THE STRUGGLE TO HOLD THE THRONE 



After the Cleveland performance friction rose be- 

 tween Mr. Bonner and Bair, and Maud S. was placed 

 in the hands of John Murphy to jog on the farm 

 track at Tarrytown. Bair resented his dismissal, and 

 he talked to the Philadelphia Times foolishly : 



" I would not work under Mr. Bonner again for 

 anything he could offer me. He takes too much of 

 my time and has said that her quarters under my 

 management were irregular, and that I once allowed 

 her to trot the first quarter in 30^ seconds a 2.01 

 gait. That is not true. Mr. Bonner could not regu- 

 late her pace if he had a watch in his hand. I drove 

 Maud S. for eight years and she never made a bad 

 performance while under my control." 



Later Bair regretted the way he had rushed into 

 the newspapers. 



43 



