The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1885-06-11
Ran MR Gma.
The PerIIs OF the skating Rink and TIA
Profits That Keep the Craze Alive.

IL
Profits That Keep the Craze Alive.
There is SO. 600. 600 invested in
Kinks and roller skating in the United
States" said Samuel j. Byrne, Of the
Christian street rink. yesterday, sand
an average of one patent q day, appli-
cable to roller skating, Is issued at
Washington" In the absence of act
ual statistics, says the Philadelphia
Times, the correctness Of Mr.. Byrne's
estimate Is questioned in other quar-
tiers, though there are few towns of e.
500 peopls or over where the rink has
not found foothold. Six months ago
there was but one rink In Philadelphia;
now there are over twenty in full blast.
Like most popular crazes, the rink cpl
demic is mostly manufactured, and Is
got up entirely to make money out Of
roller skates. Little money is spent
upon the rinks-the principal expense
in the best of them being for : smooth,
hard floor. Generally some large, old
building is selected or hall rented,
and In several instances in this city the
Kinks are nothing more than the upper
floors of stables. In two cases meat
markets have been turned into Kinks.
II is said it was Frenchman named
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ers, but the man whose name Is most
generally associated with the roller
skate is Boston Yankee named Ptimp-
ton, who retired with several millions
from the invention. He was q furni-
ture manufacturer, and is said to have
got the idea from seeing the chairs and
bedsteads spun along the floor on cas-
tors. One OF the very latest inventions
is an ankle corset. to lessen the danger
from sprained ankles, which is always
great. Each rink has q large supply
of skates which are rented for Is or %
cents for stated period. Where
thousands engage daily this becomes
quite an item. Very many, Of course,
buy their own skates, which are three
fourths profit to the manufacturer.
The Kinks, principally the larger ones,
are to great extent connected under
the same management and are run by
or have some business connection with
the skate-makers.
Another odd circumstance is that the
managers and men at the head of the
Kinks are in hardly any instance men
belonging to Philadelphia They are
nearly all strangers here, and the men
they surround themselves with-the
teachers, the exhibition skaters, the
ushers, and even the so-called special
policemen-are also men whom nobody
knows anything about, though many
of them are unfortunate in having a
style of appearance that does not rec
ommend them. They are generally
well dressed, however, have a sporting
air, and wear imitation diamond studs
to captiVate the feminine eye. In some
cases they wear uniforms with numer-
GUS brass buttons. The teachers and
exhibition skaters nearly always dress
very fancifully, with velvet breaches
and bright stockings, and often wear a
lot of medals on their breasts. The
charges made for teaching how to skate
in the better class of Kinks is $5 for fif-
teen lessons, or so cents for a single
lesson. As a matter of fact there is
little teaching, and the so-called PRO
fessors'' are really kept as ''attrac-
tions," to keep up the interest among
rule good-looking, well-built, graceful
young fellows, and they can hardly
ever be seen with an ugly girl in tow.
Wherever the professor" is seen
skating he is almost certain to have q
pretty girl whom he supports with a
scientific balance peculiar to the ex-
pert alone. 1t is not a tiresome exer-
else, and almost any one can skate for
several hours without fatigue. The
Kinks are open all day as well as night.
and it is a very common occurrence fol
a young girl to go to a rink with q
Young man at O'clock in the after.
! noon and skate continuously until 5 Oh
6. During all that time he holds both
her hands, one of his arms braces hel
IN front above the waist, and they lean
upon and brush each other with every
swaying motion. The position is diff.
cult and has to be learned The man,
with the girl on his right, puts her left
arm in front of him and holds it firmly
as brace, with her left hand in his
left hand. His right arm he puts
through under the elbow of her left
arm and with her right hand in his
right hand she holds his arm against
her as a brace. Thus braced and
shoulder to shoulder they move well to-
gether, the mans right foot following
between hers and her left between his,
each intermediating. Either some
young man or one of the attendants
puts on the girls skates and straps
them and takes them off again, and al
SO adjusts the high ''ankle corsets'
when they are worn. As rule, when
young man meets girl at rink and
skates with her he winds up the eve
ming by creating her" at some of the
numerous drinking places and restau'
rants that have sprung up adjacent to
these places.