The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-01
SERMON TO BlCYCLISTS.
A REVEREND WHO HAS A HORROR
OF THE BLoOMER GIRL.
Bicycle Is Put to the Highest and
and UnhOliest Uses.

Rev. DR.. Kittredge Wheeler of the
Fourth Baptist church, Chicago,
preached a special sermon to cyclists
lately. Although a number of wheels
were stacked in front of the church,
there was no one in the audience who
wore a costume resembling in any way
a bicycle suit, but DR.. Wheeler ad-
dressed himself particularly to. the
men and women VINO ars fond of pac-
ing along the boulevards and en-
countering the difficulties of country
roads.
Dr. Wheelers subject was, "Handi-
capped in the Race" His text was,
Wherefore, seeing that We are en-
comprised with cloud of witnesses,
let US run with patience the race that
is set before us"
1.-THE bicycle said DR.. Wheeler, lis
put at once to the highest and hottest
as well as the basest and unholiest
uses. The machine is a wonder. 1t
annihilates distance so that on a good
road it makes little difference whether
the route to be travelled is one mile,
mile and half or two miles. With
the great possibilities of the machine
it ought to be of almost unalloyed bene-
fit to the human race.
George Washington, the greatest
American who ever lived, never saw a
steamboat; he never received a cable
gram and never saw a railway. When
he died at Mount Vernon, only a few
+ miles, comparatively, from the capitol,
congress did not know of his demise
until the day of his funeral, four days
later. George Washington never saw
or rode on a bicycle. Yet he was one
of the greatest, if not the most pre-
eminent of American statesmen.
George Washington never saw a fe-
male roe q bicycle In male attire. And
I am glad to say that fashion is, nay
more, has gone entirely out. When you
see a girl nowadays dressed in the
clothes of a man you may know, IN all
except a very few instances, that the
costume is simply an advertisement Of
what is indicated by the immodest
manner and brazen face of the woman
who SO garbs herself. From such un-
seXed creature may the Lord deliver
US. And yet you may trust woman. To
the end of time she viii be modest, I'M
obtrusive and unaSsidming. 1t is
equally true that to the end of time
men will respect only those persons of
the opposite sex who have those quail
titles.
yet 1 have not touched upon my
subject, Handicapped in the Race
What would you think of Bald, Cooper,
Tommy Butler or any other of the
great professional bicycle riders if they
should enter a race with their wheels
weighted down with brakes and guards
and their bodies covered with heavy
winter clothing? You would hiss them
off the track, and they would be de-
servedly retired in such a case. Yet
81 To n
the battle of life handicapped. Take
Charles Stewart Parnell, the man
whose evident destiny it was to deliver
/ Ireland, and who lost his influence ana
! his prestige by one foul blot upon his
character. Take the case of the diplo-
! matte MiTabeau, who confessed that if
he had had character he might have
saved France. These are notable ex-
amples and yet they are not unusual
Almost everyone j. handicapped in
some manner. l have had men in al
most every line Of business say TO me,
( 1 cannot do that and stay in my bust
ness and yet il is & noteworthy fact
/ that the most successful men in every
/ business are those who have always
put conscience before policy.
Now, we are all handicapped in the
same manner. All of US are troubled
by the sin, inadequately expressed in
the English translation OF the Greek
word as the sin that easily besets u.s.
/ The translation is inadequate, and yet
! none of us can fail to understand what
/ it means What we are to do is to
/ throw off the yoke of bad habits, bad
/ thoughts and bad actions. We ought to
enter the race for life handicapped by
no superfluous clothing, no superfluous
! drags. We ought to enter upon it as
1 bicycle riders do, stripped almost to
the very skin, in order to render the
/ best account Of themselves. If we wish
to win in the race of life we must strip
ourselves of everything which will pre-
/ vent US or hinder US from coming
close to the best standard of morality
and of religion. We cannot win if we
are Handicapped. Therefore, let us
tighten our burdens as much as posi-
be"
COSTLY TRINkFTS.