The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-03-29
HORSES FEAR NOAUTO
THEY KEEP THEMSELVES IN GOOD
DEMAND At HIGH PRICES
DESPITE MACHINE
WORRIED BY BIKE AND WHEEL
Use of Electricity on InterurDnn
Road Is the Main Danger in
the Pathway OF the Amer
lean Equine.
FROM THE GLOBE BUREAU,
Washington, ID. G.


WASHINGTON, March 48.-In the opin-
lon of the government experts the auto
mobile is not in any immediate danger Of
injUring the horse business. George NJ
ROmmel, E. S. A, horse expert Of the
department of agriculture, has issued a
brochure on horses, in which he says:
Experience with automobiles has
shown that in their present state of de-
Velopment, their effect on the horse mar
ket is not serious. For business pur-
poses they have not yet been found to be
entirely satisfactory. At present the
auto is the least dangerous Of all the
lettering influences which opera te> against
the horse market"
The bicycle is admitted to have done
injury to the horse; but it is said to be
very slight, and its effect has now pass
ed. Prof. Rommel says: THE bicycle
influenced particularly the demand for
cheap drivers-the inferior grades-and
naturally intensified the downfall OF
prices However, though for a time the
growing use Of the bicycle brought about
decline in the use of horses, its effect
was hardly 50 severe as appeared; GER
tainly it was not permanent.
The use Of the bicycle became most
widespread among persons who could af-
ford neither to purchase nor maintain a
horse, and among those who constitute
a large part Of the patronage Of the
livery stables. If it has severely affect
ed the horse in any capacity, it is by the
inroads which liverymen claim it has
made on their business.
The solar plexus blow to the horse.
however, has been the substitution Of
electric power on urban railroads. The
past twelve years have witnessed the pass
ing of the street car horse. Coming, as
it did, at the same time with the panic
of 1888 the sudden dumping on the mar
ket of thousands and thousands of street
car horses, caused the horse market to
go to pieces. Valuable stock followed
in the slump of the Chunks" and "cuIIs."
and for a time it was freely predicted
that there would never again be any
money in raising horses. Farmers and
stockmen took fright and disposed of
their stock for little or nothing
But it was 1893, the year of the world
fair, when nothing was so cheap as
horse, that conditions began to mend.
From an unexpected source came relief
which has since revived the business of
raising horses, until 1t is now on a
most thriving basis. There came among
the visitors to the fair parties from
abroad in search of horses to be shipped
to foreign markets That year the ex-
ports of horses numbered less than 5000.
The next year they had jumped to SAG,
and by steady increases they have gone
up until the record for 1901 was 81. go.
With this enormous foreign demand there
has been a growing demand at home.
In fact, the raising Of home prices has
resulted in cutting down the foreign ex-
ports. There is also a great scarcity
reported of good horses. The census
shows more horses than ever before in
this country: but they are not of the
high grade demanded by the market.
1t is the opinion Of the expert that
ting stock in hopes Of getting by some
lucky accident a fast foa1. The result is
a lack of action, body and most of the
requisites mostly in demand