Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-01-21
Horse-Racing at Fairs.

I
an injury to fairs. The sooner fairs ru
without them the better. The winnin
horse is not always the best horse mo
the best breed. il Is all based on shar
practice and rascality. An honest ma
can not engage In IL. You can't pre-
went betting. 1t takes one-fourth Of al
receipts from the Butler county fair
Receipts are about S., 900 and the Jock
eys get 81 ,250 oft. The owners OF fas
horses would starve to death IL the,
did not bet on races. They combin
to let certain horse win, and they be
on that horse, whether it's their owI
or not. They thus swindle the green
horns and country jakes'f who bet OF
the best horse. There is nkssurety tha
the best horse will win. If4he scoun
drels can't beat him any other wa,
they will pocket him, or even run hin
down or break a wheel or cripple him
Bad blood, bad morals and the wors
men in the country are found al th.
speed ring. Old man Wilson. tbs
owner of Blue Bull, said If you want Il
ruin young man just give him a fast
horse and let him go 10 racing. Ht
will soon drink, smoke, gamble, and dc
everything else that Is bad. Jt is ali
wrong 10 give so much money to the
speed ring.
Mr.. Brown says the races at the fairs
are even worse than the fat aattIe and
hog business. The sharpers That have
no interest in The country carry off all
the money and the honest farmers are
left 10 hold The bag-thatis, keep up
the grounds and make good The losses.
Gamblers and blacklegs are made by
fast horse business. Honest, moral men
don't own or have any use for such
horses ascan win in racing. The honest
toll that feeds and clothes the people
don't need any such horses.
MIR. Wetmore says the boys learn
there the first step in gambling. Girls
and young women are degraded and
corrupted by the surroundings ard
talk Of the races.
Mr.. Bonham said the subject was The
utility and dangers of The speed ring.
The brethren have said nothing of the
utijIty--have even gone so far as to say
bonest and moral men do not own fast
horses. That IS absurd and shows how
unjust an ill'berel man may be. Mr..
Bonner is an honest, honorable man.
whose intelligence and morality will
compare mos favorably with men who
drive only steers. He is only one of
many gentlemen of honor and culture
ana fefnemenv who find more pleasure
IN owning and driving Maud s. or
Dexter than these brethren do in rails
ing plugs that are tired before thew
reach the corn field. The OK or the ass
could do oil the blowing and carting on
the farm. But raisiag bread and meat
and hauling out manure is not the sum
of all excellence. Men have learned TO
value time. Time is money. Neither
farmers nor business men can afford 70
use steers and mules on the road 10
church or market. They can not afford
to he half day in going ten miles
when horse can be had that will carry
them easily in an hour and make the
trip pleasure rather than 1. drudgery.
NO, gentlemen, We need impro we'd
horses as well as improved implements.
These men buy reapers and binders
to enable them to do work more easily
and more rapidly. We want tools and
horses suited to the work or business in
hand.. The mule served the planter
and slave well. The plug served no
man well. ltcosts as much to raise one
and takes as much time to grow plug
that will sell for $75, as to raise a horse
that sells for four or ten times that sum,
No one claims that the farmer needs
fast horses, but they do need horses.
that move with ease and that are not
used up by n half DAYS trot to market.
The draft horse has his place and value,
and the speaker believes in inproying
our stock of plow and truck horses by
use of the imported or improved breeds
that have been developed by skill and
money for that special use. Even the
and the Percheron owe
much to the blood of the thoroughbred
horse which these plug breeders claim
are useless and owned sonIy by gamb-
lers. The English race horse Is not
suited to the slow, heavy work of the
farm or dray, but his blood has improv-
ed every animal or breed of horses with
which 1t has mingled. The trotting
horse of America is necessity of our
civilization. He came along with good
roads and light vehicles and progress.
The cross OF the racing blood on the
cold-blOod mares gave their colts action.
spirit and endurance as we'll as beauty.
Not one of these men having a colt
or young horse to sell, will forget to
tell you that his colt was sired by a
or Mambrino or
if perchance they have such
an animal to sell. But as sure as they
do they will want two prices for him
because he has trace of good blood in
him. Now that fact alone tells the siofy
ft,ok 60 l.. ~