RACING AND THE WAR

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 15, 17 July 1918, Page 4

RACING AND THE WAR

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Under the above heading in the Evening Post of the 11th insfc., you publish a paragraph in which tho president of the Racing Club makes the following points in support of racing during war time:—. '■ 1. The necessity of the racecourse test to select efficient cavalry horses. .2. The providing of amusement for people harassed by thoughts engendered by the present conflict. 3. The revenue which the Government obtains from the tax on racing clubs. The amount for this season is given as £180,000. There are one or two points which are not very clear to me, and I should be obliged if you would allow me through your correspondence columns to ask a few questions, in the- hope that they may catch the eye of someone able to elucidate them. 1. If the Government should eventually decide to stop racing would it be impossible to raise the lost tax by taxing other things? 2. If £180,000 is the tax collected the amount taxed must bo considerable, cannot the rather serious objection of inefficiency be urged against this method of making people forget their troubles? It seems to me that the results obtained are not in proportion to the amount expended. 3. Granted that the racecourse test is necessary for the proper selection of cavalry horses, and that the various racing clubs are anxious that the supply should not fall below the standard, is not the present, method of insuring'this again open to the objection of inefficiency? Suppose certain courses were selected for trials, and that the various clubs contributed the requisite korse3, stable hands, etc., and that the services of experts were obtained, one at least of these having a knowledge of the Laws of B'lendel. It seems to me that results could be obtained which would put those obtained under the present methods completely in the shade. \ That there would be an, enormous saving effected also seems evident on account of the absence of the totalisator, tho absence of spectators, and consequent saving in travelling expenses. That there is something lacking in the present method also seems evident from the drastic manner in which England is curtailing racing.—Lam, etc., PERPLEXED. ■ Wth'Jnly, '