Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-04-14
ROLLER-SKATING.
History of the Third Craze of tho
Kind


was issued in France in 1919. From tina
time to the year 1863 there were min
patents issued for roller-skates. Three q
these were French, three English, an,
three American. In all of them tn
wheels were set in fixed sockets, and rul
only in a direction parallel with tn,
length of the skate. There was som,
variation in the size of the wheels, ant
their number varied from two to five
There was an attempt to adapt them t.
the capabilities of ice skates by varyins
the position and size of the wheels. bu
1t was not until 1868 that any success wa,
secured in making roller-skates witt
which the skater conld make all the
motions that can be performed on Ice
skates. In the year 1868 James l.. Plimp
ton, of New York, patented the guidable
roller-skate. This was radical improve
ment in attaching the runners or rollers
to the stock or foot-stand of the skate
whereby the rollers or runners are
made to cant by the rocking of the
stock or foot-stand SO as to facilitate the
turning OF the skate on the ice or floor
and admit of the skaters performing
with ease gyrations or revolutions with
out testing unduly the muscles of the
foot or ankles. Mr. Plimpton made inn
provements on his own Invention, which
were patented in 1865 and 1866. and
since that time there have been no less
than three hundred and forty-five patents
for various notifications of roller-skates,
chiefly in England and America. But
the practical roller-skate of to-day is sub
stantially an American invention. There
are thousands of persons engaged in
their manufacture, and they have been
introduced about all over the globe.
The present roller-skating craze is bv
no means the first 1t is, in fact, the
third. There was very extensive roller
skating craze in this country in 1872.
when there were many skating Kinks and
many thousand skaters in various parts
of the country, and in some places almost
as much excitement over it as there is
now. Roller-skating halls were estab-
lished in New York by Mr.. Plimpton as
long ago as 1865. They were attended
by staid and orderly people, including
ministers, deacons and church members,
and on one occasion the good folks as
tonished their friends, and, in fact, them
selves, by skating waltz figure during
Lent. They did not awake to the
enormity of the offense until some of the
newspapers began to write them up
Roller-skating was extensively introduced
in schools and continued in private social
circles for many years without any at
tempt to make the skating halls the
resort Of promiscuous assemblages.
In 1866 roller-skating was started at
Newport, in the Atlantic House, and for
several years was patronized by the best
society. The large dining-room of the
Atlantic was used for skating, and clergy
men, lawyers, doctors, and the most ex-
emplary citizens joined in the sport.
In 1876 considerable number of lead
ing members of New York society were
interested in roller-skating. The Union
Club members were prominent in it.
Among those who participated were
James G. Bennett, NJ. Douglas, A. Wright
Sanford, Mr.. Rowland, Mr.. John Jay,
M. M. Livingston, and others equally
well known. They first engaged Lyric
Hall, and subsequently Irving Hall, and
the attendance was very select. The
public was not admitted.
The first absolutely public roller-skat-
ing rink in this country was established
in Cincinnati in 1867, and the amuse-
ment took firm hold there. They had
a newspaper devoted to the interests of
roller-skating, published in Cincinnati in
1877, called the Skate Roll. At that time
the Kinks were rigidly conducted, so as to
interest the most conservative and or
derby persons. The rules and regulations
OF the floor also were such as would obvi-
ate many of the objections to the modern
skating Kinks.
Mr.. Plimpton had his skates patented
in England, and about ten years ago there
was a roller-skating craze in that country
similar to that which prevails here now,
with the exception that it was started
with the deliberate purpose of interesting
the most conservative and orderly people
and making it reputable amuse-
ment. There were at one time about
four hundred places for roller-skat-
ing in England. Mr.. Plimpton in
vested considerable capital in the enter
prise, and as soon as be became sue
cessful found himself confronted with an
army of infringers., He fought about two
dozen of these infringers in the law
courts, and won all his suits. Roller
skating in England was conducted at first
under very high social auspices. There
was one club known as the Prince Club,
which consisted entirely of titled person
ages and their children. The suits to re-
strain the infringers of the American
patents attracted widespread attention,
and the trials were attended by great
crowds. The American patentee was de-
nounced as a monopolist. His law ex-
penses were enormous. Fabulous stories
were told of his profits, and he undoubt-
edly made a great deal OF money from
his invention. He foresaw the objec-
tons that might be raised, and an
ticipated the strongest arguments now
brought to bear against the skating-rinks.
The Kinks that he established were regu-
lated by stringent contracts, so as to fore
stall and prevent these objections. This
he did from the conviction that, as a
matter of self-interest, it would be most
profitable to make roller-skating respect
able.
Mr.. Plimpton has had considerable
litigation in this country to protect his
invention. His patents expired in June,
1888. He has not, however, lost his in
terest in roller-skating, but deprecates
the surroundings that have now been
connected with it-New York Sun.