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LICENSES COMB TOO EASY. There is probably no license granted in any 9 business calling that carries with it as little protection from unfair and incompetent competition a- le as the papers granted by the Jockey y ,y Club to onr trainers and riders. In most of the 18 vocations of life wherein a license is necessary a a certain proof of requisite knowledge is called ld for, a testimonial of fitness and competency is «■ Z insisted upon, or a valuable bond must be filed d as a guarantee of qualification for the work * k and a warranty for its proper performance. •■ The only requisites to obtain such licenses the two specified, however, are the possession of a a certain small snm to pay for their issuance, and - the lack of any "black marks" of outlawry or ,r trickery to prevent an acceptance of the candidate. Stable cooks, boot blacks, deck hands, "any old thing," can secure papers and become e forthwith a full-fledged professional, as is the fact in more cases than one today, while the unfortunate I trainer, who has given his life and d labor to the acquirement of practical knowledge l" of his duties, finds with dismay that the ■ plausible talker who knows no more of t his duties than the veriest tyro, is put in a charge of race horses of more or less value, and , the jockey of years of reputation and conscientious • effort finds his occupation gone, the industry overcrowded, and himself forced to the J wall by a raft of feather-headed kids, who are barely competent to gallop a horse. With the 9 vast restriction in the racing field has cot come s a similar curtailment in the issuing of licenses, and it certainly seems that the men in the business : are not accorded the protection that their allegiance to the Jockey Club, and their years of labor would entitle them to enjoy. Surely a license should mean more than a mere , permission to train or ride, and surely there , » should be some credentials called for, some • limit to the numbers, some general restrictions. Horsemen are prone to growl, and ever ready to find fault. With them, too often, whatever ; is, is wrong; but certainly trainers and jockeys seem to be hardly treated, and perhaps some limit would be put upon the evil did they properly and unanimously bring it to the attention of the proper authorities.— The Horse Fancier.
