The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-04-13
CRAZY FOR WHEELS
Livery Stable Keepers Are Feel
ing tho Effects Sorely.
Marked Falling On In the Csc Of Horses
and BugSies-Tae Sunday Trafbc Is In
jured Already-E;cycie Wagons and
Carriages Arc Coming.

| So widespread has the bicycling craze
become that the livery stable keepers
| are beginning to feel the effects of it
| sorely. II is the Sunday trade, the
| best paying trade in the livery BUSH
| ness, that has fallen off chiefly, the
| reason being that the young men who
| used to take their girl friends driving
every pleasant Sunday afternoon now
take them bicycling instead at q much
| smaller expense. A horse and buggy
costs about five dollars for a Sunday
afternoon, while @ pair Of bicycles can
be rented all day at two dollars apiece,
| OF a tandem for about four dollars.
The natural result is that every Jack
who has bicycle is teaching his Jill to
Sisting that Jack shall purchase or hire
| wheel, so that he can accompany her
on her Sunday afternoon spins. and the
academies where riding is taught are
full of bruised bat persevering learners
in the art of wheeling.
Walk along any of the boulevards OF
this city or Brooklyn. says the New
York Sun, some fine Sunday afternoon
and you can see the result of this.
There will be two bicycles for every
horse and buggy, and good proper
ton Of the bicycling, you will find, is
done in pairs, which means much loss
of custom to the stables. A man up
town who is wise in the matter of
horses said recently in discussing the
matter:
"One outside the livery business can
hardly believe what falling off IN
trade there has been since bicycling
became SO popular. AS long as it was
confined to men it didn't make much
difference. but as soon as the girls be-
gan to take it up our profits went fly
ing. Why, even as early in the season
as this. you can see the machines spin
ming every decent roadway here
abouts. but you see mighty few rigs
with 'en. If it's that bad now, what
will 1t be when the dry season comes
and the roads are all easy for the,
wheels?
''Why, a fellow whose girl rides a.
bicycle, and there's an awful lot Of
'em that do, can just take her spin
ming down to Coney Island, or of in the
Jersey roads, or up the Hudson river,
or down on Staten Island for good,
long ride, and get back before dark,
and we livery men can sit In our
stables and twirl our fingers and won;
der how we're going to make business
pay with no trade on Sunday, when
business ought to be the Gveliest and
prices the biggest. Why, I'll bet that,
fifty per cent. or more OF the girls that,
used to make the Sunday livery trade
profitable have learned how to ride
wheels. tell you, for fact, 1 know
three livery men in this city, all of 'em
prosperous, and all of EN- old hands in
the business, and they're going to give
1t up this summer. / met one of 'em
the other day and asked him how things
were going, and he told me he was go
ing to quit !:
"'Whats to pay9' said Made your
pile?'
NO said he, 'but don't want to,
lose what I have got. There's moth,
ing in horses. I'm going into better
line, where there's money
What's that9' I asked.
Bicycles said he. Don't have to;
groom 'em. don't have to feed EN-, and
they don't get sick and cost you 'vet",
bills Besides that you cah get prices
for 'em where your horses won't be
hired out enough to get exercise There's
no money in keeping horses until they
make law declaring bicycling q GRIM
inal offense, for everybody is struck on
the wheels, and If something don't
happen you won't see any horses In this
city few years from now except on
drays aud street cars. No more horses
for me. I'm going to get in out of the
rain said he, and guess he was pretty
near right.
Il know it to be fac. that proba bly,
the biggest bicycle company in the
country is now making arrangements
Cor the manufacture on a large scale %