Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1897-05-15

Senate ut springfield n circular rrc.
senting the rncing interests side In the
matter Of turf Legislation. The letter
was drawn up by people ether than
those fighting for race bill. and con.
tains no recommendations. nor II Il
signed. II presents tersely the racing
side. and estimates the annual loss to
Chicago merchants nj x5.OOO.OOO. TO say
nothing of the Interests tiiat are in,li
rectly benefited by racing. Following
Is the circular:
Chicago. Ill.,. May 8. lsD7.-SIr:
Sun,lry-racing bills are under che no.
tlce Of the Illinois Legislature. The
present public criticism Of such meas.
ulps IL as shallow and unfair ~ the
treatment given to the racing interests
Of the state In the past The narrow
argument Of gambling Il leveleti
against racing and the bills aiming ut
the regulation Of II. by Judge Collins
decision early In 1905 all Illinois horse
contention, upon wllicl, pools were sold.
was made Illegal. After feeble effort
against the prohibition Of the Collins
declslOn-upOn measure which meant
to legallxe r,cing with betting. but was
defcctive--the Chicago race tracks
were closed. Their closure has cost
Chicago merchants $5,OOO.OOO yearly
since 1904. The COlllns decision also
made idle the noble race tracks Of the
Washington PHrk Club. the Chicago
Racing Association and the Chicago
Fair Grounds Association. II also
incidentally the horse owners nn,l
breeders Of Illinois millions Of dollars
I'm prizes, which the closure VI the race
tracks put outside the scope Of cClnpe-
tltlon by their produce and some 3d..
100000 alone In Chicago. The breeders
and owners OF tro,ters and PAGERS were
punished In the same propOrtl0nntc
way.
''IllinOts reflected the prices Of the
West, aud ewing to the Illinois prOhlbl.
ti0u~ the prices Of horses have been r..
lnccd at least ~ per cent. since 1904.
Such reduction was natural. Illinois,
ana Chicago above Ill, was the West
ern islcilg goal AMI regulator Of race
horse values on the basis Of race horse
earnings. The, mercantile loss to III!
no!s WIS through the enforced nh
sence Of liberal class. which spent Il,
money In New York. Detroit, MilwMu
kee. Cincinnati nnd IT. Louis. instead
Of In the towns Of Illinois. A re;lsOna
ble estimate Of the annual sum tuiriet
into other thnn Illinois avenues sine,
1894 II SIO,OOO,0OO. The rivalry ind
contention of Chicago rice track own
ers did much toward the failure by til,
last Illinois Legislature to pass RIA
sOnable racing Inv. \ combination Ol
spGciOtis circumstances crippled one Ol
the most Important industries VI til,
State.
Investigation Of New York rlc!,l.
and betting under the Percy.Grey law
(which has stood the test Of all til,
cOurts-ls invited. The New York lnA,
reflects European Iesnlism-that o
Great Britain, France, Itaiy, German!
and Austria.
"Racing IL Us legitimate a. the sale III
dry goods and grOeerisS- II needs wis,
regulation and such control as to ~
duee Its gambling side to tho minimum
and ut the same time stimulate and en
courage farmers to breed. owners 4
buy and operators Ut high racing estab
IIshments to attract lovers Of racing 4
the tracks Of Illinois.
''HOrse breeding II an important In
dustry In Illinois. 1t II not IN 1t was
, Narrow legislation has hamJerel II. !
law Of intelligence that will wisely reg
II ulate betting and encourage racing
| the stimulating avenue Of the industr
, will cause many millions Of dollars t
dow into Illinois. The betting. or &c
called gambling side Of thOrOughbre
and harness racing, Ii the sensations
side. falsely used for wrecking pul
poses by biased agencies.
"Many racing men Use horses a
farmers Use land-fOr what they ca
earn. Thorough investigation wi
, prove this fact.
? Enquiry among the business men q
I Chicago ana the other cities Of Ill
. nOis will also give You an idea of til
loss caused by the failure of the Ill
nOis Legislature to pass n measure Il
v the regulation Of racing-bOth of tho
3 Oughbred ana harness horses.
: "IlllnOis needs u law giving eac
n race track within the State the right I
2 race for reasonable term during I'll
2 natural season for outdoor sport.
n "Such n measure would greatly stin
n ulate the horse breeding ana owning
/ as well as the mercantile interests .
the State.
mo measure IL herein suggested.
~ committee of experienced men
. bers of your body would he most con
petent to frame u law that would Ell
u brace, protect ana regulate all II
, rights Of an interest that Ia entitled
@ such care. Such law could we'll
n administered by a State supervise
o The organization benefited by the Ia
a should be required to pay for Its a.
d minlstration, as we'll as to cOntribu
= to the annual revenue Of Illinois. III
3 reasonable plan for such contribute
s. Ia that Of an elastic system Of pc
|. centage taxation, which would comp
n the associations which profit most
o public patronage to bear the burle
u The New York fund-tlevOted to Il
Il | States agricultural department-cu
It a sharp figure In the annual accounts
I" the State of New York"