The Horse of America in His Derivation, History, and Development

by John Hankins Wallace

“The members of the press will, substantially, be a unit against me, and ring all the changes on ‘the National convention’ at Chicago, and labor to make it appear as an uprising of the horsemen of the whole country against me.

“The meeting is packed by Brodhead with his own satellites whose expenses he has paid, and embraces a good many rogues who have failed in passing upon me dishonest pedigrees and spurious records. Besides these there are several men here, and very active, whose names have never been heard of before in the horse world.

“Taking these elements together, they are in numbers more formidable than dangerous, but when led by Brodhead, with what they consider a fair price in one hand and a club in the other, with the demand ‘take the price or we’ll take the property,’ the occasion becomes serious.

“The latter alternative means a battle that may last ten years. Ten years ago these same people employed a man who purloined my literary property and it was found in their possession. The evidence of the piracy was so clear that it never was denied.

“Have I time enough, am I strong enough, am I young enough to enter upon this long battle? Ten years ago I was robbed of my property, but I was then vigorous and strong; one year ago another thief robbed me of my money and it was a terrific and lasting strain upon my vitality.

“The days of my years number nearly threescore and ten, so there is no time to enter upon the uncertainties ‘of the law’s delays.’ From overwork and the anxieties growing out of family afflictions and the robbery, my health is shattered. It is time, therefore, that I should seek to rest rather than to struggle.

“And what about the work to which I have devoted the best years of a long life? Will it be attacked? Certainly it will be attacked for the reason that it does not suit Woodburn. Will it be overthrown? No, the laws of nature cannot be overthrown. The trotter can come only from the trotter and nobody but an ignoramus or a fool can doubt the truth of this declaration. The experiences of every year, of every track, and in every race confirm this central truth and will continue to do so as long as the world stands.”

From the above reasonings and conclusions, when the offer of one hundred and thirty thousand dollars was made, in a business form, it was accepted.

When the property was transferred it was on the individual and joint responsibility of some half a dozen rich men, and they were as gleeful and happy over their investment as though they had obtained a gold mine for a song. But, while these men were rejoicing over their acquisition, there were many others cursing the deception that had been practiced upon them by promising them places and perquisites and, in short, whatever they wanted in order to secure their adherence to the conspiracy. Of all this numerous class, Messrs. Mali and Packer had so little sense as to make the nature and terms of their agreement public, namely, that they were to be clothed with the power to annually appoint the Board of Censors for the new organization. Poor fools! they didn’t know Brodhead. For a consideration of place they had betrayed a trust to him that as honorable men they should have sacredly guarded, and the more they complained the more bitterly they were condemned by all right-thinking men. Hence, after they had served his purpose he kicked them aside as he would an old shoe, and thus he punished the traitors with whom he had dealt. When the multitude of writers, statisticians, etc., who had received private assurances of “something equally as good” in the new deal, saw the fate of Mali and Packer, they had sense enough to keep their mouths shut. A man who knew anything about the trotting families and their lines of descent was not the kind of man that Mr. Brodhead wanted to put in charge of registration. The only man who could suit Mr. Brodhead was the man who would implicitly and without doubt follow his instructions, right or wrong. When Mr. J. H. Steiner was appointed Registrar it was wholly evident that this was the purpose of the proprietor, for of all the men in my knowledge, in any way connected with trotting horse interests, Mr. Steiner seems to be the most profoundly ignorant of horse history and horse lineage, and till this day he does not seem to have learned anything thereof.

At this point the public confidence received a shock from which it has never recovered, and never will recover. From that day till the present the estimate of value of the publications of the company, in the minds of breeders, has been on the “down grade,” and coupled with this is the ever-obtruding doubt as to whether these publications are managed for the advantage of the general breeding public, or for the little clique of which Woodburn is the center. The lack of knowledge displayed has resulted in a profound disgust. This has been shown most conclusively in the fate of the poor old Monthly. It started out under its new owners to controvert breeding history and breeding law in which the public had been thoroughly and conscientiously indoctrinated. The sham pretense of using the title Wallace’s Monthly instead of Brodhead’s Monthly was “too thin” to deceive any one except the most ignorant. The labored productions of the weaklings hired to overthrow the truth only tended to deepen the disgust. The price was lowered as an inducement to support, but nobody wanted the miserable thing about his house, and thus it died without a tear except from the eyes of the rich fools who put their money into it supposing it would live and prosper in the hands of ignorant and incompetent men.