Juke 19, 1890.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



437 



Any mongrel dog without pedigree or tail, whose date of 

 birth is as uncertain as Noah's, and whose breeder may have 

 been the Egyptian nurse who wiped the tears away from a 

 Sphinx or the fellow who ties the shoes of King Calico, can 

 be entered and registered among the bluest dogs bred by 

 Norrisb, of England, and Hopf, of New Jersey. 



A registration should mean something, and it should 

 mean that no dog can, shall or will be registered in the 

 American Kennel Club unless the papa and mamma is known 

 even unto the fourth generation. 



No encouragement should ever be given to these mongrel 

 dogs. The mongrel dog, like the comet, will come, and the 

 Kennel Club should never recognize them in any shape, 

 manner, form or place. 



I have also opposed the financial management of this 

 club, and for fear that I may have been misunderstood, 

 permit me to now say that the financial management, as 

 evinced by the reports made, are not only false and fraudu- 

 lent, false because they are not true, and fraudulent be- 

 cause they have been made with the intention to deceive. 



The major portion of the item of §1,228.38, which appears 

 in the report made to the American Kennel Club at the 

 annual meeting in February, 1889, was never earned by the 

 club, it was juggled and book-keeped in there, and 1 will 

 now give the history of the finances of 1888, as it may prove 

 of interest to your readers. 



During the year 1888 I had the honor to be chairman of 

 the stud book committee, Mr. Schellhass and Mr. Terry being 

 the other two members. In March, 1888, Mr. Vredenburgh 

 stated to me that he intended to resign as editor of the stud 

 book, and during that month did so. When he resigned, 

 the arrangement was made whereby the stud book commit- 

 tee appointed Mr. A. D. Lewis as editer of the stud book, 

 and made this contract with him. 



Mr. Lewis was to assume the duties of editor, was to com- 

 pile the pedigrees and do all the work as editor of the stud 

 book. He was to publish the stud book quarterly, was to 

 pay all the bills and expenses thereof, as well as* one-half 

 the office rent, and for his services he was to receive the 

 entire receipts coming into the office, as well as the proceeds 

 of the sale of the stud book. If after paying all of these 

 bills there was nothing left, Mr. Lewis agreed he would 

 make no claim upon the American Kennel Club This was 

 substantially our contract, and it was faithfully, honestly 

 and efficiently carried out. 



At the meeting of the American Kennel Club, which was 

 held May 8, 1888, the stud book committee reported this 

 change to the club, and at the same meeting Mr. Vreden- 

 burgh made his report as treasurer, showing the balance on 

 band in the American Kennel Club to be the sum of $128.01. 

 After this Mr. Vredenburgh went to Europe, and he re- 

 turned on Monday, Dec. 3. 



On the 6th of December, after pulling himself and the 

 assets of the American Kennel Club together, he reported at 

 the meeting of the American Kennel Club held that day, 

 that he had on hand (and as will appear by the treasurer's 

 report, dated Dec. 5) §5.89. 



At that same meeting, and on that same day, and fresh 

 with the recollection of the aforesaid §5.89 in his mind, as 

 well as in the treasury, he offered a resolution to increase 

 the registration fee (which was at that time 50 cents) to SI, 

 and then and there gave his reason for imposing this in- 

 crease of 100 per cent, upon the dog breeders, which was 

 substantially this, that the cost of publishing the stud 

 book was so expensive that it could not be done at the price 

 then charged for registration. That resolution, upon the 

 motion of Mr. Hitchcock, was referred to the stud book 

 committee. A few days after this meeting, while the writer 

 of this was in the American Kennel Club office, Mr. Vreden- 

 burgh stated to me out of his own mouth, substantially 

 that I had made no mistake in nominating Mr. Belmont, as 

 he had come into the office mourning over the smalluess of 

 the bank account, and replenished it with a large sum of 

 money. 



At the annual meeting of the American Kennel Club 

 which was held Feb. 21, 1889, Mr. Vredenburgh as treasurer 

 made two reports, commencing from Dec. 5, 1888, and show- 

 ing the balance as reported at the previous meeting, is. 39, 

 and on Jan. 11, $1,228.28. If any book-keeper will now take 

 these two amounts and examine them, there is only one 

 conclusion that he can come to, and that is this, that they 

 are false. 



