The Mena weekly star., 1896-10-07
BICYCLES FOB 25 CENTS.
1he Machine of French Conatruction
 Called the Ceieret.

l edIy will, If the claims made by the champions of the new undertaking prove true. Cheap bicycles, so cheap | that the mention of the sum takes ones breath away, are to be the product of this new business or factory.
 Wooden bicycles were offered for sale in Paris some time ago at the unheard- of price of 26 sous each. Henri de Par vile, scientific editor of the Journal des Debats, was musing over this strange fact, when one day he received a letter informing him that a very useful bi. cycle could be made for two sous, which are equivalent to couple of cents of American money. A bicycle for couple of cents! Just think of it A few days later Paul Clerc, the writer of the letter, showed M. de Parville his two cent bicycle. It was simply composed of couple of pieces of wood taken from an old box and two cents worth of iron.
 It was, in other words, n rough speci- men of the primitive velocipede, as in- vented by Baron de Drais in ISIS. The component parts of this machine were a rough wooden framework and two wooden wheels of equal size.
 NJ. Clercs idea is to place on the mar ket machines fashioned after this old model, but with all feasible and mex pensiye improvements. The machines will have neither pedals nor intricate mechanism of any kind. They will be composed simply of q wooden frame work, two wooden wheels and a saddle. They will be known, not as bicycles, but as celerets.
 It is not expected that the celerets will supersede the regular bicycles, but it is considered certain that thousands who cannot afford to buy bicycles will buy celerets. A first-class bicycle costs $10O or more; tirst-class celeret can be bought for one dollar or two dollars, and one of an inf yrior grade can be pur- chased as low as 25 cents. Nay, there is no reason why a handy man or boy should not make a celeret for himself, in which case the only outlay neces- sary would be couple of cents for iron.
 And in regard to the utility of the celeret Baron de Drais said many years ago: "On good road my machine can travel at the rate of two leagues, and even four leagues, an hour, and when going down hill it's speed IS greater than that of galloping horse." Perhaps the baron bragged. The celert may not go quite as fast as he claims. Still, it can be made to go fast, and with little effort. The rider is really walking, while in a sitting posture, and is far less tr fot hat Ia were running in the ordinary manner. Progress is made by touching the ground alternately with the right and left foot The machine, once set in m J. tion in this manner, goes along steadily, and the speed at times is so great that the rider has TO need to propel himself with his feet.
 Put pneumatic tires and other mod ern improvements on a celeret," say s NJ. Clerc, "and there is no reason why it should not go almost as fast as bi- cycle"
 He also says confidently that man can travel long distance on celeret and feel hardly the least fatigue at the end of his journey. He accounts for this fact on the ground that none of the energy spent on propelling the machine is wasted, and that the amount of en. ergy required to travel long journey is much less than might be expected.
 M. Clerc sees clearly that it will be no easy task to make the celerets popular When their prototypes, the draisennes, were invented, at the beginning of the century, the few persons who ventured to use them in France were unmerciful- ly caricatured. In England the ma chimes became more popular, but there, too, their riders were ridiculed. We ali know how long it has taken the modern bicycle to win its present high position. NJ. Clerc, however, is confident of sue. cess.
 According to him." says the Journal des Debats, "thousands can derive bene- fit from q machine like this, which costs almost nothing, which travels as fast as trotting horse, and which can be rid den by anyone without the slightest danger of falling off. How many young people would use it for amusement and health, and also for the purpose of learn ing how to ride the regular bicycles Workingmen could ride to their busi- ness on celerets, children could go to school on them. peasants could ride to market on them, and even business men could use them to save time. So light could they be made that riders could easily carry them under their arms, fl necessary"
 Analysed thoroughly, then, M. Clerc's