Mexico weekly ledger., 1894-08-23

ing-Hany Amusing Incidents
Female Suffrage and Its
Draw backs.
Correspondence of the Ledger.


day attire and put on her brightest
smile TO welcome the League of
American Wheelmen. Everything
has been "wheels" and ''wheel-
man. and though the "meet"
does not end till to- morrow 1t is
already considered the most success
full in the history of the l.. y. w.
The wheels are blue, brown, red
and every other color and they are
decorated with tissue paper, ribbon
or flowers arranged in the most
artistic devices. The wheelmen are
big and little, old and young, skill
full and unskillful, handsome and
otherwise; but all are enthusiastic
and all have a seeming contempt
for electric cars. Some of them
| perform feats on a wheel which
would make a bareback circus rider
green with envy. Scarcely less i'm.
portant than the champion riders
are the "Mascots" OF the leading
clubs, but the Columbia surpasses
all others in mascots, having a bull
dog-monkey combination. ''Jack
Napoleon its atrociOusly ugly bull
dog, wears a blanket bearing the
name and colors of his club, q
stove pipe hat, has glasses to
strengthen his eyesight, and smokes
a pipe as he parades the streets
and appears on the race track. He
carries McGinty, the cute little
monkey, on his back and the COM
bination is supposed to be invinci'
bic. Neither Jack, McGinty nor the
wheelmen are in it when the wheel
women mount their flower-bedecked
"bikes' and steer boldly down
Sixteenth street regardless Of criti-
cism of other women or the speed
of street cars. Their costumes pre-
sent striking variety. The material
varies from calico and lawn to cloth
and velvet; the color from black to
poppy red; the style from conven-
tional long skirts and short waists
to - iniinlty. Short skirts, d.
vided skirts, knickerbockers and
boomers all appeared early in the
fray; and the local press compli-
mented the wearers of the two last
named so profusely on their indie.
pendence aud progressiveness that
one lady sought to out. Herod Herod
by wearing her husbands bicycle
suit; another is said to have been
transcendently beautiful in a green
blouse and her little brothers velvet
'pants." Both wheelmen and
wheelwomen are here by the hun
dreds and they hail from almost
all points between New York and
San Francisco. The prizes, which
are many and handsome, include
wheels, diamonds, medals, bronze
vases and last, but not least, of all
4 $1,000 piano. The l.. A. W. is
responsible for causing the celebrat'
ed Governor Waite many an hour
of rage. The wheelmen requested
President Cleveland to write a letter
to be sent to the Governor by relays
of bicycle riders, and the Populist
statesman is unreasonable enough
to blame the President, who, | am
. inclined to think, was busy with the
, preparation of the Wilson letters,
for e~ntrusting the writing the ''re-
lay" letter to his private secretary.
Governor Waite also insists that
President Cleveland forgot to an
: swer his telegram demonstrating
= with the President for protecting
the United States mails in Colorado
, during the recent strike. A new
factor enters Colorado politics this
1 year and the women are organized
into various politico-social clubs tC
prepare themselves for voting, each
: club recognizing some politician as
its patron saint. The ladies write
i, to the local papers frequently in
. their best school girl essay style tc
acknowledge that, though they know
much of theoretical politics, they
, can still learn something of the
practical. So woman, with the OPP
= portunity of the ages at her feet
, will fall back on what Nine. Sarah
Grand calls "the child man." 4
sensation was recently caused in :
Republican club by the discovery
that some "horrid man. had told
the ladies that if they would give
| him their names he would register
for them, and he cruelty deceived
many. Others who went to the
proper place to register found i'm.
pertinent officers, who cody de
. manded: "How old are you?'
Equal to the emergency they re,
/, piled: cover d." and the officer
registered them twenty-one. Now
they are scared to death for fear
their votes will be challenged on the
. ground that they did not give their
true ages. So it seems even woman
suffrage has its shades as well as
I its lights. The London authors Of
popular novels are not the only
women who have the grievances o.
I their sex on their hearts and pen
points. One of Coloraao's advanc
ed fair ones has written an article
, protesting against the conventional
dress, and sarcastically asking al
men who protest against extreme
dress reform to just wear stylish
dresses for one week. Some peo.
!, pie are so hard to satisfy give then
the sun, moo and earth, and they
will cry for Jupiter. By-the-way
| am reminded that the Denver Re-
. publican devotes much valuable
space To Major Warner, and tht
brilliant Excelsior Springs conven.
ton. Does "distance" magnify
small events as well as "lend en-.