RACES AND THE WAR.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15182, 29 March 1917, Page 4

RACES AND THE WAR.

The plea made by Sir- George Clifford on behalf of th© maintehance of racing during the war period will, in the opin- 1 ion of the N.Z. Herald, not carry conviction to thepublic at large and does not accord with the views of many patrons of th© turf. An Auckland 'contemporary’s views are as follow; —lt does not coincide with the action taken in the Mother Country, and makes little" allowance for the straits to which the basic industries of the Dominion are being reduced through dearth of labour or for the urgent need for economy to meet the financial burden of the State. There is a strong bias in human nature towajds pursuits in which keen interest has been aroused, and the turf makes a traditional as well as a present appeal to all lovers of the. horse and its strength. Those who ignore this and reregard the racecourse as a mere attachment tb the ’totalisator and the bettingring will never be able to apprAiate ’ its attraction to such a multitude Of theirfellow citizens; on the other hand, it must bo obvious that* the claims of the turf are being greatly exaggerated if they cannot lie waived when the entire social organisation is at stake. Even the complete suspension of racing until the close of the- war could not affect the breeding of serviceable horses for immediate war use and would not seriously affect future breeding. In any case, we are -confronted by the fact that the imperative demands of this terrible struggle which has been forced upon us, and in the outcome of 'which our national existence is involved, are gradually drawing into the army that fights for us all able-bodied men of military age, and are creating a positive dearth of- labour in industries which must be harried on. The Dominion surely needs its manpower for purposes, for more important and essential tian the unreduced maintenance of the race meetings which many who are most favourably disposed to them previously regarded as excessive in number.