The item of #1 ,228.28 was not earned by the club, there was 

 no possible resource from which the club could earn this 

 item, and the club did not earn it, it was either borrowed, 

 book keeped or juggled into the accounts. 



I have asked for these items which goto make up this 

 sum, delegates of the club have asked for them, and the re- 

 quest has been refused; and I now state that the treasurer 

 will never, over Ms own signature, give to any man, woman 

 or child in this country the items going to make up this 

 amount. 



On July 19, 1889, the stud book committee, which then 

 consisted of Mr. Terry, Mr. Schellhass and Mr. Lewis, held a 

 meeting and fanned into life the resolution that was offered 

 by Mr. Vredenburgh, and increased the registration fee 

 from 50 cents to $1, the same to go into effect Jan. 1, 1890. 



Several protests appearing in the sporting papers against 

 this unjust and unreasonable increase made by the stud 

 book committee, the stud book committee, in answer to these 

 i charges, published a card over their own signatures as an 

 explanation of their action, and in said card they stated: 



"The two years' experience of both the secretary and edi- 

 tor shows to them conclusively that the cost of publishing 

 each entry was greater than the amount charged for it, and 

 that this induced the secretary to bring the matter before 

 the American Kennel Club at this meeting, Dec. 6, 1889. 



"The reasons for the increase are the following- The'cost 

 of composition, printing, electrotying and binding of each 

 volume is about 38 cents for each entry. To this must be 

 added the salary of the compiler of the book, and a propor- 

 tional amount for office rent, postage and stationery, and 

 these combined swell the total cost for each entry to a frac- 

 tion of over 81 cents." 



Since Jan. 1, 18S9, the stud book has paid its editor a 

 stated salary on the last day of each and every month, to- 

 gether with its share of its other residuum expenses, and 

 when the present volume is published and paid for, the re- 

 sult will be that it has been published at a loss of over 31 

 cents on each and every entry that the book contains. 



At the alleged meeting of the American Kennel Club, 

 which was held without a quorum being present, on Febru- 

 ary last, and from the proceedings as appear in the Febru- 

 ary number of the Gazette, and from the report made of 

 said so called meeting by Mr. Vredenburgh, I extract the 

 following: 



"Mr. Watson— "What was the balance that was named 

 that was presented last year? 



"Mr. Vredenburgh— 81,624.09. That was the balance on 

 Feb. 20. 



"Mr. Watson— You published a statement at one time 

 somewhere, that you had a balance on hand of SL228.28 

 Can you tell me where that was!' 



"Mr. Vredenburgh— That was in the February Gazette, of 

 moneys received by the American Kennel Club from all 

 sources, and of expenses of every description to Feb. 16. 

 Receipts to Jan 11. 1889, as by balance carried over per new 

 book, §1,228.28, and then the different sources from which 

 we received money from Jan. 11 to Feb. 16, made $2,375. 



"Mr. Watson— I want to know how you bring it up to 

 hatpoint. 



"Mr. Vredenburgh— Because we had no meeting from 

 Pec, 6, and in the meantime, when. I closed my books f o? 



1888, and carried over mv balance for Jan. 11, the balance 

 happened to be §1.228.28." 



Mr. Watson utterly failed in his attempt to extract from 

 the treasurer, the items going to make up this amount, and 

 the so-called chairman of the so-called committee, afterward 

 coming to the treasurer's rescue, Mr. Watson for the time 

 being abandoned the search for the lost items going to 

 make up this sum. 



Upon his subsequent return to New York he went to the 

 office and again asked Mr. Vredenburgh for these items. 



Mr. Vredenburgh evidently imposed upon him by taking 

 advantage of some deficiency in his intellectual organiza- 

 tion, or exhibited to him what must have been the private 

 account which had been kept by Mr. Lewis under his con- 

 tract with the stud book committee in the year 1888. 



But there was one thing which Mr. Watson did get from 

 the treasurer, which all of us had been unable to extract, 

 and which the treasurer put down on an envelope in his 

 own hand writing, to wit, the income of the club from 

 Jan. 1 to Jan. 11, 1889, and which amounted to §122.50. 



He also stated to Mr. Watson that this §1,228.28, or the 

 major portion thereof, came from the stud book. 



