Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1897-09-08
Western League Record
National League Record.

st. Louis. Ill % 50 .252
The remarkable performance of Star
Pointer last week when he paced mile
in 1894 should make him the greatest
drawing card of the state fair, to be held
here September 21-26. Pointer will race
against Joe Patchen on September % and
the race will be for all there is in it. The
purse of $4,000 will be worth going after,
although the owners have agreed to split
in a way. The winner will receive $4,000
and the loser $1,000. Star Pointer is the
greatest PAGER of the age and the chances
are that it will be long time before the
record is equaled. The day happened to
be just right and the track was in perfect
shape. With the conditions so favorable
and the horse on edge the trial was made
and the successful termination is well
known to every hOrseman in the country.
Patchen is so near Pointer in speed that
it is practically toss up between the
two when they start in a race. The own
er of Patchen is anxious to have his horse
touch the 200 minute mark and he will
send him out for that record when he
starts against Pointer here. 1t IS well
known fact that the track at the State
Fair grounds is as fast, if not faster, han
any in the West. There will be many peO
pie here to see the match from all parts
of the state, especially for the northern
part.
The state bowling league will be go
this season, and it is certain that at
least six towns will be represented. Char
lie Moll is the chief promoter and he an
nounces that the interest in tenpins will
be greater than ever. There will be three
clubs from the city join the state organ
izatiOn. This will be Independent of the
City league will not begin before the 1st
of November.
Previous 20 the converting of the Legis |
lature of 1897 the farmers and trOtting |
horse men of the state were clamorlng |
for law that would prevent the holding
Of running horse meetings and the abol- |
ishment of pool selling. The Wylie bill
was framed and passed in accordance
horsemen. Now the farmers and owners
of trOtting stock are loud in denounclng |
the bill, claiming that it has been the i
means of injuring what was once pros
porous business. 1t has been claimed right |
along that the Ideal park people and the |
men interested in the State Park asso-
citation fought the Wyfe bill tooth ana
nail, but were compelled to throw UP the |
sponge. The fact is that neither the
Ideal people nor the Bush crowd spent |
Olc UOlIdI W nave luc Ulll hIllSus. Lie
Ideal people would have spent the money |
had there been a desire to fight but |
Hankins said he would hold out for an |
unlimited bill or none at all. The Bush |
crowd refused to mix in the fight, al
though they were perfectly willing to ac- !
cept limitation bill of thirty or forty
days. Had there been the least effort TO
pass compromise bill it would have
gone through without any trouble what
ever, but no one seemed anxious to take
l~c1-l r1-I1 1,'1l
was allowed to pass without the slightest
opposition, except from the trotti1g
hOrsemen themselves. At the last mo-
ment they realized that the Wylie bill, i
passed, would be of great injury to them
and Mr.. Mckinney of GAINESVILLE was
delegated to make an effort to secure q /
compromise. The trotting men had an
idea that the men interested in the run
ners would fight the bill and therefore
save them the trouble. but nothing Of The
kind occurred. When the trotting men
discovered that they were alone III the
matter it was too late and they were
il the same box as the runners.
1t was always supposed that Tom
Fleming made a desperate effort to Kill
the Wylie bill, but such was not the case.
limited bill and therefore did not har
monte with the Ideal crowd. He had
Instructions from Messrs Bush and
Johnson to accept what he thought
do the worrying and make no effort to
have a limited bill passed.
Dr. Johns of this city. who is one OF
the best posted men in the state on trOt-
ting horses. says the passage Of the bill
was an injury in one way, but benefit
will also result. In conversation he said:
II was greatly surprised when the bill
passed as [ realized at once that the trot-
tiers would suffer alike with the runners.
1t is an impossibility to conduct d "ace
meeting without pool selling. and the pro
motors of trotting events have already
realized this fact All the big meetngs
at GAINESVILLE, Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, La
Crosse and Green Bay have been de-
clared off, simply because pool selling is
prohibited. OF course, we can wait until
'9S and pass another bill which will give
such bill will be passed. The farmers
and others who own stock farms have
suffered considerably, as they have been
obliged to send all their fast horses East
to compete in races. Then again the in
terest is taken away from the stock when
there is no opportunity to test the speed
of the animals and IN order to do this it
is necessary to have race meets. | am a
trotting horse man but at the same time
/ realize that the runners have as much
right to race as the trOtterS. i would
bill that will limit meetings
to thirty or forty days at the most, say
spring meeting and fall meeting Of
twenty days each: prohibit the selling Of
pools outside of the race track and aisC
prohibit foreign books. either on the
track or outside. | think the tr0tt;ng
men would all agree to such bill"
At all the county fairs this year there
hassbeen a lack Of interest in the races
owing to the absence of the pools and
the fair managers have found it difficult