Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-02
DEMAND IS INCREASING
Horses Now Bring Better Prices Than They
Did q. Year Ago.
Ferha1R the. InAuence of the Bicycle
"e the wnne-Re"l Good AMI
gals Are Rather Scarce.

Star reporter asked the proprietor OF
a local horse exchange the other day if the
all but universal use of the bicycle in Wash
ington had greatly decreased the value of
| horsefesh here. and if the general preva-
| lence of the bike enthusiasm hereabouts
during the past few years had had the eff
| feet Of erowding the horse out SO far as
| concerted his use for purposes of pleasure.
| i could not now give so unqualified a
yes IN answer to both of those questions
| as I might have given, say, about two
years ago, when, in my opinion. the bike
| fever was at the flood tide in this town."
was the reply. You would hardly get the
confirmed bicycle enthusiasts of Washing
| ton to admit that the bike fever here is on
the Wane; but observation that has not been
merely casual, but close and undertaken
LOT business purposes, proves to my Salts
faction at least that it is. Even so, how
ever, there is no denying that the bike has
been pushing the horse pretty hard around
| here For example, a good road horse that
| would easily have brought 500 at auction
few years ago is not now worth more
| than s11O at the highest This is case of
cutting a price in two that speaks for it
self. But, oddly enough, you happen in
mere with your questions just at time
when the horse business in Washing on
mas taken a decided boom, and all of us
are confidently looking now to the re-estab-
lshment of the former prices for horses
or all sorts within two years at the most
Not that any of US are quite SO lacking in
foresight as to suppose that the bike is to
be abandoned within that period, or any
| thing like it. The steady rise in the prices
or horses dealt in in Washington is not due
SO much to any greatly increased local de-
| mand (altho,.sh this unquestionably &C.
counts for 1t in some small measure) as
to the actual scarcity of good horses
throughout the entire country. owing to a
demand for American horses by foreign
buyers that is nothing short of phenomenal
Considerably more than 100000 head of
horses have been shipped from the United
states to all parts Of Europe since the first
OF last January.
HOrselesh In Washington.
There are about 10000 horses on duty in
Washington at the present time. and hard
iy day passes now that does not add to
the market value of every one of them
or the 10000, l should say that about H.
wv of them are employed for business, and
the remainder for purposes of pleasure. 1
don't think there is city of equal size in
the United States that could furnish a CEN
sus OF 5000 horses used for pleasure. 1t is
not far cry back to the time when most
OF the young business men hereabouts, COL
lectors, clerks, men whose avocations re-
CURED them to push around the town with
some expedition a good deal during working
ddyS, uStd tIltIT OWN traps IOr THIS purpose
These men saw good thing when the bike
came along, for it let them out of the ex-
pense for, the stabling of their nags. and
stabling has always been high in WASH
lngton. Tt costs from S1S to 81. 30 20 keep
horse and rig in livery stable here, and
good many OF the young fellows who used
to own their own horse and buggy did not
greatly reach over these figures when they
settled up for their own board and keep.
While Jhe general introduction of the BIZ
cycle, and the Introduction of another
means of flocomotion that l shall speak of
later on, certainly set to rocking the values
of horses used in Washington for pleasure
driving and riding Especially the latter,
the number of them SO used never suffered
any very material decrease. Just as many
young fellows take their girls out driving
on these warm nights as ever did. and just
as many of them are the possessors of their
own outfits as ever were. Moreover, the
class ofgipeOpie, in Washington who Use
horses for THAR open-air. pleasure is Of
sort that could never be weaned from the
use of traps and carriages by so compare
lively an unconventional affair as the bike.
Il suppose L know, or know of, about
three-fifths, Of the people here who during
the past ten years have maintained from
one up to ten or twenty horses for pleasure
driving purposes. and l can't recall more
than dozen of them who have entirely
abandoned the use of the horse for the
bike The decrease in :he value of their
horsefiesh has been simply due to glut in
the national horse market. which the COM
paratively recent demand for American
horses by foreign countries has not only
broken, but rendered practically out of the
question for the future. 1t Is laughable to
read some of the stories that prin ted
| nowadays as 10 the general slump and no.
accOuntneSS OF the horse out west, as, for
instance, the yarn that Oh the Pacific coast
they are establishing canneries for the put
ting up of good horses that have no value,
and therefore have to be converted into
food themselves to prevent them from eat
ing their own heads off. The prices
brought by horses of all kinds all over the
country are now at least 20 per cent higher
than they were at this season last year.
Work Of the Bicycle.
"While, as have said, there has been no
decrease whatever worth talking about in
the number Of horses used for pleasure
driving in Washington. the bike has got in
it's fine work by preventing what would
otherwise have been a natural increase in
the number of horses so used, and this lack
of demand has. of course, served to keep
the prices down. The man who has ever
been used to driving his own trap is not
likely to surrender the pleasure he derives
from its use for a vehicle which compels
him to do all the work Of propulsion. 1t is
the men who have never experienced the
pleasure of driving their own rigs who take
to the bicycle for their open-air recreation,
and very large number of such men in
Washington are in circumstances to wa
rant their possession and maintenance of
at least one horse.
Now as to that other means Of locomo-
ton that spoke of awhile back. In my
opinion, the suburban car lines have done
quite as much as, II not more than, the
bike to cause the use of the horse for
pleasure driving to remain at a standstill
in Washington during the past few years.
The main purpose of a mans possession of
q rig of his own Is to enable him to drive
around on country roads on fine Jays and
nights, to take in the scenery and accumu-
late gulps Of fragrant, fresh air. The
Washingtonian OF the past few years has
been enabled to indulge his appetite for
this kind of healthful pleasure simply by
giving up dime for a ride on the trolley
cars. OF course, there is not SO much pri-
vacy or, lall-aloneness In this scheme for
young people who have a whole lot to say
to each other, as there is in the rig but it
Is good deal less expensive, and Washing
ton folksshavai appreciated the fact.
1.-THE bike has, of course, smashed the
horse tn srpit hereepS in "