Morning journal and courier., 1891-09-07
THE BIcYcLIsTs.

THE BICYCLIsTs.
 The Tournament To-Day in Hart
 ford Local Contestants - The
 National Convention.
 The local bicyclists are very much in- terested in the tournament which is to be held in Hartford to-day and tomorrow. | If the weather is fair the meeting will un- be one of the best attended this l season. The New Haven Bicycle club l will send forty members, and the Rover Wheel club will send sixty-five men in uniform.
 The following are the New Haven men who have entered in the one mile, half mile and team races: H. B. Hewitt, T. J. Otell, F. G. Catlin, Jerry Smith, William Ballou and John Bright. The annual tournament of the Springfield club will take place on next Thursday.
 Eight members of the Brooklyn Bicycle club came up here on the boat Saturday night from New York. They had break fast at the Fremont, being escorted there by the New Haven escort. They started yesterday morning at 10 o'clock, Captain F. W. Tabb, c. B. Larom, B. N. Bacon, R. E. Isben, L. E. Smith, E. 0. Dixon, and J. N. Dixon of the New Haven Bicy- cle club going with them. They probably were caught in the downpour of rain before reaching Meriden. The wheeling was horrible. The clay track at Charter Oak park will dry off very quickly if the rain ceases and it is probable that the races will be held to-day, if the weather changes. This morning many New Haven hiovcliafs will pO tO Hartford
 At the national convention of the l.. A. w., to be held in Hartford to- m morrow, the important question of a stricter rule as to racing mems expenses will come up. This is what the Bicycling World and L. A. W. Bhifetin has to say about it., .'1
 The friends representing the different theories as to the advisability of loosening or frightening the rules which govern the payment of the racing mans expenses, are marshalling their forces preparatory to the debate at Hartford. The western men seem in part to be in favor of a stricter rule, while the eastern members as whole favor more liberal one. The reason of this sectional division of opinion is, we think, obvious. The east can boast of sev- eral large athletic organizations, the racing members of which have their expenses paid, while the western racing men are comparatively without any such financial assistanee. The west complains that the eastern flyers are nearly all members of some rich and powerful clubs, and that the members thereof, by having their training and travelling expenses paid, can afford to prepare for the tournaments in manner which is impossible to the man who has to pay his own training bills and travelling expenses, hence the western racing man is placed at an unfair disadvantage. Here we find a very logical reason for the atti- tude of certain of the western contingent in it's antagonism to @ more liberal ex- pense rule or, for that matter. any rule
 which allows clubs to pay the expenses of it's members.
 There is no disputing the fact that the | position of the western men tends more to l the preservation of the true amateur sta | tus of wheelmen than does the attitude of | the customers in favoring liberal expense l rule.
 If it be decided that no expenses be paid
 then it is safe to say cycle racing will come down to the dead level of pure amateur l ism, and the result will be that phenome
 nal riders will not be developed, records
 will be all English, you know" and state
 and national championships, and race
 meetings generally will lack the interest
 which they now possess. We especially
 name state and national championship
 for the reason that the league, to be con
 sistent, must also refuse divisions and
 league clubs the right to pay expenses O.
 their representative racing men to thu | division and national events.
 If a stricter expense rule finally prevails
 then to be still further consistent tn
 league should pass 8 rule limiting tn value of prizes to nominal sum. In tn
 event of these two changes being made
 will it be possible to hold tournaments ol
 the same splendid lines and command pub
 lie patronage in the same successful man
 ner as in the past and present cases c
 Hartford, Springfield, Peoria and Prov
 dence, and other large meetss We mus
 admit that the careful training of fas cyclers tends to produce phenomena riding, records, and, consequently, publi
 1 interest in the appearance of these celel rites on the track in competition. t With very few exceptions Gin fact V : cannot call to mind but single easel u :, crack racing men would be utterly unab to afford the expenses necessary to prop g training and travelling. hence we have d accept the necessary evil of allowing son " one who can afford it to pay same.
 It will not, however, do to lose sight u the undoubted trend towards a conditie d of things similar to the ''promateur" da s in the adoption of more liberal expen d rule, and we therefore must not shut o1 s eyes to the possibility of the leagues ul K mately having to handle cases similar e those of Rowe, Hendee, ct al.
 l. The question which will come up for d e bate at Hartford will be (which is u ,. best for the interests of cycling; adopt :, rule which prohibits the paying of e :, penses, and thus foster the true spirit " amateurship, or allow a rule which pc e mits the payment of liberal expenses al 1T the awarding of costly prizess"
 IS For our part, in the remote past we ha 'cc favored the pure amateur idea, but we a 'I init that time has changed our views 't that now we believe the successful co , tinuation of the racing interest depen J. on. and the welfare of cycling at large W e be conserved by, the adoption of ru ,, which permits the payment of liberal e l. penses and the awarding of valuat IS prizes as now is the custom. This m e seem rank heresy according to the idle ), of some members, but nevertheless it o our honest opinion.
 l. Strike on Beans.
 r. HARTFORD, Sept. 6.-On Saturd l. about forty criminals at the state prise # at Wethersfeld refused to eat the beal e cooked for dinner. The supply at dim o on Tuesday had been of poor quality ar r all the men in one of the workshops h. Il agreed to refuse beans when next serve
 Those cooked on Saturday were of goo IS quality. Deputy Warden George E. Bai e den promptly sent nine of the instigato r. of the trouble to their cells and afte l. wards placed the two ring-leaders a solitary confinement, thus ending u d trouble.
 Atthe City Missions.
 ee The service last evening at the City mi Is sion was in charge of MT. Otis w. Barke 1t MT. Mossman's assistant and MT. Geor s- B. Evans of Elizabeth, N. J. Despite tl j. heavy storm there was nearly the usu d attendance. MT. Evans gave the story s his conversion in New Haven several yea