Arizona silver belt., 1901-07-04
sl'ILL WANT HORSES.
Vars in Other Countries Have Raised a Fresh Demand.
s..a.r. Who Have Neglected the Cn,.iu.,- Now Regret Their short
 Il Siuhtedness Prices More
 Than Doubled.

.Tbe big prices the United States
 overnment finds itself compelled to
 nay for mounts for it's cavalry and < heir scarcity, make horse breeders nd dealers feel like kicking them
 elves for their lack of foresight, and hbat a glimpse into the future could
 ot have been had several years ago, | aid A south Washington horse dealer
 to a Star reporter recently
 "When the bicycle fever caught the
 rsonle where the collar catches the Eorsa. the breeders of that reverec
 friend of man threw up their hands
 m despair. and fell in line with the
 ,th.r yiseacre prophets who chimed l .bout the passing of the horse, and ike rot, until your ear acheG. They Rsropped breeding, sold off their stock,
 ,,rimly sat down to await the ineNi- \ shle crash. and to witness with tear I ful eyes the aforesaid passing.
 "But the horse refused to be passed, and baked. There were two or three wears of >tagnation. Then the clouds i Inf war between this country and Spain l gathered, and with them came an in- i creased demand for horses and mules. This demand steadily increased, and Eformer breeder, and farmers found l themselves unprepared to meet it. "The dream of the passing of the horse proved iridescent. Following the Spanish wal came tho war ill the |Transvaal, and the demand, already stimulated, increased to unprecedent- ed proportions Mule breeders and horse raisers fou nd themselves objects of tender solicit uGe on the part of the agents of the British empire.
 And now to cap the climax comes the army reorganization bill with its provision for the new regiments of cavalry, and no abundant supply of horses for the cavalrymen. These regiments must be placed in commis sion al once, and horses are an i'm perative prereq lisite. Following in the wake of the agents of Great Brit ain are the agents of the war depart ment, who are literally begging suit able mounts at he formerly unheard of price of S125 and Sl50 each, as against $40 and S60 few years ago.
 "'It is my opinion that there is no danger of overriding the horse breed ing business for some years to come.
 If the long-expS .ted European war is not in sight, il .ooks as if good tele-
 scope might dis 'cover the date, and
 whether it matorialiles or not, the
 state of preparedness deemed neces-
 sary by the different countries will cause stiff demand for horses which cannot be supplied at home, and their agents must look to us for the supply precisely as did Great Britain.
 "If there is a war in the east the price of horsefesh in this country will go up high. It takes from four to five years to turn out good cavalry mount, and breeders who have not kept abreast of the times had better wake up and increase the output of their stock farms.
 There are many good stock farms in Virginia and Maryland from which We get a good proportion of horses for the Washington market. There are lots of other farms in these states. which are now scarcely self-support- ing which could be devoted to stock raising to advantage and profit. As a side issue horses are easily and profit ably raised in this climate. l made a trip among some of these farms re- gently lookink up horses for our city trade, and had great difficulty in find ing the stock I wanted. Instead of
 writing about the passing of the horse for the lack of occupation by reason Of motor vehicles, it would be more appropriate to chronicle the scarcity of the animal by reason of decidedly heavy and healthy demand for his serv- ices in this and other countries, and the immediate prospects of still greater demand. It it keeps up. cav. airy mounts will go 10 $50 to S20O each. almost as much as well-bred horses sell Tor at auction"