The Washington herald., 1912-04-07
NJ u. d. SALE.

|, tional Trotting Association, which au-
gust tribunal convenes May 4. at the
Murray Hin Hotel, New York.
Two important cases will come before
the board for ajudication. ana, singular
to relate. each IL connected with the
ringing OF horses According 70 Secre-
tary Gocher. OF the National Trotting
Association, the matinee mare known
in this locality as Miss Arcola. ELS IA,
owned by Peter Lotus. Is . ringer. and
that her true name is Bessie Lghtfcot,
e12i-A
The second case TO be adiadicated Is
that OF Miss Kushan. AIS IA. who was
started at Burke. Va. come three or
four years ago as Lady Kushan. and
afterward ran as Miss Kushan. This
Is the more important case Of the two.
because some nice questions of turf
jurisprudence are involved. as wen as
several hundred dollars In winnings.
which must be returned II the defend
ant In the case be found guilty. and
tracks.
The case Of Bessie Lightfoot. 3:i2 Ia
elso known as Miss Arcola. 2:ls1-l, pre-
xenfs . different aspect She has never
raced over an association track since
becoming the property OF Mr.. Foftus
He purchaeed her at a. public sale, m
which she was catalogued as Miss Ar
cola. He had a right TO take It for
granted that she was what she was rep
resented TO be. The name Of the Fassig
Company, which auctioned on the mare
to Mr.. LOTUS, stands high in the horse
narts world, and II is not fair TO pre-
sumo that the firm was In q conspiracy
TO defraud.
Nevertheless, a fraud was committed.
If Secretary Gocher is correctly inform
ed and an action VIII be brought for
personal damages II Mr.. LOTUS decides
to prosecute the case. II Mr.. LOTUS
goes before the board OF review. he VIII
be asked to state under what conditions
he purchased the mare, and whether he
had any foreknowledge Of her previous
history other than that received from
the sale catalogue and from other per-
sons who knew OF the mare and her
performances
No one acquainted with Mr.. LOTUS
can but believe that he was an innocent
purchaser, and that he has been i'm
posed upon. The man who knowingly
rings a horse is no better than he who
takes ones pocketbook. or loots ones
idomicile In Virginia, Maryland. Maine.
and in some Of the other States of the
Union It Is q penitentiary offense. Since
donal Trotting Association ringing has
been infrequent, because of his eternal
vigilance to protect the public.
Occasionally, however. q case escapes
him for the tims being, as in the case
of Miss Arcola- Many persons, on the
other hand, are caught red-handed.
When they are caught, the punishment
FITS the crime.
The case of the National Trotting As
sociation vs. The former owner of Miss
Kushan, 2:16iE. revolves around the ques-
ton as to whether or not the owner Of
the mare knew on the day she was raced
at Burke, Va. that she was being raced
as Lady Kushan. or whether he was
ignorant of that fact at any subsequent
period until very recently, when the
matter was brought to his attention by
the secretary of the National Trotting
Association. To attempt to beeloud the
case with any other issue Is folly. II
is as clear as pike stah that IL he can
Impress the board OF review that he was
ignorant Of the fact until recently in
formed Of Ii, the case should end there
and then, because there would be no
evidence Of intent to defraud. Ignorance
in civil courts (and the principle may well
apply to turf courts) does not, in the
stern eyes Of the law, wholly excuse.
1t may in certain cases, soften penal
ties for the graveness of every criminal
case Is criminal intent The affidavit in
the case on file with Secretary Gocher, to
the effect that the mares name was en-
tered by the clerk of the course as Lady
Kushan to prevent duplication of names
because there was another mare owned in
the District named Miss Kushan. may be
true. If true. It does not penetrate the
meat Of the issue at bar. The affidavit IS
mere incident Of the case. and only
warranted liberties with another mans
property. The original entry OF the mare.
il seems, has disappeared
In order 10 secure an-imn1unity bath
from the board of review, the former
owner OF Miss Kushan, 2:Is II. must
purge himself of any intent to defraud. |
This he can do by presenting frrefutable l
evidence that, previous to the time he
was Informed by Secretary Gochers he |
vas ignorant of the fact that his mare |
had ever raced as Lady Kushan. Miss |
Kushan, alias Lady Kushau, having re-
Gently changed hands, the interesting /
question arises as to her tuTf status, |
pending proceedings before the board of /
review. Can she be legally raced be-
fore the case is decided?
OSCIeIaIy S4OCneT Is silent on InaIl
point Another important question is, II |
the defendant be found guilty, win the
marA share the penalty and be disqual-l
lied FOR future racing? Javins Broth
ers, who now own her. naturally want /
70 know. now they are on the way, at
what point they get on. The situation I
Is interesting TO turf followers generally. /
because the question OF contributory
negligence may be raised by the board
and settled for all time.
What town little old Washington
would be on the racing map If the SPORT
ing editors Of the daily newspapers of
the city devoted the same space, energy. I
and briliiaucy Of talent TO the promotion /
of racing sport that they do TO baseball i
sport! We would soon be engaged in Il /
neck and neck finish with Detroit, CIeye-
land. and Grand Rapids. while, as II now
is, we are behind the red flag with Os-
i1osh, Skowhegan. and kalamazoo, and
towns that can only count hundreds while
we are rapidly trotting toward the half
million mark. In a short space OF time |
we would have a mile track. a $4,000 steel
grand stand. which. at every racing event,
would be plaesrded In type the size OF
grave stones with the well worn legend,
standing room only
An iridescent dream, an idle hope. a
vatn yearning for the unattainable. The
men who control the destinles OF sport- d
ing sheets, and who so skillfulIy whet
the public appetite TO razor edge in
behalf of baseball In this town, would
gladly devote talent, space. and time to 1