The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1883-01-27


the sight OF racc.course, and many
happy and af,iuent family has been cast
pennilcss upon the world, upon the deica,
of favorito horse.
! Horse racing Is one Of the relics Of bar
barism, and ought to be discarded and dis
coun,cnanccd by all good and moral men.
! II Ough, 10 bo clsssed with those other
relics of barsarlsm, cock fighting md bull
! lighting and duclling. OF all the species
Of gambling known 10 mankind, betting
a, horse races Is the most exciting, the
most Tlln0us. j is the most open, for it is
done in broad daylight; not In dark and
dingY holes, where lis Corruptlng iniiu-
ence is only seen, not felt, within the
walls Of the dismal den. /, IS one in
which anyone can take part If he Is dis
posed every witness can become an actor
If the purse or the prize is the object of
the owner of the horse, 1t does not proven,
others from making their large or small
bets, according to their circumstances, and
betting will be done Ia spite of ali laws to
the contrary wherever horse racing Is al
lowed. Horse racing is not only barbar-
Gus custom, bat it Is cruel in every sense.
! II ls cruel to the horse. II is inhuman to
put him under whip and spur to his ut
mos. speed, and is dcmoraizing to the
man. No man can perssiently engage in a
course of horse racing and betting without
eventually becoming debaHched in every
virtue that should enoble him. He becomes
lost to all sense Of honor and integrity.
He grows prolanc incorporate ana scnsu.
al, aud when he has lost his fortune
which will surely happen and lis good
name which he is entitled 10 by inherit.
ance, by education and culture, lie will
sink to the level Of the jockey, the swind.
Ter and the sharper; and his associations
will be with the gambler and the black
leg; lost to every virtue, with never a
thought of again returning TO an honest
living.
Temperance lecturers may speak OF n
! Young mans first drink as his first step
to rum; bat think that the first bet he
, makes upon horse race, a game of cards
, of monte or poker, his first lottery ticket
: or his first cast upon the chances of so
' called wheel of fortune" will lead him
= on TO rain faster than his appetite fol-
drink; and in fact, in nine cases out of ten
( it will lead him Of itself to drink.
Bn, man may be a confirmed drunkart
, and still DO an honest man in his transac
, lions with his fellow men, lie may b,
, the soul of honor, but given to a depravcc
r appetite that lures him to Standardization
J lac himself being his only enemy, but NJ
5 man can be gamber-in any sense o
I the word when he puts his iortun,
and his honor upon the casting o
a dic--and maintain his honor and intcg
rity. lie can be nothing else than a sharp
er, Il liar and cheat, though he may, I'M
der the garb OF hypocrisy, while successful
p still MAINTAIN his position IN society ant
IN the church.
!, As gambling leads to every vice. lnclud-
, ing drunkenness. would give but LITTLE
4, for the reformation of that drunkard VIII,
4, still clings to the vices that led HIM on L
lntomperance. He must abandon them al
or they will eventually drag him down tt
}, the lowest depths Of infamy.
4 "
8 And this leads me 10 the last point
q | would wish TO make In this essay upor
/. the horse; and 1t Is In answer to aquestior
a put by the FREE TRADER some weeks ago
d why not re-organize the old Agricultur.
o al Society and have a fair next year y
Mos, OF your readers may fail to see th,
8 connection: what "bob-tailed nags," hors
o racing and gambling generally has to do
# with agricultural fairs. But 1t Is my in
d tention to show, though have taken raih
i er a circumlocutary way of getting at il
v that they have much TO do with them
!, tina, If betting on fast horses was made OF
!. the sly, that prizes were won by jockeyinl
- and premiums awarded 10 the unworthy
s for with such the society was charge,
y wihal-other gambling institutions wer
, admitted upon the grounds. enough L
!. damn any institution and demoraize an.
, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS not gotten up b
worthy citizens of our own county, bat b
10 travelling mountebanks, scoundrels, swine
lers, showmen and tlacklegs Of every hut
is for the ostens,blc purpose, IN broad day
S light, of catching the rustic nickel, an
If quilting the innocent swain, and secretly
is a, a natural consequence, of corrupt:ng tn
|" country youth.
Is Agricultural fairs should be cOnduc'c