National Republican., 1873-05-29
HORSE RACING.

Phlcgm attic John Bull Is determined to ex-
cite his representative self by adjourning
Parliament on the 5th proxlmo to witness the
Derby races. The protests Of such honest
publicists and high-mlndcd rcformers as Mr..
Thomas Hughes ayalled nothing against this
determination. His arguments that the ex-
ample Is injurious and the public morals
would suffer thereby are unhecdcd. They
were not disputed, however, and II remains
to discover what influences were brought TO
bear to overcome them. We know that the
South Carolina Legislature q year ago ad-
journed to witness a horse race because
Speaker Moses, now Governor, had entered
q horse on which much Of the State scrip,
with which the members were paid, had been
stalSed. But the Parliament Of Great Britain
could not have been actuatcd by such sordld
motives. Our own Congress has lately got
into the habit Of not adjourning at all, even
for Sunday, much less for u holiday. In
short, our national public men devote them
selves to their duties with an avidity that
would warrant better results than they
average In the neglect Of occasional rccrca-
ton. But John Bull has learned to rcgar d
the Derby day as u national holiday-a day
when the business Of the great metropolis ID
suspended and when the eyes Of Great Brit.
ain and all the colonies arc directed toward
the race course around which Is assembled
the beauty, nobility, poverty, crime aud deg.
radiation which go to make up all grca
crowds on such occasions. At the coming
race America will DO largely represented, anC
American money will be staked on the resul
with recklessncss that will opeu ]. BIS eye
to tho belief that miues Of golden guineas ar,
at tho command OF the average Yankee. Ant
Just here Is discovered the perniciOus inau
enco Of these contests. II Is not In tn
struggle Of magnificent thoroughbrods 70
success, for tho intelligence and the capacit,
OF mans best friend among beasts is thereb!
developed but 1t Is in the seemIngl.
unconquerablo desire TO bet. The purse
which are put up from subscriptions b,
club members, the gate money, which
paid as entrance fees, and the cost Of the cx
hibitlon do not comprise one half the cx
penditure incident to nrst-class race. Tn
pool-selling and buying, the wagcrs laid be
tween private parties, and the extrayaganc
which Is provoked among poor people by tn
example Of the rich, go to make up muc
larger sum. We know this to be true froT
recent observation In our own city, and fror
knowledge regarding the pending races OyC
the Pimllco course In Baltimore. Ever
honest man Is compelled to acknowledg
these facts. Yet horse-racing is constant
growing In attractlyencss, and each succeed
ing year witnesses an addition TO the numbe
Of patrons Of the sport. After all We reluct
antly concedc that this amenabilIty to sue
influences Is natural human weakness
against the growth Of which rellgionists q
moralists strive In vain. It must be at
mitted, however, that John Bull has SUI
cumbed more readily than Brother Jonathan
and that an adjournment of Congress to wi
ness horso-race would not only provok
severe criticism, but dcrision which woul
make itself felt at the polls.