Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-04-03
off yerv materially. Even Barnum's


greatest show on earth is not nearly
SO well patronized as formerly, for
now many vacant seats can be seen at
his exhibition. Young men go to
the skating rink instead of going to
pool rooms, the lager beer saloon, the
billiard hall and other places where
alcoholic stimulants are being sold and
gambling carried on.
1t is estimated that there are $4,000
skating Kinks in the United States. It
requires on an average about six per-
sons to run each rink 1t will thus be
seen that nearly 10000 people find
employment i'm catering to Tins amuse-
| meut.
There are nearly 500 manufacturing
establishments where roller skates are
made in the country. They make
from $4,000 to 10000 pair of skates
week, and find ready sales for them.
In fact the demand for skates has been
80 great that the manufacturers could
not meet it. Probably from 1900 10
-O,O00 people are INDUCING in roller
ska ing now in This city. Some of the
Establishments frequently take Ia 81
800 day. The general admission in
the evening is So cents, and in the
morning aud afternoon % cents.
! There is some reduction made TO child
rem. They charge % cents in the
evening for the use of skates. and 10
cents for lock ing up your over Ost. Ii
one pays regular rates for admission.
it costs from 65 To 20 cents TO spend an
evening at the Kinks here.
Clergymen find that this amusement
draws young people away from even
ing meetings, and they are considera-
bly, disturbed by it. Several of them
have denounced roller skating from the
pulpit, and are trying to make out that
| il is demoralizing, but those who in
dulge in the pastime do not agree with
them, as they regard it very pleasant
| and beneficial form of exercise, and
see nothing demoralizing in it. There
are some Kinks, however. that have
been badly managed on the part of the
proprietors. They have allowed young
ladies and gentlemen to go into all
sorts of fantastic amusements, and
permitted things to go on, which
should not be tolerated, hence it is
that in some towns roller skating has
been conducted SO as to make it I'M
popular amongst respectable people.
But these things have been more the
fault of the managers than of the
amusement itself.
AT the Kinks in New York the man
ayers have almost every evening some
special excitement in the way of rae
ing, fancy skating, bicycling or polo,
which serve 10 attract many visitors.
Once or twice during the winter each
proprietor gives skating carnival, in
| which all sorts of fantastic dresses are
worn, and they usually have some of
the best skater. in the country TO take
part II is certainly. when properly
used, a very amusing and harmless
SOFT of entertainment. Most of the
| large Kinks have galleries fitted up for
spectators and they are usually crowd
ell by those who pay their twenty-five
cents admission 10 witness the per-
| formances.
Ii is a question Us 10 whether this
sort OF amusement will continue very
leug. Such exciting amusemeuts do
not generally last long. Ii was so
with the velocipcde. We well remem-
Der when v-locipedes were first intro
duced in New York. There were
fifty or more halls arranged for using
lied them, but in two or three years
the excitement had all died out. Ii
will probably take a longer lime than
that for the skating Kinks o go down.
For people of sendrntary habits.
who get but little out ioor exercises,
using their brains almost exclusively,
AMI hour or two spent in the evening
at The roller skating rink NAV be of
great advantage. 1t draws the blood
| from the head 10 the lower extremi-
ties. equalizes the circulation, induces
more or less pcrspiration, and aids di-
geslion aud as similation. Z. p. NJ