RACING AND THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3036, 24 March 1917, Page 10

RACING AND THE WAR

QUESTION OP CURTAILMENT RACING CONFERENCE VIEWS STATEMENT BY THE CHfiIRMAN,

By Telegraph—Press Association.' Chrlstchurch, March 23. Sir Geo. Clifford, chairman of tho New Zealand ltacing Conference, has issued the followine statement for publication on the subject of racing and tho war:—

It is understood that tho Efficiency Board has, under consideration, certain representations as to tho curtailment of racing and trotting during the war. Clearly, those who advocate this step are''Sound-to show a strong and unanswerable case before interference with a national sport which is also a national industrj. It is claimed in its behalf that whether regarded as a sport or an industry its maintenance is to the advantage of the Dominion and Empire for purposes or" the war. The importance of maintaining racing to secure-the. necessary element of vigour and endurance in cavalry horses is shown by the efforts made to carry it on in countries affected by the war. Our enemies teaoh us that lesson now, and taught us tho same prior to the war. They lavished immense sums in purchasing the choicest procurable stallions aiid their numerous stud farms were furnished without a reckoning, of cost, and too services of the'costliest sires were made available at insignificant fees. He«ce they have been saved an. enormous foreign outlay in purchases of horses and mules for cavalrytsd trbr.sswt. If aa;ofce.deny the utility ov horses for offeasive attacks, let lijj'ii recall the .receivi Egyptian advance, and tho forward rush upon Bagdad.- No expert in breeding horses wiU deny that racing in Britain h&3, during the last two centuries,. caused a vast improvement in the horses adapted to the needs of the Army in all countries. No further proof is required than the constant purchases for abroad by Government agents purely for military aims. This is also recognised by the continuance of racing under difficulties by the contending nations (most notably in Germany and Austria), and in all British dependences, Cauada, South 'Africa! India, and Australia.

Consistent opponents of racing allege that racing is detrimental to the Dominion's preparedness for or persovorance in. warlike effort. It.has been suggested by them

'(1) That attendance at race meetings deters men from enlisting. The answer is that legislation has averted this. .Moreover the racing authorities .are willing to debar admission to .■ all eligible men not' provided ffith a pass of exemption and thus entirely to remove the possibility of the '.maeined evil.

(2) That race nw.otines and preparation for them affects the available labour supply. The answer is that the requisite labour on courses and in stables Is negligible as an item in the labour of the colony. It is largely boy labour of a typo unfitted for farm, work, while Work on those few courses which run a permanent staff is usually done- by elderly men, and can in all cases be so clone, even necess.arily so, when the younger men have been requisitioned, ft tho objection were sound (which it is not) racing clubs would meet it by action less drastic than discontinuance. . (d) J.hat raco meetings distract public attention from tho'war. The"answer is that they do not do anything of the. sort. The same statement would, apply to all theatres and' particularly to shows and every relaxation offered to busy men. h" 1 * mft y D V a »''y maintained on the ■other hand that a nation plunged in gloom and immersed in contemplation of its own sorrows is foredoomed to disaster, and that every decent alleviation of its miseries is a step towards that elasticity, of spirit which tends to victory." Even granting the hypothesis, this is a country where it applies less than in others. The racecourses are so scattered from the Bluff to the North Cape that no single community can have'a surfeit of the game no Single set of men can devote more than a healthful holiday to its pursuit and no analogy exists with those countries where the population and racing is centred round one great city or where, immediate contact with the war necessitates tho entire monopoly of railway facilities.- Even there as in England means are found to provide sufficient racing to keep the: supply of the higher class of racehorses from being depleted.

4 That race trains involve the employment of men who should bo fighting. • . °

Is this so? Is not the permanent necessary equipment of tho lines such as to provide for these occasional services—races, picnics, holidays,, etc., either by calling in tho whole strength or by overtime? This is not a big matter, as the distances run are short and the occasions infrequent, while the traffic is extremely profitable. In any case it is an insignificant consideration in regard to the present question, as witness the evidence given before the recent Railway Commission. The points above discussed appear to_ mcludo all the practical objections raised by opponents of T acing. It may be added m this connection that there is always a section of the community who profess, from conscientious ' motives, to desire the abolition of racing Its advocates retort that this ; is no time, under cover of the war pretext, to further . personal prejudices. Tho patronage accorded racing at present is a test of public opinion that surely counter-balances hostility pre-existent to the declaration of war.

Why Racing Should Continue, ; Having traversed tho main objections we' may note the advantages of retaining without a break ani industry and recreation I of so much importance. 1. It is a revenue producer of no mean value. In the past year no" less a sum than £261,667 was naid directly into the Exchequer; no " less thaii £45.943 was voluntarily contributed by racing clubs to funds connected with the war, and sacrifices were freoly made in many other ways equivalent to money grants.' 2. It is an industry of national importance (a;; lias been previously stated) for tho supply of remount's employing labour mostly unfitted for other tasks. If thore were 3000 horses in training last season theso must have represented in value and equipment a capital of ; sonio £600,000, v;siilo the average value per head ol stock on stud farms- would exceed that estimate—sav 1200 mares at £200 or £240,000, whi'lo the accompanying stallions would range in value from £100 to £5000 each. Nor is this speculation of merely local interest. Year by year New Zealand stock is gaining. greater esteem in Australia from tho success on tho Australian turf of horses bred here, and from remaikablo merit at tho stud of mares exported hence, or their descendants. In fact, the special superiority of tho New Zealand climate or soil, or whatever characteristic produces theso effects, renders this branch of trade an asset which iD would bo folly to neglect

or to suffer to fall to decay. The abandonment or curtailment of racing would thus throw out of employment a horae of people whose aptitude and capacity for other work is small, and would' be a, disaster to owners of stud farms, who havo invested largo sums in imported or homo-bred stock, in the belief that it was a. business undertaking at, once useful and patriotic. Three different views are doubtless taken as Ho the effect of public recreation on the minds of tho populace in war time. It is fair to assume that those who attend race meetings have feelings of loyalty to the great cause for which we are contending not inferior to other citizens. It is also fair to argue that the moderate amount of healthful open-air recreation which race meetings afford tends to a clearer mental outlook, and therefore to more willing sacrifice than is likely to bo inspired by a duller life. It is assuredly a libel on tho sportsman to tvatid him asa shirker, for whatever branch of sport he follows makes for manliness and for readiness to fight with bravery in his country's cause. The attendance at races is no sign of tho shirker, and any of the breed can be effectively "combed out" at tho entrance gates if proper 6tops are taken. ."..■' It is noteworthy in weighing tho arguments on the question that many of the most prominont and trusted of England's loaders are strenuous in their support of such racing as ' : s practicable there. His Majesty the E'ng leads the way by his example, and Earl Derby, Lord Dabernon, Lord lsosebcry, and many other conspicuous war workers practically testify to the importance of not endangering ilif. existence of British • pre-eminence in this direction. New Zealand giros every promise of being indeed the "'Britain of the South" in similar success, and it rests with an "efficiency boa' d" to protect so fair a prospect <">d one so fraught with military/advantages."