Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-04-02
VOTE AGAINST BETS,
AntigambIing Measures Favored
 by Hughes Advanced.
MUCH 0RATORY ON EACH SIDE
Long Debate Before Defeat of Proposi- tion to Postpone Taking Effect of Bills Until Sept. Provision For Horticultural Societies.


 Agricultural Societies.
 Albany, N. Y., April 2. 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 a vote of 26 to g struck out the amend ment 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- tion.
 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 fair that the men who had large invest ments in property and blooded stock as well as the large number of others whose employment was jeopardized by this legislation should be given fair margin of time in which to adjust their affairs to new conditions.
 Bills Now Alike.
 The bills which were acted upon were those of Senator Agnew of New York and are now identical in form with those of Assemblyman Hart of Utica, which passed the assembly last week.
 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 cerning 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.
 Money For Agricultural Societies.
 The assembly ways and means con- mittee voted to report favorably the bill of Assemblyman Smith of Otsego making an annual appropriation of $250,000 to be distributed among the agricultural societies. The appropria- tion 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.
 The opponents of the bills made the biggest showing oratorically. Senators Grady and McCarren led the fight against the bnis. 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.
 Senator McCarren began his argu. ment by saying that the act should be properly entitled "an act for the propagation of poolrooms." His main argument was along the line that by the passage of these bills gambling would be merely driven under cover into places where 1t was not known before. McCarren argued that betting would still continue in spite of any laws and that to strip the evil of the restraints and restrictions thrown around it by the Jockey club would be to in effect spread the worst form of the vice.
 mecarren Makes a Comparison.
 Against the claim that gambling on race tracks had demorallzed young men McCarren 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 declared it had been proved that no jury would con. vict a man of betting on the track If the penalty were a felony.
 Senator McCarren, who is ordinarily brief. talked for a second time for nearly an hour. dwelling chiefly upon the argument that the proposed legis- Istion could not be enforced. He gave way to Senator Grady. who had preyi- ously talked for more than two hours. Most of his second speech was devoted 10 Wall street gambling. He declared that the advocates of the bill had SC. lected for their attack the least offen. ! sIye form of gambling He quoted vol luminous statistics with reference to stock operations. claiming that in one year the gambling in Wall street to S30.OOO. .O00.O00.
 Speech In Favor of Bills.