The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-09-19
TRIBUTE TO ED GEERS
SKETCH OF HIS INTERESTING CAREER.
He is the Foremost Figure in the Harness Horse World and Has
 Many Friends in
 Alabama.

+ In Montgomery, Selma and this section where Ed Geers has spent good many r,sars of his life there Is a feeling or sim cere esteem and respect not only TOT the gentleman that he is but TOT ms hohess' The foilowing tribute to him. taken from Sundays Chicago Tribune, IS not only not overdrawn m , the ieas'' put ID
 "Elbert Hubbard of the Pninsune con tributes to the current number or tnat publication a sketch of Ed Geers; ance .ne ton with the victories of the trotiers and pacers campaigned during the last ten years by the Village Farm stables or '"The farm is at East Aurora. N. Y. where Hubbard holds forth, and the ed- flor became acquainted with Geers py reason of a passing intereSe r,,,ind r him into early rising and the jogging or prospective champion on the track at l that place. 1 , of interest chiefly by reason Of unortnouox treatment of the subject, but Tn respect so | the statement of facts it Is. so 10 speak' for instance, after alluding to Geers brick dust complexion, that its pecuhar tint must by no means be attrlDuteo 70 the use .sa Of tSs fooaSco @ee is the acme of in accuracy. since except when asleep or eating, Geers is practically never witnout a cigar between his lips. The Iact that 1, the editor, while jogging horse along | side of Geers, did not notice that the Ia- | nous reinsman emitted smoke with Lne | regularity of an Atlantic liner In a hurry | to 20 somewhere would indicate that ne | was paving more attention to Pegasus oi | mythology than the chestnut stalnon oL | real life in Erie county, behind which ne sat in tremulous expectancy Of mile m
 Geers Strong in a Finish.
 | ''That Geers is the foremost figure in the harness horse world as Rreesesnr Regsn is s true Since the days Of Hal Pointer' his % gait T with % ease and finaiiy held the | gelding record at his way of going. the man from Tennessee has demonstrated the possession of abilities as Iralner Robert Fna rt's J, Fantasy, The Abbott, Lord Derby and others are his credentials, ano right now, with the last named pair ln his stable:, Geers has two better geldings than were ever trained by one man al the same time. When Derby defeated tne | supposedly invincibie Boralma at Hart a9sS hv well GIne to the center of the tracl and finishing nose to. the good or nls opponent after a homestretch drive tna' perfect in it's planning and ] horse lovers present wondered whethel | even The Abbott could beat ''the Derby horse' a race of mile heats. three III five.
 Geers's finish that heat was one of su Ipreme confidence in himself ana ms | horse and it was a conndence Dullt oI
 He had taken Lord Derby less than twc years ago. when that horse could not | for his life trot a mile in 2:30 and brought
 him along. day by day. winter and sum mer, until he was the perfection of phys ical condition, gatted so that not ons scintilla of action was lost or Inisapplied yet wths not % 6Sed ann a spdT | as his fattened ears and nervous tug ging at the bit when brought on the | track showed. "a
 ing with a party of friends about the looming race, Geers was not optlmstlc
 "This track is little soft for my horse. he said. If the footing was hard ne have a chance, though"
 Conservatism a Marked Trait.
 This meant much to those who knew Geers Never in his life has he touted one of his own horses to win, even to intimates His own bet bet on it came race about is that Nick Hubinger and the other plung- CTS at Hartford all picked Boraima to win 1t was merely the weight or money $100 to $35 over the field, and not any real or fancied superiority over the Hamlin entry. Not in years. if indeed ever m ated such excitement In a crowd. To the whirlwind of cheers that greeted him as Lord Derby logged back to the wire af; I ter the ItTSI Hc&b HtAu DCVh won Geers responded by dofing his black cap just once. Not smile Hlu-
 minated his Cronwe;lian face. After tht
 battle of five heats had been fought and - won supper had made both winners anC losers less excitable, and cigars were
 having their soothing effect on tensionet nerves, Geers was the center of an ad
 miring group. He took the congratula- tons much as a boy might receive com
 pliments for the successful speaking oi | a piece at school. There was no air O superiority, no note of triumph in hi voice. but the silent man" was evident '"My horse (Geers never calls a trot ter or pacer by name) didn't like tha soft going next to the pole" he said ''He had a light shoe and pad in front and when he would grab the dirt ana
 throw 1t back and up against himself h.
 would get excited and break. l coul,
 feel that dirt hitting him right througl
 the lines"
 Gives The Abbot a Whipping.
 That remark will give people some idei of Geers's hands in the matter of driv
 ing trotter. No man in the business
 has lighter touch or. when necessary. { more vise-like grip. He has the strengtl of Sandow and the delicate touch of ar Ole Bull. and knows when, where, anC
 how to use each. He is kind to his horse;
 but when one of them needs a licking tha
 horse gets it. and he gets 1t good. 4
 week before The Abbott broke the record |, last fall Geers gave the speed marvel,
 drubhing one afternoon on the For ] Wayne track that made even horsemeI