The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-13
ORGANIZING IS STRENGTH Shown in the Southern Drivers Association. SOME OF ITS ACHIEVEMENTS Has Put Harness Racing on l High Plane.
 Has Isl'Al.ates Nesr. Tralaer. ana Resclutien is Now i. Effect
 separatias Hun.l.s and
 7, Harness Races.
 .a HI [

While Starting Judge Curry was no instructed by the local association t call the winner of every race at vandi yer Park last. October up to the stan, and hand him his share of the purs sta stiil l,, f tters had d,,,S been kick frSn % Montgomery Fair Association to d.
 The payment of purses immedlatei. of the resolutions passed at s ineetins of the Southern Drivers Assoctatioi held in Nashyille on the 2sth of las september This Drivers Association factors in the racing game down her, | in Dfxfe--that Is harness racing, and this sport Is getting stronger every
 The southsr4 Drivers Assooition wa. orgenized duEtng the meeting. of the Nashville Fair Association in 1907 Primarily the object of, the Associa- ness racing in the South. In. other words this Drivers Association Is to racing, what the A. A. Association is to amateur wcrts,or. what the Nation is just as mucS aisrsee 1sssDs tbeswsen nsrs harness racing and the thoroughbred game as there is between daylight and darkness.
 With such men as MT. Whitney and that class of high-toned gentlemen the runz4ng race business is all rigilt t, but where there is, one of the Whitney site typs. sThsn agsin the sSi class Spof of keys. stable boys, etc. who take care of the bang tails are, to say the least of It. not people whom On the other hand the men who handle harness horses are as a general rule among the highest class Of gen. owners is this the>c case but among. the drivers. both drivers and owners Being Fesponsib le business men and. highly thought of in their communities. The owners realize M i that that haSness % p rasins ing down here was on high plane and must be kept clean--hence the ore
 After the " orEanissticn @ % in Nashv,,Ia the first business meeeing of the driy- during the meeting at yahdfver Park Windsor Hotel and action was taken on someth ing that happened at Vagsdf- yer Park during the. races-and from ths, thss Shy SSyc to oa t,s repetition of what been heard any more.
 Gut Out Negroes, .iA.f
 Previous to the organization of the were employing negro trainers. A re- solution was~l passed by the Drivers' Association that they would not take part In any track in the south where
 
 the last of negro drivers and trainers. The last one had been Mir. W F. Garth. of HuntsvtlIe who had to get rid of the negro drtyer and turn his string over other reforms were started including the payment of purses immediately aE , ter the s ending of, 2 race.bnt this last ing the meeting of the Tennessee Association at Tullahoma last August the annual election of otiicerss was held eiected PFssidsnt, ss 5no % W. Tho,m9s h;, 9siHs of Donelson, Tenn.s--a broth of Nr C. c. Thomas at Xandiver Park-Vice preside president: and and n Wm: g: Thomas being
 A few months. afterwards another meeting was held in Nashville at which a resolution was passed in which the part In a meeting that allowed mixed running and harness races at the same time. It was too late to try nss sSs of 1sSs Snt aa Bsn WhteS sd ats.nd ed a meeting of the executive com mittee in Nashville a few weeks ago and says that the Association is de- to running races oyer the Tennessee and Southern Fair circuits in 1909, and that matter promises to become a very
 t would be a p pretty hard iaIt matter to have races without drivers, and the list of the members shows o1 hoW Geong. tae S es RTyers so AssOes s yno ". Tn omas, Donelson. Tenn.,; Wm. H.. Freas. Lascassas, Tenn; Ben W. Whitehead, Montgomery, Ala. S nick, Montgomery. Ala: c. c. Thomas, Ala; Wm. Galloway, Montgomery. Ala: Joe Mooney, Mont Ala; Wm. H Ewing. Nashville, Tenn. John Gholston, Lebanon, Tenn; R. E. Branch. Bishop. Ga; Jim Thomas, sIs sRIIsng H Tenn W WilsSn HSIaAs Asses Msh Tenn; c. D: Carter. Birming ham; Ala. Wm. Downing. Gallatin, Tenn; Percy kimbro, Murfrees6oro; Tenn; Wm. Kay, Fayetteville, Tenn.
 If there ever. was any doubt as to the strength of the organization the result result. of ,ts, the nght f1i. that they made Frank Fuller in 1908 when the South : ern Fair Association was crystalized. was the starting judge around the horsemen still think that he. Is the best man on that job ever at Vandiver Park. Since then Fuller has been sec retary of the Fair Associataon until 2 the Drlvers's Association mentioned above was held in Nashville.
 It seems that some Of the. drivers had formed the idea that Fuller was not friendly to them and that they end of the game. So at the recent meeting in Nashville they made the fight against Fuller and demanded the election of Wm. H. Treas, of Tennes- see as secretary of the Southern Fair Association. Whether the Fair Asso- ciation will make a light against thiS or not Is a question that will be de- cided later. but in the interest of har- mony 1t Is thought that they will ac' cept the demands of the Drivers's As
 About Mixed Raees.
 Another thing for the Southern FatI Association to decide is whether they will sccede to the resolution of the pr1yers's Association, as to mixed races during the coming season. It will cer- talnlY be the part of wisdom for the Fair Association to cut out the run ming races on @the tracks of this cir .cuit In the first place svery horse man knows that an owner cannot ar ford to bring even one good thorough, bred down here much less a stable ol runners.
 About the most lAughsble thing h the world was the absurd merry gc round humbug that was put on on the people of the Southern circuit last tMSall M In a parody on running races One or two men owned the entire ,Ouluy