He knows as little as a Kaffir knows of the laws of snooker pool

The Referee, Sunday 29 October 1899

The Public’s Requirements?

Through the few or many years of his well-fed service he has done his duty in his engagements by looking after the work of various departments—work mostly clerical. But as to what the B.P., who pay, want and ought to have, he knows as little as a Kaffir knows of the laws of snooker pool. The boot has never pinched some of the authorities who, when any question as to the public’s comfort or convenience arises, are asked to, and do, settle the matter. I wish to congratulate Mr. Gladstone very much on making the alteration in the Aintree paddock, which must push the start within visual range of the people who pay to see the racing, and therefore ought to see all possible. I wonder how long it will be before the Doncaster Race Committee can be persuaded to go and do likewise? At Sellinger time I held forth once more on the folly in which they persist—to wit, packing the starters round a corner, just as the Liverpool bosses used, so that all the maybe interesting performances played while Mr. Coventry is waiting to drop his flag are lost to ninety-nine per cent, of the public. These miss all the fun, or what you please to call it. As it happened on last St. Leger day, the operations between the time that the white flag went up and the starter’s dropping his red one made far and away more for excitement than did anything that occurred in the running.