Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1886-10-22

of chance and horse racing. We hold no
prudish views about this matter-we sim ,
ply insist on the preservation of order In all |
things in society. The place to sell liquors
is a bar room; the place for games of
chance is gambling house, and the place
for horse racing is q race track. At their
| legitimate homes all these things should
remain; where they can be sought by
those whose fancy or appetiues lead that
| way. But the legitimate home Of none of
them Is an Agricultural Fair Ground
Like liquor, we suppose the exposure Of
| games of chance on Fair Ground will
hardly find defender at this day; but it
is not 80 about the ''tfials Of speed" a
I clumsy mask under which horse racing
| is introduced. A horse race on a race
track is one thing; an array of clumsy
steeds who should be at the plow, or
professional fast horse here and there who
carries off the money, is another. Augusta
is not and never was a horse racing coun-
| ty, if she had been she would never have
! had tie thrifty population she has now3
/ for there is nothing more damaging to
| farm OF a neighborhood than the possess
sion of ssfast horse" The mind of our
people is bent on something more practi-
cal and useful than fast horses--it is
| turned to the improved draft horses
| The fast-horse fever consumed the life.
blood of Eastern Virginia and we don
want the disease this side of the Blue
Ridge. 1t should be treated, when it ap-
pears in this Valley. like the Texas cattle
| fever, fenced off to itself on regular race
track and not permitted to spread it's in,
! fection.
1t may be said that without these So
called attractions" fairs are a failure.
The same was said Of liquor before that
vas excluded from the ground. But it
was excluded, and the result showed that
the people at former fairs hadn't gone
there to drink liquor, didn't miss it, and
were present in as large numbers as be-
| fore. 1t is not true that either that, or
gambling or horse racing are necessary to
attract people to Fairs. The people want
amusement and that is all they do want,
and that can be given them in better ways.
We take case in point:-It is but few
weeks since we published an account of
Fair held annually at Williams Grove,
Pa, and where the attendance during the
holding is IN the proportion of one thous
and to one hundred as compared with Au-
gusta Fairs. There, neither horse racing,
liquor nor games of chance are allowed
But there is no lack of amusement. The
company have an immense platform built
and furnish fine band of music and there
the young people, without charge, dance
all the day long if so minded. The man.
ager Of the Fair said that they had no
police and never felt the need OF any, for
the sort of people who follow in the trail
of liquor, gambling and horse racing did
not come to that fair. It was just such a
fair as John B. Baldwin hoped and inten-
ded the Augusta Fair to be when he
founded it, a place of profitable informa-
ton, innocent amusement, and social
gathering for the people of the county.
At its first exhibition dancing was inau-
gurated, and Baldwin himself led off in
the first set. The Objectionable features
to which we have alluded are innovations
that have grown and grown until the edi-
tor OF the Clifton Forge "Independent"
i who visited our last exhibition could go
home and truthfully write his surnrisa ssto
see SO many games of chance many OF
them the barest swindies aiiowod -
We have already said that all these
things havss their proper homes where
they should be kept. and that they should
not be injected into an exhibition of which
they form no legitimate part. In theh
homes they are reduced to the minimum
of evil effects. In a bar-room the respect
able licensed keeper uses every effort to
preserve order and prevent wrong to any
one; on the regular race track there are
far-reaching rules which are enforced by
authority to prevent the abuse of the in
stitution as far as it can be prevented;
and in the gaming house the vice is not
exposed to tempt the young. But on
Fair Ground we all know that sharpers
are foot-loose In every way. A gentleman
who owns and believes in his horse, can
| be victimized by the professional followers
of the horses, without dreaming of how it
was done, and the games Of chance dis
played are little short of open robbery.
We are quite sure that there exists
! strong public opinion against all the things
we have named, and equally as sure that
many, if not all the officers and directors
of the Fair share this opinion. Such being
the case we would suggest that in the ar
rangements for the next exhibition these
things be omitted. and an effort be made
to return to the original plan of the Fair
the improvement and amusement Of the
people.
| Mrs. Stricken of Page county, ten
dered coupons to the tax collector. The
collector refused to receive them and sold
her cow for taxes. She brought suit III
Judge Bonds U. S. Court at Richmond
, for $4,000 damages. The jury gave her
nine dollars damages, exactly the amount
of her tax bill. The costs, $146. are paid
by the State. The plaintiff gets not a
cent of the costs, W. l.. Royal, counsel
for the plaintiff, moved the court to set
aside the verdict as inadequate, but Judge
Bond overr uled the motion saying that
he could not invade the province of the
/ jury, though he disagreed with the YER