Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1897-12-30
A, N, LA FOLLETT,
Scoring the Kicking Horse
men,
Statement From a Member of the
Board Of Agriculture.

WHEATLAND, Dec. 27.-(To the ed
tor.)-I saw in The Oregonian 9
December % au article headed "Wil
Not Retract," stating that the sec
retary of the board Of agriculture wa
instructed TO receive no entries from
the members of the North Paciti
Trotting Horse Protective Associa
tion, unless they would retract tn,
resolution passed at their meeting, a.
follows:
THAT no member race at the next
state fair, unless we are first paid oul
race warrants
Now, the resolution l voted for, as
L understood it, was this:
THAT the secretary of the Oregon
state fair received no entries from any
one participating in that meeting"
There was no Tetraction about it.
They we're forever barred from racing
at the Oregon state fair, unless the
board of managers saw fit to rescind
this order, and l, for one, will never
do that. / don't arraign the associa-
tion. They would not race unless we
paid them. This is free country,
and they had right to pass it, if
they saw fit; but they had no right to
accuse the board of directors of being
a set of scoundrels, rascals and
thieves, as they did; and that is the
reason why we debarred them from
ever racing at the Oregon state fair,
and not as they would like to make
people believe, because they wanted
their money.
We would like to see them get
their money. When 1 see such men as
Looney, Scott, Baker, Albert and
Others offer to go down in their own
pockets for from 5000 TO $500 each to
cash the horSemans unpaid warrants
If the rest of the board would only
help them out, ] say l am sorry to see
those men SO uajustly abused. plead
guilty as one Of hose who utterly re-
fused to 90 down in their own pockets
to cash those warrants. Being new
member of only a few days, thought
| was not responsible for the defic-
iency in the least, but after hearing
the secretary's report, every dollar be-
ing accounted for to my satisfaction,
L would have then taken up my pro
rata of the warrants but for the un-
gentlemanly accusations The Horse
mems Protective Association brought
against US.
Talk of the state fair not being able
TO run without so much racing is all
bosh. 1t is my honest opinion that
we could take the S3100 that the race
couse run us in debt this year, and
let it be known throughout the state |
that that sum extra was to be hung up
In premiums for the tillers of the |
soil, and there would be the greatest
crowd that was ever seen at the fair
grou nds.
remember years ago when you
could count all the racers at the fair
on the fingers of your hand. Hum
boldt, Ryestraw, Riff eman, Paul
Jones, Fly-by-Night and few other
our racers then. There was
40 pool-crier then, no waiting to sci
pools; everything went on its merits.
And, oh, what crowds we had at the
'air those days! l haYe heard the
Of the fair sigh for those
good, old days, as the children of
Israel sighed for the fleshpots of
Egypt.
To the Horsenen's Protective asso-
,iation l would say: Don't think
you hold club over our heads, for l
certainly sthink we can get along
you. Our total gate receipts,
including grandstand were S5755.65;
expense Of race course, $59l5. .50-more
than all our gate receipts, We paid
1ut this fair On speed warrants ST.
l34,7 10. After such showing as this,
don't think you can "bust" the
Oregon state fair by refusing to race
| have no luminosity against the
honest, reputable horseman. If a
man has good horse and prides him
self on having it, glory In his pride;
but l don't think any racing man
has a right TO dictate to or browbeat
the management of the Oregon state
fair.
Our financial report has been pub
lished, and is open to criticism, and
If there is anything wrong with it,
the public has a right to say 50. |
want to tell the Protective Associa-
tion not to send any mere anonymous
to the members Of