Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-07-29

ly 100 wheelmen were In line, and
while the stockings and knee-breeches
were passing the White House, the
president Of the United States stood on
the portico and raised his hat In ac-
acknowledgement Of the review.
I believe that the celebrated lady
physician OF Washington, DIR. Mary |
Walker, uses q tricycle. regular ior
making professional calls.
But the bicycle gets Its strongest
support from the high courts.
On the Goth Of May, 1877, Alfred d.
Chandler, Esq, took his first bicycle,
an imported one, from the custom
house in Boston. He paid, under pro.
test, forty five per cent. duty on 1t, as
for steel, claiming that II was
carriage" and should be subject to
only thirty.fve per cent. duty, as I'm
that class. He appealed to the secre-
tary of the treasury, sending two
elaborate briefs, and was successful.
Secretary Sherman, under advice from
the law department at Washington,
decided that the bicycle was a carriage,
and carriage 1t has been at the custom
houses ever since. That was the first
legal contest since the revival In
America.
On the 22nd April, 1878, an order
was passed In the Boston board of
aldermen "that the committee on
police consider and report II any
measures are necessary to regulate the
passage of bicycles through the streets
OF our city, BY the effort, principally,
OF another lawyer. who was wheel
man, and member Of the city council,
this order was referred directly to the
police commissioners, without other &C.
| ton, aud the whole movement resulted
in an order promulgated in the police
department.: "In regulating the use
of bicycles. you will be guided by the
same laws AZ apply to ordinary vehicles
and see that they conform herewith,
both as TO speed and location"
That has proved sufficient for Bos-
ton ever since, and had much inilu-
ence elsewhere.
Other cases could be cited, but II is
useless to refer to them.
On the 18th of January, 1881, quite
number OF New York wheelmen held
a meeting to devise and consider some
method Of procedure to open Central
park to bicy cles n committee was APP
pointed, who presented, on the 10Th OF
February, u petition to the park com
missioners. A counter petition was
also presented. Both petitions were
tabled at once. In April another petit
ton, signed by the officers OF the local
clubs, asking more limited privileges,
aud also petition signed by the officers
of the League of American Wheelmen,
supported by statements of various
mayors and magistrates, and other
prominent men In cities and towns
where the bicycle had had free or
slightly conditional course, were pre-
sented. The commission was still di-
vided, and II seemed impossible to
make any change. Meantime the
president of the league interested Col.
a. A. Pope In the matter, who imme'
,, diately obtained careful and eX'
hnustive legal opinion upon ques-
tions involved in the validity
}. of the order of the commissioners OF
= Central park, passed July 7, 1880
y "that no bicycles or tricycles be al
! lowed In the Central or City parks.
" On the strength of that opinion he
Z offered to pay all the expenses of any
o New York wheelman who woulc
!. make test case under that order
y On the LIST of July w. Nj. Wright, 5
: Conant Foster, and IL. ii. Walker o
u that city rode into Central park, two
Y of them ON n ''sociableh tricycle. ant
. one on bicycle, were arrested, takei
:, before the police court and fined, re
" fused to pay and were taken to thu
u Tombs; thence they were taken befor,
u Judge Lawrence OF the supreme court
=. on n petition for writ { habeas corpus
~ The course of proceedings under petit
! ton was unique In some respects, ant
=, was continued in the courts until til,
u expense on the part of the petitioner
:" amounted to more than 5000, an,
Il more than two years had elapsed. Ii
the meantime the l., A. w. meeting
q was held in New York city, In tn
D. summer of 1883, and that, combine,
u with other car-es, including u chang
T In the membership of the park com
" mission, brought about the opening q
: Central park and the Riverside driv
W to wheelmen, under certain reasonabl
" regulations, and all interest in tina
~ cause celebre abated.
No Now, the privilege and immunity q
,r the use of the highway and the puoli
a. street Is necessary To the enjoyment q
j, liberty, and To the right to assemble
ar since there can be no liberty withou
n. action, or movement to and fro, no
Il any assembling without travel, an
Nv the use of the highways, being a neces
- sary incident, Is secured by the con
no stitutlon. And by the judicial d,
M. cisions, the use of carriage-ways an
IN streets includes the right to use one
,r own common mode of conveyance
M such carriage rs he has.
It's l have grave doubt whether any az
~ OF the legislature Of any state. prohibi
10. ipg the use Of bicycles under any res
~ sonable regulations in the streets an
highways of that state, or any consit
or cradle number of them located togethe
n would be valid or constitutions
n statute. In this connection the Lar
M guage of Gibson, G. j., In the case
he Com. W.. Bowman, 3 Pa, st. 20S,
in specially pertinent.
r. County commissioners have n
greater right than an individual has
N To disturb the citizen In the enjoymen
Its of a municipal franchise, at least bt
'ir yond the bounds Of absolute necessity
re The public square ia so much high
way as IL II were n street, and neithe
he the county nor the public can block
y: up to the pref, dice of the public or a
rd individual; nor can either assert
es, right to 1t by inclosing 1t beyond
ne reasonable curtilage. 1t is dedicate
lot 10 the use OF all the citizens as high
Gle way, and all have right to pass owe
is II without unreasonable let or hin
lat drance.
or One other point may be r. ferred [
K In passing, which has been Above
ny too much force In some quarters her,
of tofere, and that Ia the alleged danger
nd Gus and unwelcome aspect of bicyclin
se to the horsc.using portion of the put
BIZ lie, Commissioners undoubtedly hny