The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-22

work to get in condition for racing. Some
Of the weak youngsters break down at
a living. They have aI not yet forgotten ORG
their simple habits OF life. They are the
lucky ones The strong fellows keep up
the pace for TWO, three and maybe five
years. Then the strain OF seven months
hard training and five months dissipation
every year breaks them down They lose
their speed and stamina Their employers
discharge them and take up the younger,
quicker men who are always coming 10
the front.
Right here is where the bicycle en-
bezzler is developed. He is too fine
gentleman to drive a truck or do anything
labOrious. All he knows is clerking at s.
or $40 a week. He finds employment, but
an office is mean, narrow prison to him
after his years of outdoor life and the
fame that accompanied it. Besides, its
hard to come down from an income of
S, 900 or 81 900 a year above all legitimate
expenses to a mere 800 or $500 year 70
cover everything. He cannot get rid of
his expensive tastes. He must nave
money. His watch and diamonds. go 10
his uncle and so he scrapes along for
awhile. At last he has nothing more TO
pawn, and he faces the old problem OF
how to satisfy $75 a week appetite on
so a week income. He takes check to
the bank for his firm some day, caShes II
and skips. Generally. he is caught in short
order, his friends make good his stealing
and the firm drops the prosecution.
Il remember one fellow who wasn't
so lucky. That was George NJ. Nesbitt,
years in Sing Sing for forgery. He was
great man in the League of American
Wheelmen. and in 1880 he was treasurer
of its New York division. He had a fine
time while his popularity lasted, but
when he was found to be short in his ac-
counts he was asked to resign his treas
urership. The amount of his embezzle-
ment was not made public. Nesbitt was
an under bookkeeper for the Royal In
surance Company in January, 1883; He
time now, and he was ready for almost
anything. One day he stole a bank check
from the company's book, filled it out
TO the order OF lanes Howard for $50
900. and sent it around to the bank and
had it certified. Then he sent the check
to Albany by a fellow bicycle sport
who tried to cash it and was arrested
after pledging the check as security for
a paltry loan of $S5. Nesbitts accomplice
was released, because he was a mere Lao,
and his family were respectable Moth
ing could save Nesbitt, however, and he
is serving his sentence now. His case is
the only one / recall among all the BIZ
cycle embezzlers' in which the betrayed
ing the thief.
"As there has been no legal procedure
in the cases / have in mind I can't give
you the mems names for publication.
There is former great long distance
up 100000 and is looking for more. A
young man in this city who up to two
or three years ago was one of the fast
est riders at distances ranging from half
mile to ten miles at last found that his
racing days were over. His father, who
is a wealthy merchant. set the young
man up in business, but he lost $4,000
and failed. High life on the wheel has
totally unified him for business. He is
a wreck to-day-socially and financially.
A good fellow, who began his career as
members of the Kings County Wheelmen,
soon turned professional and rode in the
cash prize league. He frittered away a
good business that had been yielding a
comfortable income. The hard training
and the harder dissipation used him up i'm
four years. He had no money left The
last heard of him he was training two
women in an International six-days' race
at the Madison Square garden, when his
put him out of training for good / could
give you scores of other cases in which
tion."