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FRENCH POLICY YIELDING RESULTS The New York Herald makes the following edi ¬ torial comment on a timely topic topicAlen Alen deeply interested in the horse for his own sake have been well aware for a long time that for the last few years there has been a steady deterlora tion in class and quantity In the production of tne horse for general purposes There are statistics iu existence the work of the government showing an alarming falling off oven in the last year No doubt some of this may be ascribed to the vast in ¬ crease in the number of automobiles the improve ¬ ment in roads making It possible to use the mechan ¬ ically propelled vehicle and the great and steady prosperity of the farmer who finds It more fashion ¬ able to be seen in the horseless machine rather than behind a warm blooded creature of flesh bone and blood bloodXcvertheless Xcvertheless there has been a crying demand for good horses for all purposes and yet only a few months ago a leading firm In this city told of how difficult it was to get hold of suitable horses even at high prices pricesNaturally Naturally when men affiliated with the racehorse element began to call attention to this state of affairs their utterances were perhaps to some ex ¬ tent discounted cynical persons claiming that the warnings were prompted only by a desire to see racing restored Still many columns in different issues of the Herald have been used to call atteu poses anil now there is additional expert and cer ¬ tainly disinterested testimony testimonyIt It is only six weeks ago that Mr Cheri Halbronn a noted French horseman declared through the col ¬ umns of the Herald upon the occasion of Rock Sands purchase for exportation to France that the American horse Tiad become the beat in the world He had seen evidences of this all summer In his own country and in England where American horses were winning many of the richest stakes in both coun ¬ tries It is also a well known fact that German ex ¬ perts have been for several years steady purchasers of American thoroughbred mares and stallions they frankly admitting that it was because of the well known soundness of the Yankee horses legs and feet feetNow Now here are two great countries of Europe where horse racing for a specific purpose is going on both reaching out for American mares and stallions with which to reinforce their studs which are being used for the ultimate purpose of replenishing army mounts That ought to lie a lesson to American legislators if auying could be said a prominent army man last night But will the lesson be taken takenHere Here are some recent statements concerning what is being done in France to keep up the standard for army purposes In that country small breeders and farmers all over the country find it profitable to keep high class broodmares for they can have the services of thoroughbred stallions owned by the gov ernment at a nominal fee and even should the pro ¬ duce not be good enough for the race course it is always In demand for the army It is only through the race course that the French cavalry has been raised to its present high standard and in the event of a general European war military experts assert that the mounted men of France would sweep all be ¬ fore them just as it is said the French artillery has beaten the Germans in Turkey It is claimed that the war in the Far East has to a certain extent been a test between French and German methods methodsAll All admit the superiority of the French cavalry the direct result of the systematic racing of the best horses In other lands England for instance when horses were needed for the army the whole world had to be scoured to get them Though racing is general in England it is not under government pro ¬ tection there are no military studs and there is al ¬ ways danger of the best horses being sold to for ¬ eigners This is not the method in France The government insists on the racing associations giving a certain percentage of their prize moneys to breed ¬ ers prizesAt and the government Itself offers prizes At various places certain races are given with the understanding that the agricultural department has the option of purchasing the winner at a stipu ¬ lated price for national stud purposes In all the French government has alxnit two thousand stallions of which two hundred are high class thoroughbreds Recently tho special committee on remounts for the army agreed that In future the breeders of all horses bought for the army shall be paid a percentage on tha purchase price This is to stimulate the farmers and small breeders to keep good mares maresIn In another direction too the French are setting an example They encourage gentlemen riders and offer many valuable prizes for such
