of the season. And the trouble
arises because the New Jersey legisla-
ture adjourned without passing any
measure to prevent interference with
betting at Monmouth Park or any other
race course in that state.
Under an Old New Jersey statute any
place where betting is carried OH is a
''diSOrderly house." For many years
the law had been dead letter so far as
race tracks were concerned. Nobody
thought of applying it to them until the
summer of 1890. Then Mr.. Withers
found himself summoned to answer an
allegation that he kept a ''disOrderly
house." Following this came arrests on
similar charges of several bookmakers
doing business at Monmouth Park.
Mr.. WitherS had interested himself in
closing bookmaking establishments in
New York city, and had aroused the
owners of those institutions to retalia-
ton. The keepers of the betting rooms
employed able counsel to ascertain in
what way they could most effectively
strike back at Mr.. Withers. The law
yers dug up the forgotten ''disorderly
house" statute, and pronounced it a
most desirable and destructive weapon.
Convictions under it were possible, and
the penalties were either heavy fines or
Imprisonment or both.
The first cases brought against Mr..
WitherS and his boOkmakerS were not
pressed because the states attorney
continued them until the witness got
tired and permitted the charges to be
stricken from the docket. During the
winter following, the New York book
makers did business on the winter races.
When spring approached the Dryers
Joined in a successful effort to close the
betting rooms. Then Pete Delacey, one
of the bookmakers whose places were
closed, assumed personal management
of crusade against the jersey tracks.
He and those he represented were par
ticularly bitter against Elizabeth and
Monmouth. the respective managers of
which were Mike Dwyer and d. d.
Withers.
He did not do much at the spring
meeting at Elizabeth or Linden. but
went to work vigorously when Mon
mouth Park opened its gates. Arrest
followed arrest, but the action was an
tlcipated, land justice was on the ground
daily to release the prisoners on bonds.
When a number of indictments had been
found Delacey rested. The bookmak-
erS and Monmouth Park officials laughed
at the indictments. and declared the
cases would never come to trial.
Any amount of money was offered on
the proposition that racing at Long
Branch would not be interfered with.
1t was also confidentialIy stated that
the states attorney was ''all right"
When the Elizabeth fall meeting opened
Delacey renewed hUstilitieS. He also
caused many arrests to be made at Lin
den, although protesting friendship for
the management of that course and the
bOOkmakers doing business there. He
SAID ne was aTter only the Dryers and
Withers. but he had to treat everybody
alike. A batch of indictments satisfied
him.
When he stopped state detectives be-
gan making cases and arrests, and it
was claimed that the ''coppers" and
local justices continued to proceed
against the bookmakerS because many
arrests could be made and the yield of
fees was bountiful. in all cases the
managers of the tracks arranged bail
for arrested bookmakers. The book
makers and track officials said that the
arrests amounted to nothing beyond an
noyanee. They ridiculed DeIacey for
his work and cursed the state detect
ives and the justices for their ayar-
ieiouSneSS.
When the cases OF Linden and Eliza
beth were brought to trial the charges
of the judges. all strongly against the
defendants, and the speed with which
convictions were obtained. spread con-