FOURTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III 251 



tainment and then be compelled to pay a license of 57o of purse money for 

 the privilege? It is a practice of long standing, and was put in use at a 

 time when fair managements said to the horsemen, if you want to race 

 at our fairs you can do so but for your own money. 



Do away with the entrance fee, and compel as near as possible, honest 

 racing. Let the best horse win, and not have racing an occasion for 

 sharp practice and trickery. Make every heat a race. 



It is only simple and plain common sense and not mock piety to say 

 that the man achieves the best and most satisfactory results, who makes 

 it his cardinal principle, to be just and true in all his dealings, to wisely 

 and honestly earn his living in that state of life it has been his fortune 

 to be placed. 



This can be applied to racing as well as to any other line of business. 



I am not attempting to mix sentiment with racing and fair manage- 

 ment, but we should not close our eyes to the fact that the pleased and 

 contented patron of our fairs is the one who has been consistently treated 

 with the courtesy and justice due him, and who reciprocates with a per- 

 sonal liking for true, honest and manly sport. 



We can afford to lose all other entertaining features, but we cannot 

 lose our horsemen and their noble animals. Our interests should be first 

 and last with them. 



The President : We would like to have some discussion on some 

 of the points brought out by this paper. There is plenty of room 

 for argument. There are plenty of horsemen here to defend their 

 side of the question, and the fair secretaries ought to be able to 

 take care of theirs. 



DISCUSSION. 



A Delegate: I would like to know how many fair secretaries 

 there are here who are conducting their fairs without any horse 

 races. Nobody seems to stand up, so I guess I am the only one. 

 That is possibly because we are just getting started. 



A Delegate : I would like to ask how that fair shows up in the 

 pamphlet, Mr. Corey got out. 



Mr. Hemmingway : I have been so unfortunate as to be super- 

 intendent of speed in Franklin County for many years. I sup- 

 pose it was put on my shoulders because years ago I used to in- 

 dulge in the horse game a little myself. I enjoyed it and I enjoy 

 the horses now, and suppose I always will as long as I live. But 

 the thing I came do"RTi here to learn today was how to make a suc- 

 cessful entry list for that fair. During the last year we adver- 

 tised extensively — more than we ever have before. We offered 

 better purses than we ever offered before, and ranked right up 

 with the whole community, and not a single race paid, so, as a 



