The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-05-29


ed for in several ways: First. these
interests are so scattered; second.
they have never had the protection or
recognition of either State or Gov
eminent; third, they have never had
any organization wherewith to adj
vance and protect themselves: ana
last. the self-sufficiency of every man
who is breeding or who is in any way
interested in that or racing. There
are some twenty weekly publications
devoted exclusively to the trotting
horse; these with the Year Book pub
lished by the Trotting Register Assoc
citation, are the horseman's bible.
They never go beyond them, and the
public never gets the inside informa-
ton or education. The horsemen
are therefore in way a secretive
body, yet without organization. OPP
posed to them are the reformers, the
importers and dealers in foreign
stock, and the individuals with axes
to grind. These tell their tale by
means of the daily press, the numer-
Gus agricultural papers and standard
publications, and thus reach the peo-
pie.
JeaIousies Among the Breeders.
"The absolutely inaccurate, most
unreliable and misleading amount of
abuse of our trotters so fed to thy
public through this means and by
book is enough to have swamped an
industry of less Importance. The
trotting breeding interests have also
suffered from sectional strifes and
/ ieaIousies among the breeders theWs!
selves, and also as between the trot-
| ting horse publications. In the sew
enties a national association Of trot-
ting horse breeders was organized,
Ibut through these sectional jealousies.
land from Encouragement it passed
laway about fifteen years ago. Dur.
ling it's brief existence, however, it did
Imuch to encourage breeding of the
trotter, and attracted the attention of
many men of means, to the studying
If blood lines, and the advancement
If our breeding interests. The UNI
timely death of this organization is
much to be regretted, for with the
chaotic condition of our horse affairs
following the depression of 1898, it
should have accomplished great good
for our breeding interests. During
the meeting of the Kentucky Trotting
Horse Breeders Association at Lex
ington, KY, in 1906, a few of our
breeders got together and determined
to- organize a breeders association
THAT should be both National and
brbad enough in its purposes to pro-
te& and encourage all lines of har-
neis horse breeding in this country
from our native stock
AT sale of trotters in New York
City, at the time of the recent depres-
! sio1, S75 trotters were disposed of
for total of $413,740, an average of
| $47S per head. During this sale a
stallion was sold for $4,000, three
/ brood mares for $12, 1925, and seven
yearlings for $1,000. The quality
of stock offered was no higher, if as
high, as the year before, but the en-
tire sale averaged $40 per head
high@ than the same sale of the year
| 1906. Could anything prove more en-
tirely lthe stability and value of our
trotting horse interests? During the
past ten years this one sale has dis
posed Of 9612 horses for a total cost
of 81, t00,912, and it is only one of
about f1fteen similar sales held in this
country each year. 1t is safe to say
that TIL Dough public and private sale
we disH pse of or exchange in this
country over 100000 trotters and
PAGERS each year. The magnitude
and value of our breeding interests as
applied to our trotting stock can
be somewhat appreciated by these
figures.