SECRETARY'S REPORT. 279 



persons, wifhout the inconvenienco of any great obstacle in the form 

 of an admission fee ; and although many such persons are to be 

 found at every cattle show, there is usually wanting any object to 

 concentrate all their energies and pernicious influonce. This object 

 is, however, at once supplied by the addition of that somewhat novel 

 feature, the trial of speed of such horses as may be offered to compete 

 for premiums. 



It is undeniable that much betting and drinking are to be witnessed 

 upon all occasions like those under consideration, which have no 

 object sufficiently exciting to call them forth, except the horse race. 

 It is true, the sums which are st iked upon the speed of favorite horses 

 are for the most part small, and it has been argued that the loss or 

 gain of five or ten dollars in a bet is too trifling to be even regarded 

 as betting in a vicious sense. This might be true if the partiss to the 

 bet Avere men of wealth, to whom the loss or gain of a hundred dol- 

 lars would hardly afford a momentary excitement. It should be 

 borne in mind, however, that the persons drawn into these practices 

 are chiefly young men of small means, depending upon their daily 

 labor for their support, and to whom the loss of no more than five 

 dollars, is a serious drawback in paint of comfort. But the pinching 

 in ways and means, resulting from such losses, is a mere trifle, in 

 comparison with the moral injury which must certainly follow success- 

 ful betting. The young farmer or mechanic, accustomed to procure 

 money only by the sweat of his brow, naturally experiences a fjeling 

 of exultation, as he receives his first winnings, that an easier method 

 of procuring money, than by hard but honest toil, has presented itself 

 to him, and he must be of far different mould from the mercantile 

 speculator or successful forger, if his first success does not tempt him 

 to another and probably more extensive trial of the same chance. It 

 becomes his first lesson, perhaps, in thriftless, idle habits, and it is a 

 matter of great responsibility, when the temptation to commence 

 such habits is offered by men and associations which hold a high and 

 honorable position in the estimation of the world. It is frequently 

 doubted by those who hold the management of such exhibitions, if 

 these things are so. From the judges' stand, of course, it is not to 

 be supposed that they should be visible, but we think few observant 

 men can be found who have occupied a position among the mass of 

 "outsiders," who have not been pained by many such facts, while 

 oaths and vulgarity are poured into the ears of females and children, 

 the latter of whom are apt pupils in all such teaching. The question 

 comes up then, and demands serious consideration, Can any regula- 

 tions be adopted for securing the benefits and avoiding the evils 

 which have been alluded to ? As a mere trial of speed, it would be 