Now, breeders and dog men throughout this country, let us 

 sum this up aud see what we find. 



April 1, 1888, Mr. Lewis takes charge of the stud book 

 under contract with the stud book committee; what he re- 

 ceives is his. 



May 8, 1888, the American Kennel Club treasurer's report 

 shows 8128.01 on hand; secretary goes to Europe, returns 

 Dec. 3, 1888. 



Dec. 6, 1888, makes a report dated Dec. 5, balance on hand 

 $5.39. 



At same meeting asked to have registration fee increased 

 100 per cent., because stud book was always published at a 

 loss. 



In same month states to the writer received a large amount 

 of money from the president. 



Feb. 21, 1889, makes two reports on one day, which sh ow 

 upon their f aee fully as much jugglery as could have been 

 gotten into one report in two days. 



In August, 1889, stud book committee, over their own sig- 

 nature, claim that the stud book had been published at a 

 loss, and that this was their reason for increasing the tax 

 upon the dog men throughout the country 100 per cent. 



January, 1890, secretary aud treasurer published an 

 annual statement showing that from and during the year 

 1889, he had received from the dog men and breeders of this 

 country §8,312.26, and that he and a few others had ex- 

 pended 87,027.66, and yet he fails to show in any of his re- 

 ports where the dog men aud breeders have received any 

 benefit from the expenditures of this money, for no stud 

 book was published during the year, and for some two 

 months thereafter. 



At the so called meeting of Feb. 13, 1890, Mr. Vredenburgh 

 tells Mr. Watson that the balance happened to be Sl.22S.2S. 



A short time thereafter tells Mr. Watson that this money 

 came from the stud book. 



Often through the year, In some of the meetings of the 

 club, and in the sporting papers, in reports of officers, and 

 in statements made by them, have claimed that the club 

 actually earned the moneys credited to the club. 

 Now what I want to know is this: 

 First — Did the president put any money into the club.? 

 Second— Did he tell the truth when he said he did not put 

 any in? 



Third — Did Mr. Vredenburgh tell the truth when he re- 

 ported only §5.39 on hand Dec. 5, and did he tell the truth 

 when he offered the resolution to increase the registration? 



Fourth— Did he tell the truth when he told me that the 

 president did put the money into the club? 



Fifth— What are tha items going to make up the sum of 

 ¥1,228.38? 



Sixth— Did the stud book committee tell the truth when 

 they published their card and gave their reasons for increas- 

 ing the registration? 



Seventh— How could any revenue be derived from the stud 

 book when Mr. Lewis published it under an exhaustive con- 

 tract? 



Eighth— Did Mr. Vredenburgh tell Mr. Watson the truth 

 when he claimed to get the major portion of the item of 

 §1.228.28 from the stud book? 



Ninth — If he told Mr. Watson the truth, and it is the 

 truth, then is it not a fact that Mr. Vredenburgh made a 

 mistatement when he gave his reason for offering the reso- 

 lution of Dec. 6, and that he also mistated when he told me 

 that Mr. Belmont put the money in, and that the stud book 

 committee misstated when they published their card? 



Now, so far as the auditing committee that was appointed 

 is concerned, permit me to now state to the dog men and 

 .breeders of this country, that the accounts of the American 

 Kennel Club have not been audited by the said committee, 

 that is, they simply signed the statements made out by the 

 secretary and treasurer. Two of the committee have so said 

 to several parties, and one member of the committee I 

 believe has written a letter to that effect. 



I don't want to break up the American Kennel Club, but 

 I do want to break up and release it from the clique that is 

 now managing it not in the interest of the dog men or the 

 breeder, not in the interest of the bench shows throughout 

 the country, but wholly in the. interest of a clique that can 

 be gathered into No. 44 Broadway, New York, at the sound 

 of a whistle. 



I want to see a club presided over with the impartiality of 

 a Mr. Smith or a Mr. Child. I want to see delegates who 

 belong to the clubs that they represent. 



I want to see delegates who can come to a meeting and 

 thoroughly discuss before a presiding officer every resolu- 

 tion and motion offered, and then act upon the same as their 

 best judgments will dictate. 

 I want to see the registration fee reduced to 50 cents. 

 I want a stud book to come out every three months. 

