The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-06
BELMONT
 DENIES CHARGES
Statement Is Made By Banker
 on Racing Affairs
USED MONEY PROPERLY
MT. Belmont Declares That He Never Used Money to Influence LcgisIa- ton and Explains His COn-
 nection With Racing

New York, December 5.-'T cannot make too emphatic the statement that I have never directly or indirectly, in per soii, or through any corporation or ind- viduals, contributed, authorized or; vised the expenditure of single dollar to i'm rropery influence legislative action nor have I been asked to do so.'
 August Belmont, chairnlan of the Jockey club, mades this statement in letter to M. Linn Bruce, chict counsel for the legislation Investigating commission, before which MT. Belmont was a witness last week. The letter was made public tonight, along with brief letter from F. K. Sturgis, treasurer of the Jockey club, yIng that he (Sturgis) was in error when he testified recently that James W. Wadsworth, speaker of the state as- sembly, recommended as counsel for the. racing interests E. T. Coyne. This recon.l nendation, he adds, came from the el Tor Wadsworth, state commissioner of racing.
 MT. Belmonts letter in part says: i"Stnce the giving of testimony before your committee 1t has core to my at tention through the newspapers that most. unfair and distorted lie of my con- nection with racing interests is sought to
 
 Racing with me has been a pastime, not 2 business. My financial holdings In property used for racing purposes have always been very moderate,
 Never Used Influence
 'The great bulk of my time is devoted 70 tho management of my banking ani railroad interests, and I now epeat what I stated to your committee, that the sweeping allegations of corrupt use of n oney to influence legislation was a mat ter of which it ought to be presumed I was ignorant I cannot mose too em pllatic the statement that I have never directly or indirectly, in person or through any corporation or individual channels, contributed. authorized. or viscd the expenditure of a single dollar to i'm pl operly influence action, nor have I beer asked to do so.
 "The claim is made, as T under stand 1t, tLat money was used to bribe the members of the legislature of 1908 to vote against the Hart -Agnew law. On this assumption let us look at the facts.
 '"rhc evidence before your commit tee shows the existence of some eight racing associations in the territory of Greater New York and vicinity with but one of which, the West Chester Racing association, have I any con- nection.
 Chairman of Stewards
 T have also been chairman of the board of stewards of the Jockey club since its organization, Is years ago. For some four years, running back to the timo of the passage of the Percy Gray law, the racing interests have always been lived in numerous and expensive Allegations calling for the expenditure of very large sums of
 
 army of lawyers. s' -s~
 My interest in racing as a. sport has prompted me to maintain a gen. eraI and not a special supervision of the amounts of moneys that were be- in gexpended by the associations. It would seem that in 1907 upward of. sfo,oo0 was paid to Judge Coyne for services rendered by him oefcre the legislature and elsewhere in behalf of racing interests.
 Money Paid to Coyne
 ''This money was paid him before the legislature of 1908 which passed the law crippling racing came into exis- tencc. To this sum most, if not all, of the association contributed. The fig ures, while large, were claimed by him to be reasonable in the light of the work performed.
 NO suggestion was ever made to me
  disbursements, or that our moneys had been in 1907 or in any other year used in improperly influencing the legisla- ture.
 Tn 1908 the Hart-Agnew law having been passed while I was in Europe. I undertook on my return, after consulta- ton with my associates, the disburse- nlent of such portions of the funds of s4o,O00 testified to before your committee In publicity and legal services, as I might be able to arrange and the items of moneys paid out from such funds have been correctly given you.
 Nothing Shirked
 q in no way shirk my share of re- spcnsibility, but the the public should be persuaded into belief that Juggling with figures that I have soiled my name by stepping to cover up under the guise Of lawyers bills and newspaper expendi- lures the bribing of members of the leg islature is a position in which no fair Eloinded man would wish to place me. Nor shall I ever consent to believe until the proof is overwhelmingly to the con trary that any of my associates were party to, or cognlzant of, any opposition to anti-racing legislation which was not. un6er the circumstances perfectly de- eensible and under legal advice.
 s"The warfare waged against racing in- cited volume of litigation almost in- crediyle in character and extent, going back many years. The life of the sport was at stake. We did everything In our power through our publicity agents to create and maintain sentiment among the people that would prevent destructive legislation. We employed the best legal talent that could be had to represent us in the courts and in this way disbursed large sums of money"
 MT. Belmont ends his letter by offer ing to aid the committee by any means in h's power and to appear before it again if wanted.