The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1930-06-11
Some Rules Are Made to Be Broken

When Bismarckers come to winning shares In the
stakes of Canadian derbics and the city gets all worked
up over the Forthcoming track meet on the Bryan
grounds, the mind of the capital city sport fan naturally
veers from golf for the moment and dwens ON horse
racing with considerable fervor.
Now, to some people horse racing is a great sport and
there is nothing about it for which to apologize, while
to others it is one of the sinful vanities OF the human
flesh. Charles Evans Hughes once conducted a great
campaign as governor to suppress the sport IN New
York and succeeded. The famous Saratoga resort. where
the great of the land had been wont to go for generations
to mingle social activities and the thrill OF the track, Tor
a time shriveled up. Sheepshead Bay, with its running
speed contests and, because of the gambling based on
it's races, the source of the puritanic upheaval over rae
ing, was bottled up. But the spirit of the Jamaica track
finally swung the pendulum backward and horse racing
did not remain a forbidden sport.
Nevertheless, there are many places in the East where
racing is greatly hampered by restrictive laws. These
statutes largely serve the purpose OF the present
icoroclism for breaking law. Nobody except those who
have a fanatic reverence for them deigns to respect them.
The following incident is typical. 1t happened in Ohio,
but the public attitude that made 1t possible exists every
where in the union.
Just outside of Cleveland there is a large, wel-equipped
track for horse racing.
Like all other large cities, Cleveland has q good many
citizens who like to go to horse races.
Like all other race-goers, these fans like to bet on the
races. No race track could survive II this wasn't the
case. The gate" never begins to pay expenses; It's the
tracks percentage from the betting machines that does
the trick.
Now Ohio has a law ~forbidding gambling at race tracks.
It's an air Right. ~fool-proof law, not to be evaded by
contribution systems" and the like. Consequently.
Cleveland doesn't get much racing.
This summer, however. a syndicate opened a 28-day
racing meet at this Cleveland track.
The county sheriff, whose duty it was to enforce the
law and close the track, promptly left town on an in
definite vacation. Cleveland can't find him.
The county prosecutor says he can't act until the
sheriff acts, or refuses to act.
The governor of Ohio says the same thing.
Meanwhile, the sheriff stays missing, the races are
being run, Cleveland fans are having their fun. bets are
being placed and practically everybody seems to be quite
happy about 1t.
Torrance.
One section of the citizenry thinks gambling is wrong
and harmful, and has a law passed prohibiting 1t. Hav-
ing done that. it's content.
Another section doesn't feel that way. So It goes
ahead and gambles-on horses, in this instance-never
dreaming of trying to amend the law so the business
could be done legally.
Ohio probably would get quite excited If an effort were
1 made to make race-track gambling legal. But 1t never
bats an eye when the law is openly violated and the
public officials hide out or pass the buck. Everybodys
satisfied. One element has the law. the other has the
gambling. And there you are.
You could write quite a lot about sloppy enforcement,
and never once mention prohibition.