Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1906-01-23
SAY ASCOT PARK
SHALL CONTINUE
COUNTY SUPERVISORS VOTE
RACING ALL RIGHT
Both Sides on Gambling Issue Are
Heard and Board Decides That
Track Is One Of Southern Call
ifornia's Attractions

BY vote of three to two the Los
Angeles county board OF supervisors
yesterday ruled that Ascot park NAV
continue open and that gambling may
flourish there i'm full blast.
Two weeks ago number Of the rem
resentative organizations Of Los Ange-
les, including the chamber of COM
merce, the Merchants and Manufa ctur-
ers' association and others, filed a ne
tition with the county supervisors re-
questing that gambling at Ascot and
In all parts of the county be stopped
inc petitioners were given a hearing
and at that time representatives. of
nearly all the churches in Los Angeles
appeared and spoke in behalf of the
petition.
On the other hand Ascot park and the
Los Angeles Jockey club were repre-
sented by Attorney Adams. He pro
duced letters and statements from
many prominent people of Southern
Callfornia, and particularly of Los An
geles, UNFOLDING Ascot park as one OF
this citys chief attractions.
File Petitions
At the close of the session. in spite
of the protests of the petitioners. the
papers were placed on file for further
investigation.
Because a similar petition was placed
on Tile three years ago and never taken
off it was thought the present docu-
ment would meet with the same treat
ment, but no such fate was in store
FOR 1t and after a lapse of two weeks
IL was taken up yesterday for decision.
When the petition was reread early
yesterday there were two hundred peo-
pie in the supervisors room and every
one was eager to have something to
say.
81 have investigated this matter thor
oughly gentlemen" said Chairman
Patterson, and 7 want to see this case
in as nearly as possible the same light
as you do
This statement was greeted with
boots by the spectators and it was
some time before order was restored.
Before the vote was taken' Super
visor Graham arose on a point of per
sonal privilege. He was fairly trem-
bling with rage as he threw a letter
over to the clerk and requested that
the msslve be read.
Graham Speaks His Mind
1t was the same kind of letter re-
son and evidently written by the same
person, for some of the words in 1t
were misspelled and the script was
similar.
At the top of the paper was a news
paper picture, clipped from one of the
local evening newspapers. The paper
in question had been for days print
ing the photographs of the supervls-
ors, their names. addresses and tele-
phone numbers and requesting the citi-
zens of Los Angeles to telephone the
county officials and tell them of the
indecencies of Ascot park.
Under the picture was the following:
"Verdct-We, the jury, find this man
guilty as charged in the indictment
ment the law allows for a traitor,
bribery and betrayal OF public conf
dence in office. Signed by two hundred
thousand voters of Los Angeles
county,"
81 have been an office holder in this
county for the past five years." said
Graham, land l am responsible for
elected to this board has a right to his
own opinion so long as he acts for the
good of his section first and then for
the county at large.
"This picture in the letter is n clip
ping from the Los Angeles Evening
Express. 1t is not the representative
evening paper Of Southern California
which it claims to be, but no matter
what kind of a paper it is, it has no
right to act toward us as it has done. |
81 shall make complete investiga- |
ton of this letter. written by man
who is too much ashamed of his name
to sign it, and no matter how long it |
takes or how much it costs, L will sift
this to the bottom. And if ] find who
wrote it-well, that will only be the
beginning of what's to come"
Three to Two
The petition was then put to vote
and Chairman Patterson and Super
Visors Graham and Wilson voted
against the petition 20 stop gambling
at Ascot, while Supervisors Alexander
and Brady voted in support of the pc
tition.
There was very little excitement at
the defeat of the petition, and after
being assured by Supervisor Alexander
that he would take the question up
again as soon as he had a chance anti
Ascotites left the building.
Patterson. Graham and Wilson con-
tend that the settlement of the ques-
ton is an affair to be handled by the