Connecticut western news., 1896-07-09
WHEELMEN'S MECCA.
THAT IS WHAT LOUISVILLE WILL BE
 NEXT AUGUST.

pitable Kentuckians Preparing For a Gi-
 E.ntio Inv.sion of csciers-R.ces on
 Fountain Ferry Track.
 There will be only one oity in the Union next August so far as the wheel man is concerned. That city will be Louisville, noted in years past for pret- ty women, ambrosial whisky and un- bounded hospitality. No wonder the wheelman's heart is filled with exulta- tion when he reflects that all these de- lights of the gods will be his from Aug. 1< to Aug. 15-the date of the national meet of the League of American Wheel men.
 A true Kentuckian is nothing if not sanguine. The League of American Wheelmen numbers today over 50, GOO members. By August this list, at the rate it has been increasing during many weeks past, will swell close to the hun dSed thousand mark The Kentucky wheelmen expect that every one of these 100, ,000 members will attend the meet, and that every member will bring a friend or two with him. They are mak- ing preparations on the same scale as their expectations, and so energetically have they worked that little more re- mains to be done The money necessary has been raised, transportation has been looked after. headquarters have been procured, hotels and boarding houses have been listed, races have been ar ranged that will bring together the best men in the country, prizes that will in- duce the racing men to do their best have been secured, and gigantic pro- gramme of entertainment for the visit ors has been fixed up.
 To the Louisville 1896 Meet club be- long the honors. This club, organized with the sole object of capturing the meet, attended the meeting of the Ma tional assembly at Baltimore last Feb ruary. It came, 1t saw, it conquered and went home rejoicing with the na- tional meet in its possession. An execu- tive committee of 15 was selected to suggest and carry out plans for the meet. This committee as it stands at present is composed of men all prominent in Louisville business circles,
 John Colgan was appointed chairman of the committee on finance. He decided that no contributions should be asked for. Stock was issued, and each man called on was asked to subscribe for a certain amount of stock, with promise that, should everything turn out well, the original investment would be re- turned to him and in case of profit a dividend would be declared. It was es- timated that about $10, 900 would be required for entertainment and other purposes. It was also figured out that the receipts from the races would be about $I2, 900. Nearly all the stock has already been subscribed for.
 General John B. Castleman, who has never yet missed horse show in this city and is familiar figure to all New Workers with horsy tendencies, is chairman of the entertainment commit tee. No one understands the art of en- tertaining more perfectly than General Castleman, who is Kentucky gentle man of the type so loved by the novelist Colonel O. P. Atmore, general pas senger agent of the Louisville and Nash vile railroad, is chairman of the trans portation committee. He has secured . one fare, round trip rate from all rail l Mississippi river. He has also secured concessions for the free transportation of bicycles during the meet. The colo nel is now in New York trying to ges concessions from the eastern lines, and | the indications are that he will be suc- cessfuL
 Fountain Ferry track, on which the | national meet races will be run, is without doubt the greatest bicycle track in the world. The surface is of cement, as smooth as it can possibly be made, and the corners are banked so as to al- low speed of :35 for the mile with out danger of slipping. It is the only track in the world on which a quad can go at this rate of speed without danger, this having been demonstrated | by the teams that paced John s. John. son and Mike Dirnberger in their record trials The training quarters and dress ing rooms are under the grand stand, thus doing away with the objectionable tents generally used. The location oi the track is ideal. Within 50 yards is . beautiful park, where is located an ex- cellent hotel Here racing men can al ways find accommodations. The track is exactly four miles from the center oi Louisville and may be reached by . trolley car line or over two excellen, streets by bicycle.
 The race committee of which M. J. Fleck is chairman, has arranged list of events worthy of the occasion. These races are to be run on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Aug. IS, IA and 15. There will be 26 races in all. The prize value amounts to $2, $40, exclusive o1 cash prizes of from $500 to $500 to be offered for match or invitation race tc be arranged later.
 Out of the 26 races 12 are for anna. teurs. The cash prizes for professionals are to be paid over in gold coin and amount to $1, ,950. The amateur prizes are valued at $S90, the first prize ir each event amounting to $S5, the limit of value set by the L. A. W.
 Six national championships are to be contested, in which amateurs and pro fessionals will compete. With every prize other than cash or official cham. pionship medals a receipt will be given from the dealer from whom 1t was pur- chased showing that the price at which it was listed was the price paid for it.
 The suggestion of Abbott Bassett, secretary of the L. A. w., that thers be during the week day devoted to g reunion of the veteran L. A. W. mem bers has attracted general attention all