The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1921-10-14

the taxes on tobacco.
power, which was never done before
It's creation.
Mr.. Bruce n,ny not know II, but wc
believe II 10 be fact that the chief
reason his known client, Celia and his
actual clients, Cella's associates,
wanted the act declared unconstItu-
tional was that It made possible tho
destruction Of their syndicate book.
We do not say that Mr.. Bruce
knows 1t, because after his statement
we fear to state that he knows even
the NEST widely known fact, but ac'
cording to the grand jury Of Jeffer-
son County 1t Is fact shat vast
number Of handbooks are being oper.
ated in the city Of Louisville"
We have not heard Of any movement
by Mr.. Bruce to stop these hand books
II Mr.. Bruce had succeeded In the
suit to declare unconstitutional the
act creating the State Racing Com
mission there would be books on the
race tracks as well as handbooks In
the city. The law now prohibits hand.
books In the city. But they exist In
the city Of Louisville, Yet Mr.. Bruce
starts campaign against "legallzed
betting" and so far as we know takes
no action against the illegal betting
that is, IL our opinion, infinitely the
greater evil, which is rampant In his
/ own home town.
In the communication published this
morning. Mr.. Bruce says:
II have never pretended to make
any accurate statement Of what are
the total profits Of the Jockey Club,
because do not know them"
III a statement by him sent through
the Associated Press from Louisville
September II, he says:
"a legalized giant monopoly enjoy
ing the gambling privileges realizes
profit Of two or three million of dol
lars a year out of this demoralizins
vice"
Again we apologize for having stat
I'd in previous editorial that Mr.
Bruce knows this statement Is .naccu.
rate But we avow that ii is inaccu.
rate and utterly misleading ami
known 10 be inaccurate by every man
and woman who has even cursory ill.,
formation in regard to the purses and
stakes given by the Jockey Club, the
expenses Incident to the conduct OF
racing and the taxes paid by the
Jockey Club.
Mr.. Bruce closes his communication
with this statement:
"Fart-mutuel betting on the race
tracks may be a safer form of betting
than ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS for the gam
hler-but l am not interested in pro
tectlng the gambler"
Who is 1t Mr.. Bruce is interested
in protecting? As a lawyer he was
interested in forwarding the interests
Of Celia, TILES and Adler, who, though
of course he never knew it, conducted
bucket shops and syndicate books
The present movement fathered by
him will lnure to the benefit Of the
bookmaker and handbook men, though
equally Of course he does not kno"
this. As proven by the result In Ne"
York. the success Of the movement he
advocates will lead to form Of
"a mbling that Is most pernicious AMI
as a rule crooked.
As revealed by the report OF the
grand jury in Louisville, the hand
books flourish even In the rarifed at
mosphere that surrounds Mr.. Bruce
Not interested In protecting the
gambler? OF course not. Not inter
ested In the personnel Of his clients
who employed his services to destroy
the State Racing Commission so that
they might run race tracks In Ken
lucky as they ran them in Missouri
solely for the benefit Of the syndicate
book? Not interested in protecting
the breeding irterests7 What is MI
Bruce's real interestf
His letter reveals, according to his
own statements, that Mr.. Bruce has
never been Interested enough to as
certain even the most widely known
facts In regard to racing and that
he knows no more about 1t now than
he knew when he was the attorney
for Douglas Park and the bucEet'shop
bookmaking aggregation that owned it
why is Mr.. Bruce giving his time
and his high ability and great repu
tailor and his money TO this fight to
have repealed the provision in the
| Kentucky statutes that was passed
April 9Th, 1893. years before he ap'
peared as the attorney for the Douglas
Park Jockey Club? He did not then
attempt to have that section Of the
statutes repealed The act creating
the State Racing Commission was
passed in 1906. The provision under
which pari-mutuels are permitted wai
passed in 1893, thirteen years before
that. During those years the book
makers operated as unmolested on the
race tracks as they now operate in
Louisville and will again operate on
the race tracks II Mr.. Bruce succeeds
in his present efforts.
Every man familiar with racing
knows that racing has been. cleaner
and on q higher plane; that the stakes
and purses are four or ave hundred
per cent greater since the bookmakers
were driven from the trucks But Mr.
Bruce lis not interested In protecting
ing the gamblers" nor the horsemen
nor the breeders nor the financial In
terests Of the State, nor IL driving eai