Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-10-02
A CAMPAIGN OF EDUCATION.
From the Rlder and Drlvee.I


IN st. Louis. October l, a committee rep
resentng the Wholesale Saddlery asso-
citation of the United States will present
plan for cooperative effort on the part
of the two associations to start a campaign
of education on behalf of the horse. At
the Saddlery convention held In Buffalo
last July there was a great deal OF dis
cussion on the subject of the "decadence
of the horse. which, it was said, the
newspapers throughout the land had
been publishing columns of matter about.
1t was resolved that the members of the
saddlery and carriage trades owed it to
themselves to counterfeit such misrep"e-
sentations.
The president of the National Saddlery
association said: "rhe trolley car, bicycle
and horSeless vehicles are all threaten
ing our industry. Every paper through
out the land is writing about the deca-
dence of the horse. Not one effort has
been made by this association to coun-
teract such sentiment. 1t can be done
not as individuals but as an association
only, 1t make, my blood boil to see the
Misrepresentation that are in the daily
press with reference to the decadence
of the horse. They 90 on to say that in
ten or fifteen years we won't see any
horses any more, when at the present
time. in the past less than twelve
months. horse flesh has advanced fully
a hundred per cent, and there has been
greater demand for horses in large cities
than ever before" That the daily press
has been crying down the horse there Is
no shadow of doubt. Every intelligent
horseman has been filled with disgust to
realize the fact. The New \ ork Herald
has been most hysterical in its predic
tions of the coming "horseless age and
"the passing of the horse" Other Jour
mails have been likewise moOnstruck;
but we mention the Herald especially
because of the paradox that in its adver-
Using columns it bids and begs for the
patronage of horsemen, while its editor
ials and news articles have been doing
everything to injure the interests of
horsemen and the trades that cater to
their comfort and welfare. The bicycle
against which the Rider and Driver
has nothing to say, unless somebody
tries to tell us that it is better than the
hOrse--has been the fad with the daily
press because the multitude rides the
wheel. and the daily press follows the
multitude for pennies instead of trying
to lead the multitude into the ways of
moderation and common. sense. When
ever a craze crops up the daily news
papers fall over one another trying to
see which one can claim to have origi-
mated the damphool idea. As to what
the carriage men may deem best 20 be
done IL the circumstances can only be
surmlsed from the suggestion the sad
oilers make that they follow the example
of the bicycle boomers. On this point
the following remarls made at the Sad
dlers' convention will be found very
interesting: The National Saddlery
ASSOCIATION should employ a man to
counterfeit the articles that are sent
broadcast about the decadence of the
horse, one who would be capable OF
writing up something original about the
horse, the live, moving thing, wherein
every man and woman of taste delights
and drive behind which sharpens tho
nd Il, Iat 3 hi
with the dead iron bicycle that wrings
the Precipitation from every pore. A
well written article published weekly il
some of the leading New York dailie,
would be copied by all the interior
papers. The result of this would surely
bring public sentiment in favor of the
] horse. Quoting a case in point, less
t than twenty-five years ago the crude
bicycle was launched upon the market
1t proved a failure because the manufac
= turers did not understand the secret o
marketing their product. Ten years agt
2 some brighter minds placed the sam,
| article before the public, but they useC
? other tactics, viz They studied how t,
( market their product, and we have tn
well-knOwn result of the much talked-o
: bicycle. In the beginning the physician
, denounced them, stating that it wa
Injurious to health. The manufacturer
8 employed prominent physicians to writ
articles declaring it was a healthful
n athletic exercise, and these articles wer
y published throughout the land in on
. daily papers. When women began t
o use the wheel the public ridiculed tn
idea. The manufacturer came to tn
o rescue by inducing more of the leadin
= women of society to ride Behold tn
. change Now it is considered a yer
: proper thing for lady to been seen 0
q wheel. This is what can be done b
# creating public sentiment"