Evening star., 1896-12-14
? r G E OF w HEEL S
Col. Pop. Talks to Star Reporter Abou,
the Trade Outlook.

rope manufacturing Company, and the
pioneer of the good roads movement. was
In the city few days ago, partly on busi-
hess and partly pleasure He was the
guest of ]. Hart Britain.
He is now independently rich. and all due
70 the bicycle. He is not the only man
who has made money out of the bicycle
business, but he is without a doubt The
man who has made more money out Of the
manufacture of cycles than any other in
dlvlouaL Twenty years ago he was a
shoemaker, but he had higher ideas He
was impressed with the bicycle and saw a
bright future for 1t. There was an cid
sewing machine factory located in Hart
Iord and he went to the concern and got
Inem 10 make twenty-five bicycles for him
ms friends laughed at him. and told him
lndt ne would never be able to dispose Of
that number of machines. He thought that
ne could. and he acted on his own belief
Ine twenty-five wheels were soon dis
posed OF, and he went back to the same
place and got fifty more bicycles made for
nlm He sold these in quick order. and
nad ioo more manufactured. His friends
lncreduious at first, were now convinced
,hat ne was right, and with the sale of the
last order Colonel Pope organized me Pope
manufacturing Company.
reporter OF The Star had quite a chat
win the colorel and found him 20 be
ieady and willing to talk about bicycles
and anything else. He was primed and
loaded with information, and ratified off
statistics at great rate. Like most ether
men interested in a particular business he
vas nrmly convinced that there was only
one wheel oD the market that could be call
ed bicycle and that was worth the morey
asked for it, He hardly saw how com
panies other than his own could exist and
turn out bicycles.
No Change I'm the Wheel.
Il hardly think that there will he any
change in the construction of bicycles for
some time to come" said Col Pope. ..'rhe
acme of construction seems to have about
oeeh reached, and the attention of the
manufacturers is turned to Improvement
IN minor details. and the using of the hest
material This tends to make a model hi
cycle, and under the present condition of
adLairs ana i see no room for Improvement
The present style of bicycle win be used
until something that is found to be better
turns up"
AS to the price of the wheel for next sea-
that there would be a general reduction by
most ali of the manufacturers The prices
OF the wheels turned out by his company
would be 800, SO. $50 and so. There are
but few wheels on the market" ooatinued
Col. Pope, that are worth the price asked
To-; them. 1 know more than one m tnu-
facturer who is using the cheapest of ma
terial in the construction of his wheels
and yet he labels them high class. ani
sells them at the price of the leadinc
wheels This is a fraud, and will proba bly,
last for few years, but it will not con-
einue Tor ever. The public can he fooled
Tor short while. but it cannot be fooled
all OF the time. The merit in the constluc-
uon OF bicycles is sure to become known.
and therein lies the reputation The GEN
eral price OF most of the wheels for next
year Will be perhaps SIS. though the price
may graduate all the way UP to SOD
The bicycle business has grown 10 be a
great industry" continued he Last year
there were over 100 failures of bicycle con-
md
witness the failure of good many others.
There are small plants which do not have
the facilities and the means to enable them
to successfully compete with the larger
firms. The margin of profit is not suf-
fc1ent at the cut rate to enable them to
place their goods out on the market
Demand for Wheels.
The model of most of the wheels for
1897 has been out for some time. Our
models for next season have been out and
tried and tested, and we are perfectly sat
isfied with the result. We hired thirty
men to do nothing but ride the wheels
which will be sold next year. Each man
rode fifty miles day, through rain and
shine, mud and dust. and yet the wheels
showed no defects. We actually paid the
| men to break our bicycles, and judging this
to be thorough enough test the ma
chimes will be put on the market without
delay
What do 1 think about the sales of
bicycles for next year? l think that they
will even exceed those of the season lust
past. They have got to be. With the
reduction in price, the profits are corre-
spondingly lowered, and consequently more
wheels have to be turned out and sold
to equal the profits of the companies for
the present season. This is the argument
that confronts the manufacturers and is
something which will cause them to use
every means to sell their goods. As 1
stated before, there are some concerns that
cannot Withstand the competition, and they
h,,t NIx f<nf. 1.s.x- Af
failures will not be as great as last year.
in my opinion. The season just past was
one of wedding out, and the process will
be continued on a reduced scale for next
| the wheat, and the good work will go mer-
Wheels in the Army.
In regard to the equipment of the army
with bicycles Col. Pope was very enthus-
iastic. 1T will not be long before the BIZ
cycle branch will become a feature. just
the same the cavalry branch. While ii
is true that a bicycle cannot be ridden in
every place where a horse can be used,
yet there are special occasions when the
wheel can figure more prominently than
anything else. In courier duty it is much
better than the horse. Better time can be
made, and with less noise and exertion.
while in a test of endurance between the
brute and the human the former stands
no show Gen. Miles, who is a personal
friend of mine, has been very anxious to
have the bicycles introduced on a large
scale in the army, and his efforts will un-
doubtedly result successfully.
The good roads movement continues
merrily on" said he, in response to an
inquiry. 1T is gaining impetus at every
turn, and cannot be stopped. The farmers
of the country and others have to be edu-
cs ted up to the standard of good roads, and
as soon this is done the reformation
will be complete 1t takes less money to
keep a good road in repair Than it does
m a nfQ in a ha uaf fc fc
thing, strange to say. few people look at.
There are now more good roads in the
country than ever before. and each year
witnesses an increase. This year has been
no exception, and the increase of good
roads this season nearly doubles that Of
the season before The work is being push
ed on all sides. The bicyclists are not the
only ones that want good roads. and The
farmer is beginning to realize this. He is
the one that Is benefited by the change
The Agricultural Department is pushing
- unaffer and Copgrosaneu have e....,,