The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-12-06
1fotting Association Hears Ia
 nous Lou Dillon Case
GOLDEN CUP WON ON MERIT
Owner of Major Delmar Alleged to Have Known of III Treatment of Billings Mare at Mem
 phis Meeting.

New York, December 5.-The Memphis Golden cup dispute was officially ended l tonight, when the board of review of the | National Trotting association decided that
 the trophy had been won on merit and
 dismissed the charges against E. E..
 Smathers of New York. The case, which was taken up by the board at continua-
 ton of it's winter meeting today, grew
 out of the alleged drugging of Lou Dillon
 at the Memphis meeting on October 1S 1904 Smathers was owner of Major Del
 mar and drove him in the race, and was
 charged with having been cognizant of ill treatment of c. K. G. Billings mare,
 which resulted in the latters utter fail
 ure to show form in the race and the
 winning of the $50OO gold cup by Major Delmar.
 When the charges were made. suit was
 brought by the Memphis association, but it was stopped by injunction. Todays
 hearing was for the purpose of deter mining the facts. The case occupied the
 whole day, but was soon decided after the board retired for deiberation to- night. Many affadivits were introduced and several witnesses examined. Some of their testimony was sensational.
 One affidavit read was made by Ed Saunders, who originally preferred the charges against Smathers. Saunders in
 his earlier affidavit had sworn that Smathers had paid him $500O to adminis-
 ter eight ounces of a drug into Lou Dill lon, so as to stop her in the race. In
 the affidavit read from Saunders today
 he said that he was paid to make the charges against Smathers, and they were absolutely without foundation.
 George W. Spear was the most damag- ing witness against Smathers. He swore | orally that Smathers had required him to opeu noEotiations wjth Saunders as to whether Lou Dillon could not be fixed" Spear said that Saunders offered to do the job for s1o00. but Smathers thought that too much, and told him to drop the
 job. The defense immediately produced
 witnesses who declared that Spears char aoter was bad.
 Through an affidavit Louis Streuber
 said that after the charges were made against Smathers he went to St. Louis and interviewed Edward Saunders, broth
 CT of Lou Dillons trainer. Edward Saun-
 ders, the affidavit states, was formerly MT. Streuber's betting commissioner and
 the witness knew he would tell him the truth. Saunders, said Mr. Streuber, told
 him that he had made the charges against Smathers for money consideration. He had been appointed, he said, by George Spears, Smather's former trainer,
 and then was placed in communication with Murray Howe secretary of the
 Memphis Trotting association. He met the latter in Chicago and received $50O0 for
 making an affidavit that Lou Dillon had been doped before the cup race. Later Streuber said Saunders wrote him that he regretted he had said anything to hurt Smathers, and he had made second af- fidavit to clear Major Delmar's owner.
 At the conclusion of the hearing John s. Wise, counsel for Smathers, made a bitte rarraignment of the men who pro- cured the charges against his client mem tionng particularly c. K Billings, own CT of Lou Dillon, and Murray Howe, sec
 retary of the Memphis Trotting associa- ton.
 'I feel that we have suffered long and patiently and bitterly said MT. wise The charges are absolutely unsustained, and as to Billings and Howe, that is a matter for further development which later we will take under consideration. The case went to the board in executive
 session, which lasted hardly quarter of
 an hour.