The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-17
anne nor.e SHOW wal.es up Trado.

Possibly, the Madison Square Garden
Horse Show may not be quite so popular
with ultra-fashionables, this year, as it
has been in years gone by, but there Is no
disputing its continued attractiveness to
the general public. This is demonstrated
by the crowds hat flock to see 1t, by the
throngs Of guests in the neighboring hotels
who have come for the purpose OF attending
1t, by the gay appearance OF the streets that
lead to it, and, what is OF more Importance,
by the amount of money 1t brings to the
city for distribution. The restaurants and
s~hop-keepers especially, profit by the ex-
pcnditure II occasions, but this benefit also
extends to the thousands who find occupa-
ton in carrying on the show and man.
aging its business, to tho dressmakers and
tailors who make the smart costumes dis
played at 1t, and even to the cab-drivers
who bring people to it and take them away.
Economists Of the Poor Richard school
are accustomed to say that the money
spent on exhibitions like this show, and on
the %enioyments connected with 1t, Is not
wisely used. They point out that it leaves
behind it no tangible, permanent result,
and, therefore, that its cost is as much
wasted as il 1t were burned up or sum- in
the ocean. Their conception OF the useful
investment of money is limited to the
building OF factories and railroads, to the
cultivation and improvement Of land, and
to the production Of wheat, corn, beef,
pork. cotton, iron, and other m~erchantable
commodities. When the Horse Show is
over there will be nothing Of it left, they
say, whereas the labor and the money it has
consumed would have served to produce
many thousands Of yards Of cotton cloth,
tons OF iron, or barrels Of pork.
Ascetic religionists also condemn, as a
wasteful and wicked employment Of wealth,
its consumption in entertainments like the
Horse Show and their accomplishments.
They would have the surplus means OF the
rich devoted exclusively to charitable pur-
poses, and denounce it's diversion to self
qualification as sinful. They figure up how
many hospitals, a~lmshouses, schools, free
libraries, and similar institutions for the
benefit Of the poor could be maintained
with the money spent for transitory pleas
ures, and assume the claims of such chart
ties to be paramount to all others.
All this is taking a narrow and bigoted
view Of life and its duties. It contradicts
one of the axioms Of religion as well as Of
common sense, that human beings have
other than physical wants, and that the
mere keeping of the body alive and in health
is not the sole end OF existence. If it were
universally adopted, it would convert the
world into nothing but a workshop for the
strong and a hospital for the weak. and 1t
would Danish from among us the numer-
GUS recreations and enjoyments which now
alleviate our miseries. More than this, it
would prevent the development Of the hui
man faculties, and make impossible the
creation of works Of art and the productions
Of literary genius. Even the wealth created,
being composed exclusively of the bare
necessaries of life, ~wouldcease to be wealth,
and would consist Of a superabundance Of
raw material, which would have no more
value than the sane Of the desert.
The Horse Show, therefore, deserves ap-
proval and encouragement from every
| citizen who desires the prosperity Of the
| city. 1t not only wakes up trade and pro-
notes the distribution Of money among
people who live by their labor, but 1t indi-
rectly widens the field Of such peoples
| activity. In the mere matter of creating
a larger demand for handsome and care
fully bred horses. for elegant carriages and
harness, and for better trained coachmen
and grooms. it increases the wealth-pto-
ducing capacity OF the community, and
when to this is added the stimulus it gives
to all kinds OF social enjoyment and to the
ministrations they demand, it is difficult to
estimate the extent Of its usefulness.