The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-15
TIE BICTCLE CONTEXT
The STRATA on tho Riders Not Too Grent
Human Endurance.

Human Endurance.
To THE EDITOR OF THE SUS-Sir. After he
ing surfeitcd from every source with the sensa.
tional vaporinRs over the late six-dav bicvcle
race. and tho superabundance OF combinod avn.
pathy and Indignation expressed thereat in
most Of the daily papers, 1t was n great relief to
read the sensible editorial on this subject in
to'days SUN. AS there is. perhaps, no one in
New York better qualified to speak on the effect
OF long periods Of sleeplessness than myself, 1
can give from personal experience my opinion
on this matter. / affirm unhesitatingly that for
a man OF good constitution land those not so
blessed have no right to enter these contests)
the strain is not 80 severe that two or three DAYS
OF rest and attention will not cure tho contest
ant and leave him in tho Same health and
strength he enjoyed before the ordeal. In my
profession l am sometimes called upon to do an
amount Of work that an outsider would not be-
heve possible of achievement. As an example,
last week saw mo fasting four days and nights,
In which my amount Of sleep was four hours in
toto. while a very few days before 1 completed
n mass of work extending over n period Of
nearly eight weeks, in which my nightly average
Of sleep was very little over three hours, Sum
days included. and containing in this stretch
two breaks Of slecplessness Of ffty.three and
siSty-one hours RESP ectivcly. Add to this, dur
ing the course of years. several breaks varying
from seventy to eighty-fivc hours, one of ninety.
six, and one even of 105 hours.
Let any of these Journal physicians come to
interview me and l will give him all the in.
formation he requires. II this deprivation Of
rest can be endured in a still and deserted build
ing md at q sedentary occupation, like mine of
architectural painter, by nero force of will,
how much easier must it be for men whose
minds are enlivened by bodily action aud by the
clamor and surroundings which are to be found
during the excitement of n six-day race.
As for the trightful brutality to which the men
are subjected: according to the sensational ac-
counts OF which We have read so much lately,
that Ia the least part of II. A chafed or ra W skin
and swollen ankles. n bruised seat and numbed
arms, although painful and unpleasant, are no
more to BIO feared by men in good condition or
mind and body than the training of an oarsman
VINO mas to take his meals standing for the first
two weeks, and those who participate in these
am,isements do not shirk their pleasures for
such tribes any more than on Il recent occasion
I was inclined to stop half way in a walk from
Patchogue to my home in this city, about fifty
seven miles, because l discovered my shoes were
not fitted for the work.
All honor 10 these mon who stood the strain
for six long days, not only for what they havo
endured for their benefit, but also for The OK.
and strength OF will. When public opinion shall
30 assert itself that all these would. be moralists
who preach and rail against everything in the
form of manly sport, from boxing to football,
shall be forced to cease their dismal croakings
and join the NJ: Y. O. b. Association. so much
the better for the world at large. Otherwise
men will slowly but surely degenerate into n
society of croquet players. and even then will
be denounced for the brutality and ferocity Of
their sport, and this city will be one great and
GLORIOUS concourse OF Parkhursts. Pndercwskis,
and Bunthorncs. HUGHsoN HAwIEY.
NEW York. Dec. IS.