Evening star., 1937-02-04
RACING MEASURE
URGED BY HOUSE
D, c, COMMITTEE
Two Absentee Votes Put
Over Favorable Report
for Norton Bill.
HEATED CONTROVERSY
PRECEDES BALLOTING
Chairman Not to Call Up Proposal
to Legalize Horse Meets Next
D. c. Day, However.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

With the aid of two absentee votes,
the House District Committee today
favorably reported the Norton bill to
legalize horse racing in the District.
The action was taken at a special
meeting when sudden and unexpected
opposition developed and for a time
threatened to kill the measure in COM
mittee.
The bill, however, was approved by
the narrow margin of 10 to 8, count
ing the absentee ballots of Repre-
sentatives Kennedy of Maryland and
Nichols of Oklahoma, both Democrats.
The absentee votes went unchallenged
and the 10-to-8 ballot automatically
became official.
The vote on the measure was pre-
ceded by heated discussion particle
pated in by Representative Dirksen,
Republican, OF Illinois; Schultz,
Democrat, of Indiana; Hull, Progress
sive, of Wisconsin, and Bates, Re-
publican, of Massachusetts,. Bates
declared after the result of the vote
was announced, he would file a mi
nority report.
First Roll Call in Years.
A roll call vote on the bill-the
first one taken since the crime re-
port was before the committee sew
eral years ago-was demanded by
Hull, 1t follows:
For-Representatives Schultz, Pail
misano of Maryland, Wood of Mis-
souri,, Arnold of Michigan, Allen of
Delaware, Norton of New Jersey,
Nichols of Oklahoma and Kennedy of
Maryland, all Democrats, and Short
of Missouri and Dirksen, Republicans.
Against: Representative Jenckes Of
Indiana, Quinn of Pennsylvania and
McGeehee of Mississippi, Democrats,
and Cole of New York, Bates. Shafer
Of Michigan and Brewster of Maine,
Republicans, and Hull.
AS result of the committee action,
the bill will be rushed to the House
calendar, but Chairman Norton an
nounced it would not be called up for
consideration Monday, the next Dis
trict day in the House.
Just prior to the vote, Bates vigor-
ously condemned legalized horse rae
ing, basing his opposition on expert
ences with race tracks in his native
Massachusetts,.
We have had some sad experiences
in Massachusetts with the race track
situation" he declared. Racing has
t1lrrnd ir,fo al.
have been sent out by the thousands
to children to attend the races. We
have seen the defalcations of public
officials. I am not going to encourage
racing with my vote"
Minors Would Be Excluded.
The Norton bill specifically ex-
cludes all persons under 81 from at
tending the races here.
Dirksen explained that a so-called
Joker" in the bill, which several mem
bers had questioned, was not joker at
all. The joker was believed to have
been section which would exempt the
operator of q race track at Benning
from being affected by an act of Con-
gress approved in May. 1908. provid-
ing for widening of Benning road.
DirkSen pointed out that a rider at
tached to that bill outlawed book
making in the District and that it
would have 10 be repealed in the racing
bill before horse racing could be legal
lied again in the District.
When the roll call on the initial
ballot was concluded the vote was g
TT tie. Chairman Norton then cast
a ballot in favor of the measure to
break the tie. She then announced
that Kennedy and Nichols had re-
quested to be recorded as being In
favor of the bill. That made the vote
10 to Z. A few seconds later, however,
(See PAGES paoe A-10