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JUDGE BJIRKES INTERESTING VIEWS As Sir Montagu Allan was busy receiving con ¬ gratulations from tho hundreds of ladies and gen ¬ tlemen in the clubhouse enclosure after his two yearold Irish Heart had won the Provincial Nur serv Stakes Judge J J Burke is quoted as saying In the Montreal Gazette I could not help compar hi his good fortune with that of Mr August Bei motit who only two days before had wou Englands greatest autumn prize While the value of the stake won bv Sir Montagus colt was not onethirtieth as much as the St Leger won by Tracery there was tills diffevencc Sir Montagu had the keen pleasure of seeing his youngster bred by him win while Mr Ueinout was not within 3000 miles of the scene of hif colts victory And the natural pleasurt showii by Sir Montagu was only the logical outcome of his cherished desires At a dinner a year ago at which I had the honor to be present the president of the Montreal Jockey Club declared in a happily worded speech that he knew of no greater pleasure than to be able to breed the winner of a stake and that while as yet Blue Bonnets had not seen a horse of his in front he meant to keep right on breeding until he had developed a stake winner That that time should have come so soon is all the more de ¬ lightful to him and to his friends It means much for the future of highclass racing In Montreal to have such men as Sir Montagu Mr Campbell Mr McLennan Mr Clyde Mr McGlbbon and other Rood sportsmen interested in the sport It always makes me feel like raging when the great men of the turf in all countries have been assailed by wouldbe re ¬ formers iis gamblers and promoters of gambling It is an insult to the intelligence of even a bootblack 1 try to convince easilyled persons of the alleged ivils of horse racing racingIf If irambling was the real aim of horse racing there could be found innumerable other methods of speculation But men and women of common sense know that the modicum of speculation incident to horse racing is no more hurtful than the commonly used hatpools on that and other sports It is the real love of the horse which is the animating mo ¬ tive of most who breed and race To see one of his own breeding prove himself the best in any given field of competitors is the only real test of merit racing in public is the acme of earthly pleasure and from kings down to the average small land owner the same motive actuates for we are all human humanThe The best feature connected with the Provincial Nursery as well as the Kings Plate is that both races are subsidized by the Provincial Government In other words to both those stakes the government contributes liberal sums of money This ideal state Of affairs is what we of New York and other states have been longing for in vain But it is only an ¬ other Instance of the difference between hypocritical ofliccholders and votesolicitors on the one side ami frank unhampered cabinet administration on tho other Think what a howl the demagogues of New York and other states would put up if some broad minded senator tried to commit the state treasury to tfie endowment of a horse race Is it any wondo Canada has in recent years been drawing away so many of our citizens These men many thousands in numbers have realized the difference in the treat ¬ ment of such live questions as the improvement of the breed and kindred matters If the people of the United States are blind to their own interests in the vital matter of horsebreeding they are apt to be equally blind ou other important matters and this in my opinion is one great reason for whole ¬ sale emigration to Canada from the States