 I want to see no dog registered with the American Kennel 

 Club that has not got a pedigree. 



I don't want to see a dog registered whose sire and dam 

 and date of breeding is unknown. 



I want to get all the thoroughbred dogs in the country 

 registered. 



I want to keep all of the mongrels out of the register. 

 I want to see a secretary who will be a secretary of the en- 

 tire club, and not a willing tool for a clique who may be in 

 control. 



I don't want any employs of a club to act as a delegate. 

 I want to see "health, wealth and wisdom" enjoyed by all 

 the dog men and breeders, and local clubs throughout the 

 country, and then we will find that enough of these will get 

 into the American Kennel Club to arrange its affairs. 



I want to see the American Kennel Club at No. 41 Broad- 

 way controlled by the local clubs and breeders throughout 

 the country, and I don't want to see the local clubs and 

 breeders throughout the country controlled by the officers 

 at No. 44 Broadway. 



I want to see officers of the American Kennel Club who 

 will give information to members of local clubs, in regard 



THE NATIONAL 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



BEAGLE CLUB. 



worthy of my persoual feelings 



NATIONAL BEAGLE CLUB.— Boston, Mass , June 16 — 

 Editor Forest and Stream: The quarterly meeting of the 

 National Beagle Club will be held at the Quincy House 

 Parlor G, Boston, Mass., Friday, July 11, at 6:30 P.M. All 

 members are earnestly requested to attend,— F, W. CHAP- 

 MAN, Secretary. 



— - . ... -lu./is, 111 UITiCl LU mi 



npon at the quarterly meeting, which will be held at the 

 Quincy House. Parlor G. Boston, Mass.. on July 11 at 6 30 

 P. M It should be remembered that this is the last oppor- 

 tunity beagle men will have of joining this organization 

 until October, and as the entries for our first field trials 

 will probably be closed before the October meeting they 

 will secure an opportunity of competing for the special* by 

 joining on or before July meeting Almost every member 

 ot the club has promised to send from one to five dogs to 

 our trials, and as we shall have the best judges experience 

 can suggest and money can hire, there should be no reason- 

 able doubt m the minds of those intending to enter dons 

 that the trials will be a success and au advantage to the 

 beagle, those entering him and the club. 



There has been a want felt for a num ber of years for some- 

 thing or this kind, and now that a club has been organized 

 that will keep awake and push the beagle to the front and 

 keep him there, it should be the duty of every beagle man 

 in Amenea to give this club his support bv mining ot hy 

 sending his dogs to our trials or both, and so far quite a 

 number have done so, but there are those who say "Oh yes' 

 go ahead, and when you make a success of it we" will come 

 m; we have been there once, and don't mean to get nipped 

 again if we know it." To those we would say one swallow 

 does not make a summer, and one failure don't mean every- 

 thing will be a failure, just try us, and if we don't make a 

 success it will be your fault as much as ours, as our quart- 

 erly meetings are intended to correct any mismanagement 

 and also are a source of great instruction and entertainment, 

 especially so to the amateur, and even the veteran will learn 

 something occasionally, provided he does not "know it all." 

 Our admittance fee is only §2, and the yearly dues are also 

 *2, payable semi-annually in advance. Application blanks 

 may be had by applying to the secretary, F. W. Chapman. 

 Melrose, Mass., or 364 Washington Street, Boston. 



THE ENGLISH SETTER CLUB. 



MELROSE, Mass., June 12.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 The annual meeting of the English Setter Club of 

 America will be held at Boston on Tuesday, July 1 at the 

 Quincy House, in Parlor G, at 7 P. M. All are cordially in- 

 vited to be present.— H. H. Brown, Sec. 



