The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-06-01
A. Big CYCLING SCANDAL
The "Great Chicago Road Race"
Was a Monster Fraud.
COURSE NOT COVERED BY WINNERS

Men Who Were Awarded Time Prizes
Said to Have Rested on the Way and to
Have Never Reached the Turning Point
in the Race.
CHICAGO, June IA mammoth scan.
dal has ended the career of the worlds
famous Chicago road race. The celebrated
race as an institution has plunged from
the pinnacle Of rank as one Of the greatest
cycling events on the globe to a place
much lower. Sworn statements made
yesterday put nearly 10 per cent. of the
participants In the so called "race' ON
record as contemptuous sneaks. How
many Of the remainder Of the ''rncers"
will go Into tho same class is yet to bo
determined, while the race itself Is left
free from doubt in only one particular
that 1t was O Wholesale fraud on q scale
probably never before equaled In the his.
tory Of cycling races, or for that matter In
races of any kind. The result, it Ia gen.
orally conceded, will be to put blot on
the cycling fraternity everywhere as
sportsmen and for years leave In bad odor
every event fostered by Chicago cyclists.
The trouble, In brief, Is that this year
the race was not q straightaway, and that
the 45o contestants, literally by dozens and
scores, deliberately cut the course instead
Of going round the full turn at Evanston.
1t is claimed that only thirty-one Of the
first hundred to finish, among whom was
the winner, Homer Fairmon, were noted
as having passed the limit mark at Evans
ton and that no note was ever made Of the
other sixty-nine men at that point. The
fellows not In the first hundred are sup.
posed to have done even worse, and com.
parlsons of bicycling, with Roby, Ind, and
winter racing" are common enough today
for anybody.
w. E. Morgan, Of the firm of Morgan s.
Wright, is greatly interested in the out.
come Of the investigation, for It was at
his suggestion that 1t has been started.
When saw some Of the figures that
were recorded as the time in which the
race was rum" said Mr. Morgan, II knew
something was wrong. Fred Rau, one OF
our employees, to whom the second time
prize was awarded, is credited with better
time than either Bainbridge or Decardy,
two scratch men that know can ride
Rau to death in five miles, especially when
they pace one another, as they did on
Thursday.
When I saw Rau yesterday he ad.
mitted at once that he never rode over the
course. He said he was taken sick half
way out, and was lying on the grass O
good part Of the time, and that when he
rode in he never claimed to have ridden
the course. There are other men who
claim to have made better time than
either Bainbridge or Decardy who, am
willing to bet, would not be able to ride
five miles with these men before they
would be lying alongside the road"
Aside from the scandal in regard to the
race as a whole, Referee Thomas F. Sheri.
dan has his hands full receiving protests
from scores Of riders in the race against
the awarding Of prizes to Fairmon and
Emerson, the first prize and time prize
winners, respectively. 1t now looks as II
neither Of these men will be given the
place which was assigned to him. How.
ever Fairmon may come out, 1t is almost
certain that Emerson will be disqualified
as time winner. All the testimony goes
TO show that Emerson did not ride tho
course. The time given Emerson was
b2:14, and tits almost impossible 10 believe
he made 1t in that fast time.