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VETERAN CANADIAN TURFMANS VIEWS Sagacious Suggestions of James Carruthers to the Canadian Minister of Agriculture James Carruthers the wellkJown grain merchant of Montreal who owned Advance Guard one of the greatest thoroughbreds in America in his day Las written the following o tn letter to the lion orible S F Tolmie minister of agriculture Ot ¬ tawa Dear Mr Tolmie TolmieI I have read with great interest Dr J G Ruth ¬ erfords report as royal commissioner in the racing inquiry recently held heldAs As an old racing man ami one who has had u lifelong experience in racing ami as one who still follows and enjoys the Sport of Kings even in this democratic age I feel that I am in a position to indorse the findings of Dr Ruther ¬ ford fordToo Too much stress cannot bf laid on the importance of maintaining tho thoroughbred horse in Can ¬ ada if the breeding of li ht and general purpose horses an industry which is both necessary and profitable to this country is to be continued I say necessary because if we are to maintain a force of either cavalry artillery or horse trans ¬ port in this country it cannot IM done without the blood horse I say profitable because with the great dearth of light horses in the world today tlere is no reason why Canada should not become if not the market certainly a market for sup ¬ plying this demand And whre is the blood horse t come from and where is the test of his mettle and endurance to be proved if racing is done away with Even the opponents of lacing admit that the race course is tho only place whore the true worth of the horse can be properly ascertained ascertainedIt It must certainely be gratifying to you to read n Dr Kutherfords report the evidence of the many reputable and responsible persons who came forward voluntarily to testify to the value of the thorough ¬ bred and it is most significant that no one per ¬ son came forward to say i word against the thoroughbred with the possible exception of one or two admittedly prejudiced and entirely ignorant of its value valueWILL WILL ALWAYS BACK OPINIONS OPINIONSThe The main objection raised by those opposed to racing is the element of speculation which enters into it This cannot and never will be avoided as lung as the world lasts peopl will back their opinions whether it be a horse race a baseball game or a sure thing on the stock exchange exchangeAbuses Abuses will creep in and it therefore requires regulation by the government of the country Dr Rutherford has not failed to call attention to the abuses which may and have crept in when the sport falls into the hands of the undesirables undesirablesThe The parimutuel system of speculation under government supervision is the proper method to adopt It is nothing more than an automatic stake ¬ holder If this system has been abused in the past by clubs taking too large a percentage from the gross pools then by all means regulate the same the remedy is in the bauds of the government governmentPut Put why have betting at all I hear my friends who seek to make us all good by legislation ex ¬ claim Tin1 answer is obvious racing is an ex ¬ pensive game the admission fees are not sufficient to maintain the plants and at the same time give adequate purses some means must be found of augmenting the same as it is only by increasing the purses that we can induce persons to breed and purchase good horses Parliament recognized this fact in IHO when the Miller bill was passed and it is impressed upon us more strongly today todaySpeaking Speaking as a Canadian it is the plain and mani ¬ fest duty of the government of this country to en ¬ courage and foster legitimate racing as the one and only means of building up the light horse industry in Canada If abuses have crept in by all means stamp them out If profiteering exists by all means regulate Itnt whatever you do do not eliminate the grandest and oldest of sports sportsThere There is another element that must not be lost sight of people are entitled to reasonable enjoy ¬ ment and recreation take away tiieir rights and privileges and you create a spirit of unrest To some people there is no sport so dear to them as horse racing and I am proud to be included in that class AVhy should we be deprived of an en ¬ joyment and recreation which is so near and dear to us AVe grudge nit one their right to self enjoyment You have hockey every night in win ¬ ter baseball football cricket and lacrosse almost every day in summer and other forms of amuse ¬ ment such as theaters etc all the year round why pass laws which in effect prohibit racing racingI I feel I can appeal to you as Minister of Agri ¬ culture and also to all fairminded people in Cau uUl to Mitt that racing is maintained and carried on in a decent and sportsmanlike manner that will redound to the credit of Canada CanadaYours Yours very truly trulySigned Signed JAMES CAltRUTHEKS Montreal May 13 120
