Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-20
N0V|CES At KICKING
Americans Are Not the Cham
piOn GrumbIers.
EUROPEANS ARE EXPERTS
Recent Instances That illustrate
These Statements.
HOW THE FRENCH OBJECTED
New York Crowd Registered It's Com
plant in Very Different Manner
Incident at Chicago Hotel.
HOW THE FRENCH OBJECTED

DO not Europeans submit more abjectly
to all manner of impos!tions than Ameri-
cans?" inquired a recently returned Cooks
tourist in letter to a newspaper.
Answer: They do not!
Americans have achieved a wholly I'M
earned and totally undeserved reputation
as kickers. We have never attained the
exalted ether wherein the actual races of
kickers-because they get what they de-
mand-swim in rose. Americans submit
steadily and supinely to incessant imposi-
tons that a sure-enough race of kickers-
the French, we will say-would never toll
crate for moment. Our resentment of dis
courtesy incivility or outrage on the part
of servants of public utilities is pitifully
f1accid. feeble and ineffective. Our tame
federation of skin games is a joke among
travelled men.
THE good nature of American crowds
is thing often and widely Dragged about.
An American only may be permitted to say
that that same good nature of American
crowds is too often the hopeless resigna-
ton Of invertebrate sheep.
Take little old New York. They'll stand
for any old thing over yonder Individual
ly, the New Yorker is chesty as
vaudeville weight-lifter who snaps chains
with his expended and buloous torso. Col
lectively, in crowds. New Workers always
remind me of that Landseer painting-if
1t Is or was LandSeer-of the bunch of
sheep huddled in a compact, quivering mass
in the center of the darkening meadow.
awaiting the breaking of the storm. Those
miserable huddled sheep are SO finely
drawn that one may almost hear them
bleat New Workers bleat, too, but they
never do anything else.
Let's illustrate the difference between
sure-enough kickers and people who haven't
the gumption to kick by adverting to
two very recent instances in the current
news
The Affair at Longchamps.
Last Sunday afternoon something like
100000 French persons assembled at the
Longchamps race course, outside Paris, the
finest race track on the globe, to view the
racing. AS it is in England, racing is an
institution in France. The French govern
ment has a hand in the management of
French racing, and 1t Is no uncommon
thing to see the president of the French
republic, with his family, in his box at the
Longchamps track on Sunday after
| noon, for all of the star events of the
French turf are run off on Sundays.
Everything went well at Longchamps
Sunday afternoon last until the starter sent
away the field in one of the races without
the favorite. The favorite, a high-grade
animal that all hands had bet on, and that
could hardly have lost had he gotten away,
was left standing f1atfooted at the post.
There had previously been considera Die
complaint about the work of this starter
The French race-goers had. in form, petit
toned the proper authorities to dispense
with the services of that starter and get
another, one who knew how to start horses.
The proper authorities hadn't reached that
petition by last Sunday, and so the big
favorite of the day was left at the webbing.
Thereupon, with not a symptom of dilly-
dallying or delay, the 100000 French per-
sons there congregated, greatly enraged
set about to start something" to the honor
and glory of la belle France and that dear
Paris.
Kicking Some.
They had complained about that insup-
portable cochon of a starter, had they not?
And their complaints had been dsregarded
yes? Very wei! Excellent! They would
burn that racing plant to the ground then!
The next time, is it not, petition of the
citoyens of France will not be neglected..
So they began by burning down $1,000
francs worth Of Paris mutual booths-the
little shacks, where the bookmakers handled
the money. That was kicking some!
They tore down fences scattered the
bookmakers' gold to all the benign winds
| of heaven, tossed what convenient missiles
they could lay hands on at the judges in
their stand wrenched seats from the
grandstand and chucked them in a heap
| on the course. fought the watch, girded at
the constabulary sent to suppress them, and
behaved generally with all kinds of Gallo
Indignation and fury. That waS-more
kicking!
Their view in doing this, common to all
of them and perfectly spontaneous, was as
follows: They had been imposed upon
They We're not used to it. No suitable
reason existed why they should have been
imposed upon. Consequently, they kicked,
and they kicked hard.
Result: The Longchamps track authori-
ties have apologized. in form, to the people
Of France for the recent bad starting at
that course, and new starter has been
provided for the people of France.
(Note.-Kickers nearly always get what
fhaU md pyha fhai dom dc
sonable and founded upon equity and JUS
tice)
American Side of the Picture.
Now we get the other side of the pic
ture, the American side of it, out of the
current news
About a fortnight ago, at so-called
great" New York race track, where folks
give up at the gate So for the privilege Of
losing the rest Of their money on increas-
ingly strengthening races, a horse by
the name Of George S. Davis was duly
entered and carded to run in one of the
sprints. This George s. Davis Is not such
a bad horse. On this particular day he
was considered so much the best of the
horses pitted to run again him that about
80 per cent of the people who had dug up
their So to get through the gate played
him. Thousands, tens of thousands of
dollars, were wagered upon that George
s. Davis animal. He was the real good
thing.
Men endangered their lives and their
neighbors' lives by hurting up to the book
makers stools and thrusting in all the
money they had on the chance of the
aforementioned George s. Davis. This
thing had been going on for twenty min
utes, and the layers had George s. Davis
money stuffing their satchels to the burst
ing point, when rasp-voiced employee of
the track slouched up and down the book
makers line, hoarsely announcing this:
George S. Davis don't co.
The CONSERVATION immediate and
great. The George S. Davis bettors looked
at each other fooishly. Inquiries were
made, and it was found that the owner
of George S. Davis had meant to scratch
the horse in the forenoon. but that he had
forgot to scratch him until betting had
been in progress on the animal for twenty
minutes: until the vast majority of the
% eco persons present had bet their money
on George s. Davis. not a few of them
standing to go utterly broke upon that
one.
Yes, yes the CONSERVATION among that
crowd of New Workers was very great in
deed What was to be done?
What should have been done, what would
have been done, on any race course in
Europe where kicking is effectual, is this:
The track authorities should have de-
clared twenty minutes for a new book.
Every SUMMARIZE that had been taken in
on the race should have been refunded at
1 4 H. -