Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-01-21
Roller Skating.

The great, empty, barn-like struct-
ures-~the skating rinks-which last sea-
son were alive with thousands of busy
skaters, are very quiet now. Here and
there in the city can be found one that
is making an effort to keep open, but
the attendance is very poor, and the at
fractions hat last winter would have
brought out thousands, are bringing but
few TO the Kinks this season. The
craze is over. 1t was a very proiita-
bic n for the manufacturers of roller
skates and the owners of Kinks last year.
There were Kinks in ms city that made
thousands Of dollars. Last year Frank
Hall, the proprietor of the Olympian
rink, in Philadelphia, and who owned a
factory for making roller skates, sold
100000 pairs of skates. This year he
has sold none, and has closed his facto-
ry. Mr.. Hail says that though the
''craze" is over, it is a mistake TO think
that roller skating as an amusement is
to die out. When the craze has en-
tirely subsidized roller skating will be re-
duced to the limits of a pastime upon
which legitimate business ventures may
be made.
Nothing connected with the craze
is more curious than the manner in
which it affected the trade in lockwood,
maple aud hcmlock. The lockwood was
found TO be the best material from which
to manufacture the rollers. In conse-
quence, last year that wood jumped up
from $50 a ton to $40, and one firm, by
a fortunate purchase just before the
market took an upward turn, made ST.
600 in less than two weeks. The mar
ket was stripped almost bare of lockwood
for a time, and thousands and thousands
of tons were made up into rollers in a
few months, BoXwood is selling now AT
SlS a ton and the price is still going
down. So enormous did the proper
tons for the infatuation for roller skat-
ing become that companies with hun
dreds of thousands of dollars as capital
were formed for the purpose of con-
structing Kinks in small cities all over
the country. These Kinks were built for
the most part of hemlOck, and so extern
sive were the operations that this lum-
Der, notwithstanding the immense sup
ply, made advances until "a" market at
n time showed that its value had been
increased at least 25 per cent by the
large operations Of the construction
companies. Since last year the price of
hemlock has fallen of 30 per cent, be-
cause the building of the Kinks had to be
stopped. One of these construction
companies in ten months divided profits
of 800, 600. The plan of the managers
was to build a rink in q promising local
ity, run it for a few weeks, and then sell
out to local spectators. Maple was
found to be the best wood with which TO
construct the rink floors, and this lum-
Der jumped up to $50 and $50 a thou
sand feet.
1t is an interesting fact that the
ROLLER skating craze" would have
come long ago but for the patent. For
seventeen years after the skate was
patented not a skate was sold, and yet
the patentee in that time made So, 000,-
600. Eben Piumpton was the lucky
fellow who first conceived the idea OF
the roller, and he made all of the roll
Ter skates used during the years his
patent ran, and rented them out to
skating rink managers. He always
made the contracts read that he should
receive 10 ner cent nf the admission re-
ceipts and all the money from the rem
tai of the skates. OF course, roller
skating did not flourish under those
circumstances, but the amusement was
popular enough to keep up small Kinks
in the large cities, and Mr.. Plumpton
made money. As Soon as the patent
expired and skates could be made by
anyone the craze started, and started
in Richmond. Ind. NJ. G. Henley start
ed the manufacture OF roller skates in
a little woodshed in that city. The
skates became popular and he enlarged
his shops until now he has a factory of
over 400 feet in lcpgth, and one in
which many workmen are employed.
He has made a round million Of dollars
in the business. Pittsburgh Chronicle.