Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1913-07-30

an experiment.
Shortly after that Capt. Conrad
received probably the most remarka-
BILE orders ever given an army officer.
He wcs instructed to get in q buggy,
ride through the South at random
and pick out the best place for the
proposed farm. He did so. He rode
| through Virginia, Tennessee, North
! Carolina and Georgia for six months.
Then he came back to Virginia and
decided on the blue grass land
around Front Royal. He reported
that there were thirty-five private
farms in the section known as Ches-
ter Gap, which, joined in one big
! farm, about answered the purpose.
And the government accepted his
mere word and bought the farms
buying one at time and keeping
it's purpose secret to prevent a sud
den raise in price.
But word Of the project, for all
that it had been kept in the dark,
got out-and in the end it was lucky
for Uncle Sam that it did. For it so
happened that August Belmont heard
of 1T, and heard Of it just at a time
when he was wondering what to do
with his race horses, which adverse
legislation in various parts of the
country had made useless for all pur-
poses save ornament.
The result was that after a bit of
correspondence Belmont made uncle
sam present of his six best stall
lions. Those stations, known the
( racing world over, are Henry of Ma
yarre, Octagon, Footprint, Belfry II,
Vestibuie and Marshall King. The
six of them, when only two years old,
cost the round sum of 100000.
But this wasn't all. James Cam
| den, millionaire horseman OF Ver-
aailles, KY, heard of Belmonts gift
( ~ d added to it. He made Uncle
sam present Of his two famous stall
/ IONS, Boola Boola and Wheelwright,
worth about $4,000. Aud thus the
arm was started. With these eight
stAllions to start with the govern
.ncnt bought more, until now it has
over fifty.
But even with fifty stations and
mares by the hundreds breeding on
the farm was too slow. Something
had to be done to increase the SCOPE
OF the work-and the answer was
found in a scheme to have Uncle
sam take every farmer in the South
into partnership. This was done.
AS result, this spring the stall
lions are being taken all over the
country-wherever there are farm
ers with mares. When Belmont and
Camden owned their stations none
but the wealthy could breed to them.
The charge for breeding to Henry Of
Navarro, for instance, was $1,000.
To-day, however, breeding is free.
All that is required is that the far
mer shall agree to sell the colt to
the government when it Is two years
old for 5000. If he wishes to keep
the colt himself he must pay stud
zee or not more than $25. And II
the colt has single blemish he may
Keep 1t and pay no stud fee at all.
1t is absolutely required, however,
that the mare itself shall be free
from blemish, and of good breeding,
Tor the purpose Of the entire farm is
to put the common-bred horse out of
existence and replace it with a race
OF thoroughbreds.
And so twice year from now on,
every spring and fall. the stations
will be shipped about the country. A
letter to the War Department is al,
that Is necessary to bring one. The
result will be that in few months
the farm will be buying in countless
thousands of colts-enough to sum-
ply every man in the army and still
leave a huge surplus. Then private
citizens will be invited to buy. and
after that foreign governments will
be asked to come and purchase. The
ultimate plan is to sell the horses
at a gigantic auction sale, with an
army officer as auctioneer, knocking
down the animals to the highest
bidder.
Uncle Sau's horse farm ie n,oba