Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-16


DELEGATES PREsENr-NTEREsrISa STATISTICS
PRESENTED.
The national assembly of the board Of officers
Of the League Of American wheelmen. the Off
ciai machine that represents the interests of the
bicycling thousands of this country, was held
today in the tea room at Wizards Hotel II
was an unusually interesting affair from various
causes. Above all, il was the first meeting of
the board ever held outside of the city Of New
York Then it was productive of some mats
rial that will probably have a very important
bearing on the future of wheeling in America,
and, again, because only a comparatively few
| hours ago there burst over the heads Of the
| officers Of the league q storm of opposition
| that, while not totally unexpected. was never
theleSs a sort of shock to the entire oryaniza-
t1on SO peacefully and harmoniousiy did all
indications appear, and so confident of smooth
ness were most of the delegates to the meeting.
tnat the news OF u combination formed secretly
against the existing officers came somewhat
ihe oash OF cold water, and the more so
because this opposition was a formidable one.
An ORGANIZED STRIKE.
1t was not merely growi of dissatisfaction.
but an organized strike led by the New York
delegation Of seventeen men and with enough
adherents to make the reelection of President
Dunn matter Of doubt. lot Of indefinite
charges against him of discour.esy shown GER
tain members and committees seemed to
De the foundation Of the dissatisfaction, and
al day Saturday there was a fierce war
waged both here and elsewhere, often
over the wires, and with a determin-
alton on the part of the administration
party" to fight to the bitter end The cam
palgn at this end was well conducted by MIR.
George Atwater, the local chief consul, and SO
ably did he represent the interests OF the presi-
dent and the other threatened officers that by
the time that the bulk of the delegates to the
assembly had arrived yesterday afternoon the
tide OF opposition had been so far stemmed
that 1t had come to be merely a question of
grit and pluck on the part of the party in power
as to who should win.
PEACE REIGNED THIS MORNING.
BY this morning the fight had been fought
and peace reisned. 1t was claimed by the
Dunnites that they had secured a coalition of
New England and the west against New York
and the middle states sufficiently strong in
votes to elect their man over all Opposition.
Inc hotel lobby half an hour before the meet
ing resembled the ante-room to a political con-
Venuon The man VINO button-holed every
new conner was there in quantities, and there
was good deal CT earnest talking among groups
and knots of men whe talked votes and proxles
and combines and candidates and candi-
oates ana compromises until it really
began to be exciting. Three votes, the opposi-
ton claimed, would defeat Dunn, but this feel
ing grew weaker as the adherents of the seces-
sion party dropped off one by one under the
persuasive influence of Mr.. Dunn's geniality.
SATISFACTORY EXPLANATION.
He made certain explanations that were sat
lsfactory to enough Of the enemy to insure his
election by the time called for the meeting. IL
seems that Albert Mott. chief consul of Mary
land, wanted to be vice president and he be-
heved that Mr.. Dunn had not treated him
squarely in throwing his influence to Bidwell
OF New York. Other allegations had been made
and as q result both Mott and BidweIl sprang
into the field candidates for the presidency
After the tide had turned there were several
spasmodlc efforts to revive the strength of the
opposition, but without success.
THE MEETING CALLED TO ORDER.
President Dunn called the meeting together
a few minutes before II O'Clock. and by that
time there were fully 100 delegates gathered in
the tea room. Tho roll call was at once begun.
The committee on credentials reported that |
there were 70 votes represented in person and |
90 by proxy total of 1870 votes ont Of a possible
l45. This result was received with applause
REPORTS SUBMITTED.
Treasurer Brewster then read his annual re- |
port, showing annual receipts of 81, S29 and ex-
penditures Of IS, 404, giving a balance on hand |
of s4,525
Secretary Bassett's report showed a large
amount OF popular appreciation of his goodly
qualities. He opened with few verses in imi-
tailon OF Hiawatha, which caused his hearers 10
shout IN laughter. His report, though statisti-.
cal, was humorous and entertaining
He felicitated his brethren on the
largest roll of the L. A. W. ever held
The present membership is lS.1I3. an in
crease of 5,1l0. There are now AL ladies on
the list. The income from membership was
~ f,oO5, and there were 1861 new members
admitted. The report closed with some more
parodied Hiawatha. whereat a member moved
: vote OF thanks to Mr.. Longfellow for having
l9rnished the secretarys wit. The report was
adopted with applause. Mr. Sanford Lawton then
read the report of the membership committee
Fourteen cases Of doubtful membership had
been considered during the year with six ex-
puislons. He called attention to the presence
Of much petty spite and jealousy in the ranks
)t the league which leads to a good MANY USE
esj protests.
IMPROVEMENT OF HIGHWAYS.
The committee on the improvement of high
ways then arose in the person of Mr.. Isaac r.
Potter of New York. The report of the COM
nittee showed that a great deal of good work
lad been done during the year in the campaign
gainst bad roads, and that a strong public
ceiling In favor of highway Improvement is
apldly growing into the Importance of a
,ewer in the land. Mr.. Potter called attention TO
he recent annual message of Gov. Hill of
>ew York as indicating the growth of the an
probation of politicians of the Importance of
building valuable roads. The causes alleged
o be at the bottom of the bad condition of the :
verage road of the country were ignorance of
obstruction and lack of responsibility as well
S OF money The committee urged the publ
alton OF a new treatise by the league on i'm =
,roved highway construction, for which the ,
hartman has prepared the manuscript The !
dea is to supply these works to the !
armers OF the country. that they can be :
made familiar with the science of road build 7
ng. The committee asked an increase of its
nembers, in order to cover the ground more 4.
and thoroughly, and had made a :
canvass of the state Organizations 9
n the subject. which showed q general an /.
roval OF the plan suggested. The report re-
erred to the necessity and probability of a 7
ew national movement being made in the line T
some road legislation.
NATIONAL LEGISLATION FOR HIGHWAY s
The chairman read as follows: III
"A strong and influential party in politics.
some measure of mushroom growth, but of =
lch dimensions as to command respect and =
assessing sufficient power to change the COM n
lexion OF national legislative halls is counting
re cooperation of the League of American !,
'heeimen in inducing the general government \
} undertake the construction OF national | \
Dads This party is the Farmers Alliance :;
hich is rapidly growing in strength and has .
influence that is already beginning to shape
atlonal legislation. 1t would appear that onr
rSanizaticn should avail itself of any proner
d to carry out its great work of highway i'm
rovement, and accordingly il is suggested O