Brossmans Well Timed Suggestions, Daily Racing Form, 1916-07-26

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BROSSMANS WELL TIMED SUGGESTIONS. "It is a debatable question whether after sill, there is the same high standard and appreciation of patriotism and citizenship now prevailing in this country as there was evinced by our forefathers of 1771!. They were willing to give all they had for their country: Their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor, in order that each of their descendants might enjoy life according to the dictates of his won conscience, so long as he did not interfere with the liberties of others, and every one be equal under the law." says Charles E. Krossmsin in a recent article. "The greatest nation on earth has been evolved from the principles, teachings, examples and characteristics as to the mode of life, economic and local procedure, from the old heroes that founded, fashioned and molded this government into the most desirable abiding place for man on the face of the globe. The great, rugged, staunch, patriotic characters, men whose memory we delight to honor, were educated in a school of experience where industry, ability and. a determination to succeed were the dominant factors and obstacles and temptations were not removed, but surmounted. "Quite liberal ideas had those patriots, and horse racing, four-mile heats, was one of their chief amusements. They believed a young man should know how to ride and be able to follow the hounds, after a fox on a good horse. To be able to shoot well was considered a necessity, and to shoot a squirrel in any other part of the body but the head was to be disgraced. From such conditions came the men that fought in the Civil War. They were a product of conditions that were. Will the opportunities afforded the youth of today make more patriotic men or better citizens. There seemed to be a few years back, a disposition on the part of certain well meaning individuals to inaugurate u series of so-called reforms abolishing horse racing and endeavoring to place a stigma upon any one or anything connected with the game. Owners, breeders, trainers and race tracks were alike tabooed and put out of business, and they proceeded with iconoclastic zeal to almost ruin a business that it had taken years of scientific breeding to build up. "Thev little knew, appreciated, cared or contemplated the evil that they wrought and the destruction they accomplished. The man who seeks to destroy an established business because the men engaged in promoting it do Hot take the same economic view of life as himself is a dangerous citizen and not worthy to be placed in a position where he can dominate the laws of the laud, that must be obeyed by all of the people. A man of that character may be an able, educated, conscientious, clean man, but it takes a bigger man. one with a broad mind and a larger heart, to attempt to control the destinies of a great country like this, where apparently at times different interests conflict. "It is well to talk over these matters before election time, lest in the excitement of the campaign wo forget. The horsemen of Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio ought to remember at the polls the men who have in the past worked against and tried to destroy the thoroughbred-horse industry and never to place any of them in any position where they will have a chance to do it again. The Ten Commandments, inspired by the Almighty Himself, have proved all through the ages to be the best rule of conduct ever laid down for the guidance of man. Complete, efficient and thorough. Yet some of these modern professional reformers imagine that they can improve on the old by giving us a new set of rules of their own. And every one of them beginning with Thou shalt not. Any man that produces anything useful and gives employment to labor in this country is a public benefactor. We need men that will build up and not destroy industries. What this country needs is more producers. There ate too many people now living off of the productions of other people. "A thoroughbred horse is the highest type of the equine race and the government instead of putting obstacles in the way of dcvlopiug the speed, endurance and energy of this peerless animal should in every way possible seek to assist, encourage and promote the development of this valuable breed. It is humiliating, indeed, to know that the War Department is now sending young men bright, patriotic, brave boys to the front on horses that are a hindrance rather than a help to the soldier, and this in one of the greatest horse-breeding countries, from natural conditions, on the face of the earth. Partly broken and unbroken equine nondescripts, with no speed or endurance, are being forced upon these young soldiers, making them an easv mark for the enemy if war should be declared. It is to be hoped that the calamity may lie averted." The following statement from the daily press is quoted: "The remount station at Ft. Reno, Okla., sent "00 horses, the pick of the station, to El laso. They were distributed among the Seventh, Tenth, Twelfth and Thirteenth Cavalry regiments. A detachment of tin? Fifth Cavalry started across the desert with them. The remounts were western horses. Thev had no weight to carry and were led across the desert at the rate of thirty miles a day. forty of them died before Colonia Dublan, 111 miles inland, was reached." "These horses lack all of the desirable qualities possessed by the thoroughbreds, and many lives of enthusiastic, natriotic young American men will be sacrificed because of the bigotry of the selfish politicians that made war on the thoroughbred horse interests of this country, several years ago, when it seemed to be popular to sneer at or destroy the race tracks. The destruction they accomplished ought to be visited on their own heads, and when any one of them conies out for office let the horse men remember what they did. The horse business now appears to be prosperous and the outlook promising, and while everything appears to be going all right, horsemen should not be lulled by success into inaction, but should be vigilant and active, and once in a while take a look backward into the dark days of the past lest we forget."


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1916072601/drf1916072601_2_4
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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800