The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-05-17
THE RINK PROTECTOR.
ANOTHER BENEVOLENT MANS GOOD
INTENTIONS GONE WRONG.
MI. Hawkins Undoubtedly Meant Well
But He Did Not Make Sufficient
Allowance for Atmospherical Elias
ITCHY - Unexpected Results.
New York Times.l

New York Times.l
There is not the least doubt, that when
Mr.. Hawkins invented his rink protector he
meant well. The idea of the rink protector
occurred to Mr.. Hawkins one morning when
he had accompanied the young ladies of his
Bible class to apopular skating rink. There
were seventeen of these young ladies, and as
Mr.. Hawkins leaned against pillar and
watched them falling either separately or in
masses, and sustaining much apparent and
probably greater invisible injuries, he was
filled with compassion, and asked himself If
something could not be done to render un-
necessary such painful spectacle Of sweet
girls tangled out of tune. The conception of
the rink protector suddenly occurred to him,
and he resolved to give it to the world with
out delay.
That afternoon Mr.. Hawkins took a small
boy to the rink and experimental with him
for nearly an hour. He ascertained that
when skater is betrayed by his skates he
either sits down violently, thereby Earring
his spinal column, or he kneels with equal
violence and runs the risk of fracturing his
knee caps. With these facts at his command
MIR. Hawkins readily perceived that his con
templated rink protector should meet a
double want. 1t should be made to protect
the knees as well as the spinal column Mr.
Hawkins therefore gave himself to the study
of the capabilities of india rubber, and in
the course of the week he had patented un-
der the general name of Hawkins Rink Pro-
tector two strong india rubber air cushions,
to be fitted to a skaters knees, and larger
air cushion to be worn III the place of an
ordinary "dress improver."
Mr. Hawkins has a daughter, young
lady weighing 120 pounds He had never
permitted her to visit the rink, but he now
informed her that if she would wear his
rink protector she might skate all Saturday
afternoon. As the rink protector could be
worn by Miss Hawkins without attracting
attention she gladly agreed to her fathers
terms, and on Saturday afternoon last ac-
companied him to the rink, where he pro-
posed to see his new invention put to a final
test
Miss Hawkins, curiously enough, man.
aged to keep her feet for nearly ten minutes
after putting on her skates tut at the ex-
piration of that time she became less eau
tious, and in another moment she sat down
with tremendous violence. The air cushion
did its duty. The fair wearer the moment
she struck the floor, rebounded in way
that to the spectators seemed super
natural The chandelier was fully fifteen
feet above the floor, but Miss Hawkins
struck it with terrible crash. Descending
among fragments of broken glass the unfor-
tunate young lady struck on her knees, and
again rebounded, but this time at an angle
of forty degrees with the floor. In her aerial
fight she moved down twelve girls and
men, and had she not fortunately struck the
wall with her head-which was not elastic
she might have inflicted still greater dam
age.
Of course this experiment proved that
Hawkins rink protector was not desirable
thing, but it certainly did not prove that
Hawkins was actuated by desire to injure
the rink proprietor, and the conduct Of the
latter in suing Mr.. Hawkins for the value Of
the chandelier and in denouncing him as q
bad and malicious man cannot be too Sc
verely condemned by all who judge men by
their motives and not by their mistakes