Evening star., 1937-03-14
RACE BILL FINDS
STRONG FOES IN
D. c. SOCIAL FORCES
Church, Home and School
Spokesman Protest
Measure.
PARENTS AND TEACHERS
HIT LACK OF HEARING
Petition Deplores Tendency to
Expedite Without Giving Public
Chance to State Views

Representatives Of church, home
and school spoke out yesterday in
emphatic opposition to the pending
House bill to legalize horse racing and
betting in the District of Columbia.
AS officials of six parent-teacher
groups were sending a petition of pro-
test to District Committees of the
House and Senate, prominent clergy
men joined in the fight to defeat the
measure.
Among churchmen who took Wig
orous stand against the bill are
Bishop James E. Freeman of the Epis-
copal Church, Rev DR.. w. S. Aber-
nethy, pastor of Calvary Baptist
Church, and Rev. DR.. j. Eillnan Hol-
lister, pastor of the Chevy Chase
Presbyterian Church.
The parent-teacher organizations
objected particularly to the tendency
already manifested to expedite the
legislation without giving the public
an opportunity to be heard" The petit
ton was signed by Mrs. Louise R. Fry,
president, the District of Columbia
Congress of Parents and Teachers;
Mrs. Philip P. Gott of the Executive
Committee of the Woodrow Wilson
Home and School Association; William
M. Greene, president, Takoma Home
and School Association; Norman B
Sheppard, recording secretary, Alice
Deal Junior High School Home and
School Association; William P Brown
ell, president, Paul Junior High School
Home and School Association. and
Mrs. Blanche D. Alexander, president,
Ketcham-Van Buren, Home and
School Association.
Charge Bill Hurried"
In support of their protest agair~
the bill the parent-teacher groups
asserted:
l. That instead of holding public
hearings, proponents of the bill "hur-
ried' it through the House committee
with such haste as to arouse resent
ment not only of the public but of a
strong minority in the committee"
q The bill serves no public interest
and would encourage gambling.
3. Congress failed and refused" to
strengthen present gambling laws,
with the result that gambling Is
''dourishing here on large scale. For
that reason the horse racing bill is
''the more undesirable
were given an opportunity" to express
themselves regarding the bill, it is
believed they would oppose it.
Fear Lowered Moral Tone
5. A race track. with legalized bet
ting, would tend to lower the moral
tone of the community"
g. 1t would be another temptation
to school children. already con-
stantly subjected to temptation in the
matter of gambling" because of the
numbers racket.
7. There are ample race track facili-
ties near Washington for those desir-
ing to enjoy horse racing
g. Passage of the bill would dis
courage police, who have been con-
ducting an effective battle against
gambling
The petitioners requested an op-
portunity to be heard at a public ses-
sion of the committee The bill has
been reported by the House Com
mittee and is pending before the
House, but efforts are being made to
recommit it to the committee for
further consideration.
Bishop Freeman, in a letter to
Wilbur La Roe jr., chairman of the
Committee on Civic Affairs of the
Washington Federation of Churches,
said he was glad to join in protesting
the bill.
For those who wish to attend race
track meetings" Bishop Freeman
wrote, they may find them contig-
uous to the city. I firmly believe the
introduction of race track within
the District of Columbia is not only
undesirable from every point of view,
but apart from this I believe the
District, as the Capital of the Re-
public, should not lend itself to such
a plan.
Responsibility to Youth.
"A race track usually draws an
undesirable element to the city and
serves as further incentive to
gambling. I think, furthermore, we
have a responsibility to safeguard
our youth against the evil influences
the race track engenders and 1 can
not believe that a race track in the
city would be conducive to this end.
Il sincerely hope that sufficient in
fuence will be brought to bear upon
the Congress to defeat enactment of
the bill referred to-"
DR.. Abernethy said:
It am distressed beyond measure at
the rapid growth of the gambling
mania in our city. 1t is doing some
thing to the moral fiber of our people
that cannot result in good.
With all my heart hope this pend
ing race track bill may be sidetracked.
1t will be disastrous blow If it Is
passed. From every possible stand
point think it will do us harm.
"1t is high time we were considering
and emphasizing moral and human in
fiuences and forgetting about the
financial profit. Furthermore, in this
case the profit consists largely Of
money diverted from our own mer-
chants into the pockets of outsiders 4"
Dr. HOLSTERS statement follows:
1T is unthinkable that Congress will
infiict upon us a race track with all
its attendant evils. This is our city
and questions of such grave conse-
quence should be decided by our own
people. 1t would be morally back
ward step to approve the pending bill
and it would be sure to increase
gambling.
eve should fight this bill to the
limit and fight any other measure that
proposes to foist upon our people any
thing that encourages gambling or
lowers the moral tone Of the Nations