"HUMAN PARASITES."

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 162, 11 July 1930, Page 6

"HUMAN PARASITES."

WHAT OF THE TOTALISATOR?

(To the Editor.) Mr. John Rowe's presidential address" at the recent trotting conference calls for some comment. In spite of what Mr. Eowe's private opinion may be, neither unger nor yet the desire for useful propaganda should warrant such an unbalanced tirade from one who holds an important position in the world of sport. Such unbalanced judgments can only, injure the institutions which Mr. Rowe seeks to uphold. If, indeed, matters are as bad aa he asserts, I might be justified in going down to root causes and condemning a form- of sport producing such an inevitable crop of evil! Surely the sane physician Avill always strike' at "root causes" in his endeavour to cure the apparent disease. If racing has given rise to the flood of evil suggested by Mr. Rowe, then it is time that our legislators became good physicians and cleaned out at least some of the "disease" by curtailing the list of racing fixtures in this. Dominion. This suggestion must appeal to Mr. Rowe if hei has the moral and physical welfare of the community at heart. If on the other hand, he seeks only, to safeguard the monopoly of the cluba through the medium of the totalisator, the suggestion will not naturally appeal to him. Leaving the legal side of the matter quite out of the question, there is no greater "parasite" in the country than the "tote." The amount of betting is to be deplored but the trotting clubs are the instigators of a huge percentage bf it. The only direct influence that can be brought to bear by the gorverning authorities is through the clubs themselves. Every racin<* day cut out will save thousands of and if the maw of the "tinkling tote" is closed for longer periods the public will be better, off, and those house to house canvassers will be able to save shoe leather. I do not profess to have as deep; a knowledge of illegal betting as Mr. Rowe. Probably the position is bad enough, but it is problematical if the widening of betting facilities will help to eradicate the evil which the clubs create. It will assist' the "root cause"—of course. Personally, I have more confidence in the existing deterrents than I could have in streams of care-free, bettors jingling their loose silver outside the post offices. We all know that the "bookie" is a problem, even if he is not quite the spoonfed parasite Mr. Rowe would have us believe. The passion which induces thousands to become fascinated before the electric "tote" is the same passion which brings him into being. It seems to me to be the height of folly to slate an evil after having assisted to create it. . FRANK EYRE.