The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-11-01

bet he Is very apt TO 60 stralRnt On =
helll
An intimate friend, q journalist, who
in the line Of his profession investi'
gated this evil. tells me that there are
three different kinds Of betting at
horse races. and they are about equally
leprous; by auction pools" by French
mutuals," by what is called "bookmak-
ing"-all gambling, all bad, all rotten
with, iniquity. There Is one word that
needs to be written on the brow OF every
pool seller as he sits deducting his
three or five per cent, and slyly ring
ing up" more tickets than were sold on
the winning horse-a word to be writ
ten also on the brow of every book
keeper who at extra inducement
scratches horse off of the race, and
on the brow OF every jockey who
slackens pace that, according to
agreement, another may win. and
written over every judges stand.
and written on every board of
the surrounding fences. That
word is, "swindlel" Yet thousands
bet. Lawyers bet. judges OF courts
bet. Members of the Legislature bet.
Members of congress bet Professors
of religion bet. Teachers and super
intendents of Sunday-schools, ! am
told, bet. Ladies bet, not directly, but
through agents. Yesterday, and
every day they bet, they gain. they
lose, and this summer, while
the parasols swing and the
hands clap and the huzzas deafen,
there will be multitude of people
cajoled, and deceived, and cheated,
who will at the races go neck and
neck. neck and neck to perdition. Gull
tivate the horse, by all means, drive
him as fast as you desire, provided
you do not injure him or endanger
yourself or others; but be careful and
do not harness the horse to the chariot
of sin. Do not throw your jewels of
mortality under the flying boot. Do
not under the pretext Of improving
the horse destroy man. Do not
have your name put down in the
catalogue of those
who are ruined for both worlds by the
of the American race
course. They say that an honest race
course is a straight" track, and that
a dishonest race course is crooked"
track-that is the parlance abroad;
but tell you that every race track,
by betting mon and betting
and betting customs, is a.
straight track-I mean straight
down! Christ asked in one of His Cos
pels. SIS not man better than a
sheep?" I say, yes, and he is better
than all the steeds that with lathered |
tanks ever shot around the ring at a
race course. That is a very poor Job |
by which man, in order to get horse
TO come out full length ahead Of |
some other racer, SO lanes his own |
morals that he comes out a whole |
ength behind in the race set before |
him.
Do you not realize the fact that there |
s mighty effort on all sides to-day |
20 get money without earning it? |
That is the curse of all the cities; it is
The curse of America-the effort to get
money without earning it, and as
'ther forms of stealing are not respec-
able, they go into these gambling
PRACTICES. 1 preach this sermon on
quare, old-fashioned honesty. l have
aid nothing against the horse; have
aid nothing against the turf / have
aid everything against their prostitu-
ion. Young men, you go into straight
Onward industries and you will have
better live hood, and you will have
arger permanent success than you
AN ever get by wager; but you get
n with some of the whisky, rum
'lotched crew which see going down
IN the boulevards, though never bet,
will risk this wager. five million to
you will be debauched and
lamned. Cultivate the horse, own
lin If you can afford to own him,
est all the speed he has, if he have
my speed in him; but be careful
which way you drive. You can not al
Ways tell what direction q man
s driving in by the way his
horses head. In my boyhood we
ode three miles every Sabbath morn-
ng to the country church. We were
lrawn by two fine horses. My father
rove. He knew them, and they knew
lin. They were friends. Sometimes
hey loved to go rapidly, and he did
lot interfere with their happiness.
lie had all of us in the wagon
With him. He drove to the coun-
ny church. The fact is that
or eighty-two years he drove in
he same direction. The roam span
hat / speak of was long ago un-
itched, and the driver put up his
Whip in the wagon house. never again
o take it down; but in those good old
lines learned something that never
orgot: that a man may admire a horse
nd love a horse, and be proud Of q
orse. and not always be willing To ,