The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-09
RIGHTS OF RIDERS.


We publish this morning the impas-
stoned protest of citizen of st. Paul
against the brutal arrest of wheel
man in this city by a policeman. 1t
was scarcely less than a miracle that
the rider escaped with his life. The
pollceman's club was thrust through
the spekes of his wheel, and every man
knows that that would endanger the
life of one going at even a very ordi-
nary rate of speed. Whether the cy-
clist In question was really offending
against the law or not, by exceeding
the stipulated pace, we do not know;
but we do know that the action Of
which the policeman was guilty de-
serves the severest denunciation that
can be visited upon it. The writer
of this letter has sent to the G1ob a
contribution of five dollars as part of
fund to be raised for the prosecution
of this lawbreaking agent of the law.
and we doubt not there are plenty Of
Wheelmen in st. Paul who would be
glad to contribute to fund to be used
80
tecting them from brutality Any such
contributions that may be forwarded
to the G G e will be acknowledged
and held to be applied to the cost of
conducting a test case.
Since the G l e has expressed itself
in very positive language on what It
regards the rights of pedestrians to the
sidewalks, position which 1t holds
without modification and which II
finds is concurred in by expert and
enthusiastic wheelmen themselves. #
is only proper that another side of the
question should engage the public
mind. This is the extraordinary male
violence which a large number Of team
sters and drivers of carriages and de-
livery wagons exhibit toward persons
using the wheel. Their disposition
seems to be precisely that of officer
Swenson, who thought it was a fine
thing to send a human being Whirl-
ing through the air at the risk of life
and limb. What lurking devil there is
in the human heart that makes it so
often delight in inf1icting anxiety, ap-
prehenslon, suffering and possible
bodily injury upon another human be-
ing, we cannot imagine But the fact
is that a considerable lumber of per-
sons who occupy the street surface
with vehicles take an absolute pleasure
in riding down wheelmen, in crossing
their tracks deliberately and in COM
pell1ng them to dismount or take the
chances Of fearful collision The same
disposition that is exhibited by the
few "scorchers" in their reckless riding
through the streets and along the
walks is displayed toward the great
multitude of careful and quiet wheel
men by much larger number of the
riders and drivers of horses.
The difficulty Is the same in both in
stances. The main trouble rises from
the fact that there is no portion of the
common highway reserved for wheel
men upor. which they have rights of
their own that they can enforce, and
to which they may be restricted. The
astonishingly slow progress Of the hui
man race toward regard for the rights
of others, even in the commonest par
ticulars, and the still general preva-
lence of the disposition to inf1ict in
jury unfeelingly and willfully Is shown
in both directions in this matter Of
the wheel. 1t is apparent that only ar
ascertainment Of the legal rights of all
parties, and a fair and considerate en-
forcement Of laws and ordinances will
settle the matter properly. We hope
that measures to that end will be taken
speedily, although the relative rights
of the wheel, the vehicle and the foot
passenger will never be satisfactorily
adjusted until each has it's guaranteed
and protected portion Of the public
highway prepared for and reserved to
its own use.