The Washington herald., 1913-03-16
BY l.. ID. SALE.

The "Trotter and PAGER column, a
familiar feature of this page. almost
from the first issue Of The Sunday
Herald, has been conspicuous for its
absence for two consecutive Sundays.
something unusual. owing to the bad
health Of him who conducts it.
And 1t is pleasant to be told that the
column so familiar TO light harness
horsemen in this particular section OF
country has been missed. To those
who feel that they have a message for
the public there are compensations
that the sordid ring of commercial
dollars and cents can never supply,
and one of them is the appreciation of
ones fellow-men. For over twenty
years past, the work OF the writer in
this particular vineyard has been a
, labor of love rather than OF financial
; reward. At no time in all these years
has he permitted the sordidness that
enters into ones daily toll for bread
/ swerve him from the beaten path of
duty. Ours has been the task to re-
cord the daily happenings among
horsemen. Ours, too. has been the
painful duty to critiCise where We be-
| lieved criticism was needed to spur
, horsemen to a higher plane of endeav-
or. and in so doing, friend and foe
have suffered alike.
In our work for the betterment of
conditions in the District of Columbia,
Southern Maryland. and Northern Vir-
ginia. We have carried no flag of truce,
for we hold the BELIEF that one who
gives blows should also take them. and
without a murmur. Conditions in this
. particular bailiwick are not as ideal as
; one who has the best interests of the
light harness horse at heart would
: like to see them. There is too little
cohesiyeness and unity of action
, among local horsemen. To accomplish
the best results. we need here in the
District of Columbia in particular
more of the Get-together spirit that
characterized local light-harness horse
men in some of the years that are gone.
: To accomplish this reorganization is
necessary along modern lines. The
Riders and Drivers Association. which
tlourished many years, has been in 4
comatose state too long to warrant an
attempt to revive it. new organization.
with new men in conspicuous places and
with new ideas. is the need of the hour.
and the time is even now ripe to bring
II into being. We have everything in
our midst to inspire hope and unity Of
action. We have more horses. faster
ever before owned in this section.
Some of them have made turf history
within the past year. and there is every
reason to believe that others now owned
here and new to turf patrons will make
good when the clock strikes the hour
for their coming. We confidently look
forward to 1913 AS the banner year for
Washington owned horses Although
there have been dark hours. We have
never wholly despaired OF seeing the
Capital of the nation take its stand along
with its sister cities on the light-harneSs
map. The hour is near when, in the
course of nature. we shall he compelled
40 resign our self-allotted task. When
that hour shall be ushered in. whether
soon or late, matters little to us. or. per-
haps. TO the public at large. But when
the call does come for us to lay aside the
| activities of existence our departure will
be soothed with the thought that. per
chance. some one who knew and under
stood us best will he prompted to say.
with truth written in his heart. as he
looks upon our features for the last time:
! Here lies a man who never swerved
from the path of duty. far his
mental eyes discerned that path: who
never betrayed n trust or a friend: n
man who feared only God and trusted in
His mercy. and served his generation"
The remarkably open season in
northern latitudes should bring horses
Ia the post in 1913 in much better con-
dition for the spring meets than has
been the case in previous years. There
have been but few days of the winter
months when horses owned north of
the Potomac and Ohio Rivers could not
he logged. Heretofore horses owned
south Of the boundaries named de-
-t,, fn, riF m
the hest of the early starts. owing to
climatic influences. In order to sue
cessfully cope with them and get any
part of the money, Northern owned
horses have been compelled to step
at faster gait than was good for
them if ii was expected that they
would he in good form when the days
became hotter. the pace faster, and the
| purses more valuable. Here in the
| District of Columbia weather condi-
tions have been almost ideal for win
ter work. Alonzo Corbin. with his
string of eight young and promising
lhorses has been able to give them al
most daily road work. On Monday he
shifted his string to Hagerstown.
where he will put on the finishing
touches previous to the Baltimore
spring meets. Although there have
been bluffs and some backing and fill
ing on the part of the track associa-
| tiOnS in Baltimore county. on account
of the recent decision of the racing
commission to permit no more book
making on Baltimore County tracks,
we anticipate that none of the asso-
Citations concerned will finally consent
that their tracks shall he given up to
weeds and their buildings to decay.
| Michael Morris. who has in his imme-
date charge Berka. 2:14 Ia. Kate Nc
| Kinney C2), 2:26 IA ttrial. 2:lD. and the
| unmarked Koroni. has been using the
parks and suburban roads all through the
| winter season. and his charges. while
| CARRYING still much flesh, are. in body
and limb, ready for the master hand to
put in racing condition. We had the
pleasure last Tuesday of paying long
deferred visit to the Morris stables in
West Washington. Berka and Koroni We
| had not set eyes on since the close of
their remarkable campaign of 1872 Kate
| Mckinney. a purchase made by Michael
Morris at the midwinter 'Old Glory" sale
we saw for the first time. Berka was led
out of her stall and examined There
were no visible signs of her strenuous
| campaign of last year. She Is bigger
| than we have ever seen her, her eyes
bright and lustrous, and her coat like
a piece of satin. One would hardly rec
ognize in Berka the mare of 1912, when
lin racing condition. she is SO huge. Ko-
roni has developed into a grand piece
of horsefesh. He has filled out in the
neck, shoulders back, and loins. and has
not so much as pimple on him. His
chestnut coat is like highly FURNISHED
gold. and il ever horse was fit for