The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-18
DWYER WRONG, SAYS SLICEU.
STICKS TO HIS STORY ABOUT A
BETTING AGREEMENT
Win Him, Not With the state Conference
-Poolroom Men Inclined TO DOubt the
Jockey Clubs Good Fsi~th-GamblerS
Don't Like BettinE English System,


Dent Like BettinE English system,
Despite the denial OF Philip j. Dryer, a
steward OF the Jockey Club, that that body
had enteredtnto any agreement to regulate
or restrict betting, the Rev. DR.. Thomas r.
Slicer Of the State Conference on Religions
stuck to his story yesterday.
There is an agreement between the
Jockey Club stewards and myself, . said DR..
Slicer, "but 1t Is not an agreement with the
State Conference on Religions, a body which
includes the entire State. Mr.. Dwyer does
not seem to be familiar with the situation,
1t would seem. When this discussion first
began the committee, which includes my
self. DR.. Josiah Strong, the Rev. j. N.
Wilton and Rabbi Schulum, appointed me
to look into the facts and find out what the
Lansing Cassidy bill really was. We all
agreed not to carry on a crusade against
horseraoing as distinguished from gam
bling.
Il discovered that the poolroom interests
would be benefited If the bill was passed,
but l ! never said, as reported, that persons
representing the poolroom interests were
advancing the bin ut Albany. The object
Of the agreement made with a committee OF
the Jockey Club ia not to root out all betting
atthe tracks, but TO strike at the poolrooms.'
DR.. Slicer's statement that an agree
meut between him and the Jockey Club
exists was borne out by one Of the Jockey
Clubs attorneys, who said yesterday that
there was no written agreement Of thiss sort
in existence, but that an understanding
had been reached between DR.. Slicer and a
committee representing the Jockey Club,
composed Of F. X. Sturgis, former president
Of the STOCK Exchange, and Joseph s. Auer-
bach, Of the law firm of Davies, Stone i
Auerbach, counsel to the Jockey Club.
Mr.. Dwyer had this to say yesterday:
THE statement that the Jockey Club has
entered into an agreement with DR.. Slicer
to regulate betting Is absurd. How can
sucn a thing be done VIII en- for years the
Jockey Club has taken the stand that bet
ting, other thar wagers between friends,
does not go on at the trackl How could
there be supervision over 40, 900 persons at
the track on Futurity day? The Jockey
Club might request certain persons not to
indulge in heavy betting, but nothing more.
There is no way to compel plungers to re-
strict their wagers. The betting, as it has
been conducted for years, cannot be
checked
Talk Of putting the betting ring on the
English system idn't please the betting
men at variol Broadway hotels yesterday,
They declared that any such plan would
prove a farce.
Il have heard that the scheme includes
the formation of a local sporting club with
1900 members, /" said a well known book
maker, -and that each member would have
a badge which would entitle him to admis-
sion to the betting ring. To become a mem
muster, showing that he was financially
responsible. The club would be governed
by rules that would make the passing Of
money at the track unnecessary n would
do away with mem randa. All settle
ments would be made the next day, away
from the track.
IF such a plan would be put into effect
there would be all kinds Of trouble. Men
would everyday themselves with markers.
There would be many welohers, n bettors
would ave practically no protection"
h .poolroom keepers, who are never
a thoroughly pleasant frame Of mind
unless every poolroom everywhere is wide
open, were inclined to be cynical. not to
say disagreeable, yesterday when they
the agreement.
one of the poolroom contingent, ARE
Usually made to be broken. They're a
" hole lot like the gentlemen's bets, Not
nfrequently n Of the parties welshes.
AS 1 understand it, this alleged agreement
between the parsons and the Jockey Club
that the Jockey Club will make It
impossible for a poolroom to do business
and also that the betting at every racetrack
shall be materially decreased.
Il haven any doub that the Jockey Club
will endeavor to keep both the letter and the
spirit of the agreement so far as the pool
rooms are concerned. There never was a
time when the management of a racetrack
wanted a poolroom to do business. If the
poolrooms are all closed, then anybody who
wants to put a bet DOWN must go to the
rack. Ergo track rnNannn in1rpuGaQ Did
you ever see a man who wasn't in favor Of
almost anything that would make his own /
game more profitable?
80 far as curtailing the betting at the
rack goes, you'll have to show me that the
Jockey Club meant to be IN the level when
hey negotiated that end Of the agreement.
For the last three or four years the Jockey
Club has sent word to various big bettors
every now and again that they'll have to
stop betting a million or SO on every race.
were rarely sent to the so-Called society
turfmen, many of whom are as heavy bet
tors as there are in the country. But be that !
as It may, this action never stopped betting
at the tracks to any great extent"
1t was harder to find yesterday persons
outside the poolroom brigade who ques-
toned the good faith of the agreement.
"Why," said a well known turfman, the
of betting has been one of the
things that the Jockey Club has been striv.
lOI tNbl slilNt ltpE' lilt1 ihNod OIb d
great deal in that direction already and
now that the issue has been raised they
do a lot more. The seriousness of the
situation was realized by the late William
Whitney fou years ago. One day at the
Sa ra toga track in the summe of 1902 MIR.
Whitney, speaking TO a party Of friends in
The paddock one day, said;
Those who ave the best interests of the
turf and high class racing at heart must do
something, and do it quickly, to curtail SEN
"a tional betting. II does no one any good
does the turf infinite harm. Stories of
heavy wagens get into the papers and a
great many of the best citizens of the State
who do not attend the races get the notion
the only thing for which racetracks
ire maintained is to sid and abet gambling.
The notion is, Of course, erroneous, but
those unfamiliar with the situation cannot
be blamed for holding such an opinion when
they read the stories in the papers We
cannot, of course, say what the newspapers
shall or shall not. print, but / believe a way
can be found by the Jockey Club or by the
mana cement of the various tracks TO sup
press sensational betting, and it ought TO be
done and done in a hurry
mo issue had then been raised by any
considerable number of persons, and yet
hose having the best interests Of the turf
at heart realized the wisdom of what Mr..
Whitney said, and the officers Of the Sara
toga Association took action then and