The Metropolitan Driving Club 



ONE afternoon, during the Septem- 

 ber meeting of 1904 at the Read- 

 ville track. William D. Hunt, 

 meeting two Boston newspaper- 

 men. John H. Jewett and Ed- 

 ward E. Cogswell, suggested the plan of form- 

 ing a driving club to hold matinees over the 

 Charles River Speedway, which course had 

 been built at an enormous expense by the State 

 of Massachusetts, and, despite the fact that on 

 the year previous several members of the 

 Gentlemen's Driving Club of Boston, headed 

 by Thomas G. Plant, had erected a clubhouse 

 aiid stables there, had been neglected by the 

 great mass of road drivers of Boston as a rac- 

 ing ground for their horses. 



It was there decided to approach Lemuel G. 

 Trott. another Boston newspaper man. and by 

 the means of articles in the daily press, to find 

 how generously the local lovers of the light 

 harness horse would support such a club. Mr. 

 Trott was enthusiastic when informed of what 

 was in the air, and took hold of the project 

 with Jewett and Cogswell to have it a big suc- 

 cess. 



A call for a meeting of the road drivers of 

 Greater Boston to meet at Young's Hotel. 

 Room B, on Saturday, October 1, 1904, at 10 

 A. M. attracted a goodly gathering. The call 

 for the meeting was read by George A. Graves 

 and he was elected temporary chairman, with 

 Randolph K. Clarke as temporary secretary. 

 In the general debate that followed, in which 

 all present joined, it was the consensus of 

 opinion that a driving club was the crying 

 need in making the Charles River Speedway 

 popular with the horsemen. It was voted to 

 name the organization the "Metropolitan 

 Driving Club of Boston," and to have the 

 membership fee $5 per year. A committee to 

 solicit members for the new club was appoint- 

 ed, as follows : G. A. Graves, J. V. N. Stults, 

 William H. Allen, John W. Linnehan, Frank 

 O. Gould, Harrv J. Russell, ]. Henrv Nay, 

 R. K. Clarke, C. C. Blaney, M. A. Nevens. 

 John H. Jewett. Lemuel G. Trott and Edward 

 E. Cogswell. Thirteen on the committee, but 

 as events proved not an unlucky number. 



The permanent organization of the club was 

 perfected on October 10. J. V. N. Stults was 

 elected president; Henry M. Whitney, George 

 A. Graves, W. J. Eurbush. Isaac Sexton, 

 M. C. Harrison and E. C. Barry, vice-presi- 

 dents ; Monroe Goodspeed, treasurer, and 

 Randolph K. Clarke, secretary. 



( >n account of the resignations of J. V. N. 

 Stults, Monroe Goodspeed and Randolph K. 

 Clarke, a meeting of the club was called for 

 ( (ctober 25, at Young's Hotel. The organiza- 

 tion had so quickly jumped into popularity, in 

 the short time the membership mounting to 

 250, of which, by a personal canvass, the 



C. H. BELLEDEU 

 Ptesident 1904- 1909 (inclusive) 



newspaper trio, Messrs. Jewett, Trott and 

 Cogswell, had secured nearly 200, Mr. Stults 

 had come to the conclusion that the duties of 

 president of such a hustling organization would 

 prove too arduous for him to fulfill; this, too, 

 was the case with Mr. Goodspeed, while Mr. 

 Clarke's action was caused through being a 

 candidate for president of the Dorchester 

 Gentlemen's Driving Club, and he thought it 

 better not to hold official positions in two 

 separate driving clubs. Charles H. Belledeu 

 was elected president in place of Mr. Stults, 

 while M. C. Harrison was elected to the posi- 

 tions of treasurer and secretary, it being con- 

 sidered a good plan to combine the two offices. 

 A board of ten directors was elected, as fol- 

 lows: C. H. Belledeu, W. J. Furbush, George 

 A. Graves, John Shepard, M. C. Harrison, 

 John W. Linnehan, Isaac Sexton, J. V. N. 

 Stults, Henry M. Whitney and Monroe Good- 

 speed. The directors then appointed J. H. 

 Jewett presiding judge; L. G. Trott official 



