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SENATOR PITTMANS BILL BEFORE CONGRESS. Washington. D. .. May 15.— Senator Key Pitt-man, of Nevada, who is sponsor for the bill recently introduced in tlie senate calling for an appropriation of 00,000 for the purchase and maintenance of stallions to be used in the production of horses for agricultural and military purposes, had the following to say in discussing the measure, which has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, of which Senator Core of Oklahoma is chairman: "I was actuated in the introduction of the bill by a knowledge of conditions in my own state, where we once had an abundance of horses of an enduring type. Within the past eighteen months buyers, lxith local and foreign, have taken many thousands of head of the very sort of .•miina! we require for such campaigns as we :ire now prosecuting in Mexico, and where with only a small taw of calvary in operation the remount situation is acute. Realizing that tic geographical position of my state, ami the high freight rates, would moke it one of the last to receive the attention of the representative-: of for-eo~ I governments. I thought it was imperative that something lie done to repair a damage which must be nation-wide. "This belief was strengthened upon investigation." continued Senator Iittman. •General Ale-shire, the quartermaster-general of the Hatted States, testified before the committee on military affairs recently that not more than 250. 0O0 horses of the cavalry remount ami light artillery types are available for the uses of our government at the present time and that of this number only 31.001 are in that condition where they could be pressed into immediate service. These figures were obtained by a special census taken in districts where the government remount stations are situated, and they furnish every American a grave subject of consideration. With purchasing campaigns still iK-ing prosecuted, the supply must be lower today. Statistics at hand indicate that we have lost since the commencement of the continental war approximately 1.500 000 horses and mules, and it is high time that we set about replenishing these. "There is no element of preparedness of MR vital necessity than flic army horse, and especially along our soul hern Imrder, where he is absolutely essential. In the e;ist. where K ] roads exist, he does not dominate the situation to the same extent as in the south and southwest, but it is a generally recognized fact the world over that the army of no country, is stronger than its cavalry and light artillerv her luipmeat. We have failed hitherto to give this animal tin important position accorded him bv the old world nations, but it is all the more reason for a prompt ami ■altafj—w adjustment of this problem which carries :i powerful economic appeal to the country at large. •••ill- heavv horse product is sufficient for the demands ol onr iM-oplc. but the light-horse type suitable for both peace ami war. calls for rehabilitation. The experiments in hreediac horses of thi type by the Patted States, hitherto confined to such stations as Fr..iit Royal. Va.. have been satisfying. and the far rs Inning access f the horses sent out from that petal are enthusiastic over the resalts achieved. With the original appropriation, however. for that particular work, which once amounted to S.Mi.inmi. redmed to S25.KMi in the acrieiitural appropriation f..r the coming pear, it is time that the attention of tin- entire country should be focused on the problem. Its gravity demands the appropriation of a sum even in excess of the 00,000 we ask for the extension of the work on which foreign powers s| ond millions every year, but the sum desired will enable us to pel the work under way. "There arc sections where c 1 horses may be reared economically, and where there are special conditions that tend to make for endurance and bono. Nevada is one of these, and by reason of its altitude and the character of tin raiijro. we develop an animal of great muscular and lung power. Our native mares should make mi ideal cross for the thoroughbred sire. What Kentucky. Missouri. Tennessee. Virginia. New York. 1oinisylvania. Ohio. Montana. Illinois. Michigan. Vermont ami other horse -breeding states have done is a matter of history, and we could naturally expect co-operation from these ami other progressive communities. "Tluit tle-re is a strata sentiment in favor if the measure is shown by the endorsement it is receiving on every hand." said BeaatOV Iittman in concluding. "I am assured that many horses of pure blood suitable to sire army horses may be secured at fair prices, and there is also a likelihood that many will Im- donated by Hssas who are in sympathy with the project and recognize its vital importance at this time. The prepotency of the thoroughbred sire and the Influence he would have upon the general horse product of tin- west was a prime factor in the passage of a racing law in Nevada It is gratifying to note the increasing importations of Knglish and French thoroughbreds. Their blood will have much to do with the future development of the cavalry type of animals in the country."
