The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-04-07

Long Debate Before Defeat of ProposI'
ton to Postpone Taking Effect o,
Bills Until Sept. Il Provision For
Agricultural Societies.
Albany, n. Y, April = Another
long and apparently decisive step to
ward the statute books was taken by
the bills to abolish the legal protection
of gambling at race tracks in accord
ance with the recommendation of Gov
ernor Hughes when the senate by
vote of 26 to % struck out the amend
nent which would have deferred the
taking effect of one of the bills until
Sept. | and then advanced both OF
them to the order of final considera
ton. The bills have passed the as
sembly.
The bills have gone over until to.
morrow, when they will be made spe
cial order on final passage in the sen
ate. This arrangement was made by
unanimous consent at the request OF
Majority Leader Raines after day OF
intermittent skirmishing, most of it OF
technical parliamentary character
Senator Agnew, with the assistance OF
Senators Raines, Page SAKE and
Smith. succeeded in having the assem-.
bly, bills of Assemblyman Hart, which
have already passed the assembly, sub
stituted for his own.
From Senate to Governor.
The practical result is that when the
bills come up on Wednesday they will
If passed, go next to the governor for
the signature which will make them
law. But for this substitution the sen
ate bills of Senator Agnew, which were
advanced at the close of long strug
gle, would, if passed, have to be con
Cured in by the assembly.
Senator Grattan in voting to retain
the Sept. amendment announced that
he expected to vote for the bills upon
final passage, but believed it only fan
that the men who had large invest
ments in property ard blooded stock as
we'll as the large number of Others
whose employment was jeopardized by
this legislation should be given fan
margin of time in which to adjust
their affairs to new conditions.
The indications now are that the bills
will be passed in the form desired by
Governor Hughes and that two or pos
sibly three senators who voted with
the opposition will vote for the bills on
final passage The feeling is still very
/. intense, and the friends of the bills
expressed themselves as solicitous con.
corning developments which the deter
mined opposition might bring to pass
before the final vote.
In many respects the struggle was
one of the most extraordinary of recent
years. Up to the very last moment the
issue of the exceedingly long debate
was in doubt. Even now the vote OF
the winning side is only precisely the
total necessary to pass any bill in the
senate
The opponents of the bills made the
biggest showing oratorically. Senators
Grady and McCarren 4ed the fight
against the buns, and they were sup
ported by Senator Cassidy whose
speech made a strong impression. Sen
ator O'Neil made a speech in favor OF
the passage of the bills.
McCarren Makes a Comparison.
Against the claim that gambling on
race tracks had demoralized young
men McCanen said that almost every
day the papers told of the fall of some
minister and asked if it was proposed
to abolish preaching on that account.
Senator McCarren, who is ordinarily
brief. talked for second time for
nearly an hour, dwelling chiefly upon
the argument that the proposed legis
lation could not be enforced. He gave
way to Senator Grady, who had preyi
opsly talked for more than two hours
Most of his second speech was devoted
to Wall street gambling. He declared
! that the advocates of the bill had Sc,
lected for their attack the least often.
sive form of gambling. He quoted Vol
luminous statistics with reference to
stock operations, claiming that in one
year the gambling in Wall street
amounted to $30,0O0,000,000. i
Senator O'Nel spoke in favor of the
bill.
''These bills are an attempt to crys.
tallize into law the sentiment of the
Empire State" he said. He argued
that the bills should be passed without
regard to whether they could be en-.
forced or not. 1--WE provide the law
That is our duty. The police must at
tend to its enforcement. Either race
track gambling is right or wrong If il
is right, we should abolish the present
laws. If we can, we should amend
them to make them more effective"
The assembly ways and means com
A.. o.. ~
bill of Assemblyman Smith of Otsego
making an annual appropriation OF
$250,000 to be distributed among the
agricultural societies. The appropria-
ton Is intended to take the place of
the percentage which the agricultural
societies now receive on the gross re-
ceipts of the race tracks This income
is abolished by the antibetting bills.
Bomb Explosion Accidental.