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Show Coram Suggests Federal Control of Horse Races By BOX CORCM International News Sports Writer NEW YORK, Dec. 10 With the federal government steadily extending its control over business and constantly seeking fresh revenue, it's only a question of time until somebody in Washington gets wise to the millions and millions of gambling dollars that change hands in ths United States each week. What pussies us is, what are they t waiting for? TTi ore's no sense In pointing out sgala that ths Unitsd States has supported those Irish hospital sweepstakes in the stylo to which they've been accustomed practically practical-ly since ths first ticket was prlntsd. If American dollars haveat oared all tha sick and haM In the Emerald hue by now, they're never going to get welL The bureau has been harping on that theme for years. It won't be long until the money spent on these lottery ticksts millions of 'em phoney will mako ths national debt look like a tip in a one-arm lunch room. Lottery Benlaeea And the biUion-dbUar lottery kual-nsss kual-nsss Isn't a patch on ths gam bling quilt thst covers ths United States from head to foot and coast to coast Show me a town big enough to have electric lights and a constable, and I'll show you a sise-able sise-able percentage of horse players aaaoagj Its ettlaana, Heree players, meres nr. whs play tea days a year exeept Sundays, Sun-days, aad Sunday whoa there's racing at New Orleans, Agaa CsdleasB aad Havana, And as soon as the sua sets and ths horse parks close, the dog tracks open, or it's bsnk night in ths movie theater, or at ths church baxaar and lawn festival. Don't try to figure out what a small percentage of all this would msan to tha national treasury. It would give you a headache. Be- aidaa your totals would bo glaring examples of understatement. Just because tha writer likes to taks a littla flier on ths ponies now and than sad delights to give your conetitusnU such juicy good , things aa Red Rain and NsUie ' Flag, doesn't signify hs holds a brief for gambling. Hs can taks his bookmakers or let them take him. So they do, MasM Betting Now, New Tork stats is going to have mutual betting , . . Oh, yes, that's aa assured fact Ws are going go-ing to have mutuele and we're going go-ing to have dog racing, and we may even have licensed handbooks. Just as Chicago is going to have licensed handbooks next summer. We're going to have mutuele when the Aqueduct track la finished. Probably Jamaica, also. Privatsly, every member at the N. Y. state racing commission and ths jockey club would tell you that Plans are already made and the monsy available far tha greet eat . sports center ths world over hss seen at Long Beach. The arts for the largest, best aopoiated race track ta ths country Is already chosen. There'll bo racing, polo, swlaameng. goif, sverything, and what a gold mine tt Is going to be. If you can"t stop a thing, the sext best thing la te put up with it, regulate it, make It as decent and as profitable to the community as a whols as possible. Kegalattan Needed Uncle 8am has large eyes, needs 'em. Why h hasn't aeon this situation sit-uation long ago, I don't know. Ths French government regulates Its race tracks and all forma of public gambling. Does It well. Successfully, Success-fully, profitably. They say In this country federal control would he a political football, enriching only the politicians. WhyT Is ths Inoome tax a political football foot-ball r Ths government snakes a pretty successful business out of that, the Inoome tax. doesn't UT A mite too successful for moot of as. It gets right down on the carpet and wrestles wres-tles with John Q. Public about whether his missus should have a far coat or a cloth one. Or whether poppa dldat pay too much for the fur piece he bought momma for Christmas. If Undo Sam caa do that, he can work out a way to control and collect from the great gambling industry that thrives. If possible, more in bad times than good. If the government la going ts hsve to take care of the gambler after he's broke. It ts no mors than just that it should cut In on a little of his pay while he's oa the way. |