WATERBURY, Conn., June 14.— Editor Forest and Stream - 

 It is with much regret that I see in the sporting papers 

 notices to the effect that there, will soon be issued a call for 

 the formation of another English setter club. On May 24 

 of this year, at a meeting held in Boston, there was formed 

 a club called the English Setter Club of America. While 

 not meauiug to arrogate to themselves all the interest of 

 the country in the English setter, or all the knowledge 

 upon that important subject, its originators felt the need of 

 a specialty club for that valuable breed of dogs. In form- 

 ing this club and adopting their constitution and by-laws 

 they thought their platform, as therein formulated, was 

 broad enough for men from the North. South, East and 

 West to stand upon side by side. Their sole object in form- 

 ing such a club is the advancement of this breed of dogs, or 

 rather its maintenance in its present position at the head 

 of the list of sporting dogs. I trust that the call mentioned 

 in the notices referred to above will not be issued, but that 

 instead those interested in it will decide to join the club 

 already formed. I can assure them a cordial welcome, and 

 that they will be met half way by the gentlemen composing 

 the club. There will be a meeting of the English Setter 

 Club of America on Tuesday, July 1, at the Qninoy Bouse. 

 Bostou, Mass., at 7 P. M., which I hereby invite all who are 

 interested in the English setter to attend. Tn the above I 

 feel that I express the views not only of myself but of all 

 the members of the English Setter Club of America — F W 

 Whitlock, President English Setter Club of America. ' 



PRINCE CHARLIE IN THE NOVICE CLASS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



As Mr. Watson has referred to an opinion expressed by 

 me as to the eligibility of his collie Prince Charlie for the. 

 novice class at the N. E. bench show of 1890, in which I be- 

 lieve he was the winner, I desire to give my reasons for the 

 opinion I formed. 



The rule as laid down by the A. K. C. reads as follows- 

 "The novice class shall be understood to be for a recognized 

 breed, for which a regular class has been provided, and for 

 competition in which a dog shall not have won a prize at 

 any American Kennel Cluh show, or which has not won a 

 prize in a recognized show held in England or Canada." 



Prince Charlie competed in the Futurity and collie sweep- 

 stakes at the W. K. C. bench show of 1889 These stakes are 

 not special prizes, but regular open classes competed for 

 every year and open to all collies born in the United States 

 or Canada. These stakes or classes were competed for at 

 the W. K. C. bench show of 1889, they appeared in their 

 regular order in the premium list and were a portion of the 

 regular collie classes and have been for several years, to be 

 competed for at said show. 



Prince Charlie was awarded a cash prize in these classes, 

 and hence was barred from any subsequent competition as 

 a novice. His competing at New York this vear was an 

 oversight on my part. If Mr. Watson was able'to bulldoze 

 Mr. Fletcher and the bench show committee at Boston and 

 gobble up the boodle I think he had better refund. 



J. D. Shotwkli. 



No. 115 Hiqulanp Avenue, Orange, N. J. 



SALE OF THE MEMPHIS & AVE NT KENNEL. 



Memphis, Tenn., June 14.— Editor Forest and Stream: We 

 have sold our entire interest in the Memphis & A vent Ken- 

 nel to our former partner, Mr. J. M. Avent, of Hickory 

 Valley, Tenn., and the dogs of the kennel have been removed 

 fi-om this city to Mr. Avent's home as above. All commu- 

 nications must be addressed to him in the future. The 

 dissolution of the kennel is the result of our determination 

 to retire forever from any connection whatever, nearly or 

 remotely, in a kennel interest, public or private. The pur- 

 poses for which the Memphis & Avent Kennel was formed 

 have been, we think— and pardonably so we trust— more 

 than fully realized. Its ambition was to breed a line of 

 field dogs the equal, if not the superior, of any ever bred in 

 England or America. Whether this ambition, somewhat 

 vaulting in its conception, has been realized or not, we now 

 leave it to the kennel's record aud to the public to judge. To 

 Mr. J. M. Avent is due, more than to any other member of 

 the kennel, the success it has attained. True that through 

 us the kennel came in possession of its winning blood lines 

 (Juno A. excepted), but Mr. Avent, skillful in handling, 

 more skillful in the exercise of a keen innate perception 

 trained and handled them to a point almost invincible. It 

 is not to be wonderd that dogs thus bred and handled should 

 achieve such phenomenal and unparalleled success. Now 

 that we do not own, and will never again own, any interest 

 whatever, remotely or otherwise, in a kennel, and will never 

 again own any interest in a dog except for private shooting 

 strictly, we trust that no one will accuse us of indelicacy in 

 thus expressing ourselves. We most earnestly commend 

 Mr. Avent to our friends everywhere as a gentleman en- 

 tirely worthy of their confidence in every respect,— W, B 

 Gates, Arthur Merriman, 



