The San Francisco call., 1898-01-22
CYCLING CLUBS
 SHOULD ENTERTAIN MORE,

San Francisco has fewer bicycle clubs in proportion to its size than any other city in the United States except Cincin- natl The wheeling interest is not dor mant, however, for there are estimated to be over % 900 riders in this city alone. Of this number scant thousand belong to organized clubs, and over half of the total individual membership of the C, A. C. Cor over 6O0-is made up. of unat- tached riders.
 In looking around for a reason for this state of affairs, we are confronted with the fact that the managers of the cycle clubs here have not yet learned from our Eastern brethren the art of making their clubs sufficiently attractive to induce a large membership. True, we find in the Olympic, Imperial. Bay City, San Fran cisco, California and similar institutions rather attractive club quarters But with the obsolete club run and an occasional unentertaining smoker" Ine efforts stop and there is nothing 10 tempt a man to join club or to patronize it after he has done so.
 But the club manager will answer and say: "Ah, but we have only 100 members, and. at s1 a month, that is barely enough money to run the club. without run ming into debt for more luxuries for the present. Wait until we get more mem bers and more income" Wait.
 The wise business man, when business is not at its best does not sit by idly and wait for it to come to him. He brings another, and prosperity returns at once.
 What the San Francisco bicycle clubs need is advertising in their own city among the class of riders who would be likely to become members. Many an un- attached rider would be a club man to- day If he saw where IL would accrue to his advantage. He is probably not a racing man, as statistics show that only one wheelman in every 200 ever races h4r,1-r r1E hot ~1r- I 4r,n n-,l riders ever attend a bicycle race. There fore, he is not attracted by any club that caters to the racing element, and 1t is false idea to think that the winning of races, relays and the like is of particular benefit to the club. The winning club may De better known in the public mouth, but glance at its membership roll and treasury will explain the rest.
 Therefore, our unattached friend must be enticed by some other means than cycle racing. Mayhap he likes touring awheel, in which event a long list of proposed tours for the season, prepared months in advance of their occurrence by he will likely nibbe.
 But the chances are he wants his bi- cycle club to also serve the purposes of social institution, where he may pass | frequent evenings during the week. Now | pretty, well-located club house, with | piano, reading and card rooms and bil- Hard hall, will attract him for the first | few visits but not after that. Probably | his own home Is as good as the club house. his sisters play the piano better | than any of the boys at the club, if he | desires to read his home is more quiet and billiards are a pastime that one soon
 tires of if it is the only one, particularly | when playing with clipped balls and un- | tipped cues.
 Eastern bicycle clubs have been through | all this, and many of them have sue | cumbed Others, with stronger minds at the helm, have met the situation and | conquered 1t. How? By providing means | of indoor entertainment that make club l .l.I ,.14s1 tionate size duly considered, New York | Philadelphia and Chicago have ten times
 as many bicycle clubs as has San Fran | cisco, and they are all fiourishng. A | large membership of desirable young men | wko patronize and support the institution | is all that is needed to make clubs con-
 dition 'hourishing" and It's treasury | I think the trouble with the San Fran cisco clubs has been that in many of | their forms of entertainment they were not satisfied unless they made money out of tEem. The club treasury required this | but that was not getting at the root of | the evil. With more members the treas
 ury would be fat and it would not be
 necessary to make every entertainment
 self-supporting, to charge an entrance fee | for every little billiard or card tourna-
 ment. or a "hat-check" at the dance Among the social doings of Eastern
 clubs, we read of the annual ball of | the Harlem Wheelmen. The decorations
 will be especially tasteful, while the best | of music is promised for the dancers Ad- l mission is by invitation only. procurable
 from the members and limited to one card
 Again: "A new idea has been evolved | by some of the bright members of the | Royal Arcanum Wheelmen's Club, and it
 takes the shape of free dancing class, | which will practice at the club house
 every Thursday evening from now until
 the first of APG 3nr PSis is
 ganlzation numbers over 45O members of
 both sexes.
 about ten days the big bowling tourna- ment of the Associated Cycling Clubs will begin. and will continue up to the first
 week in bowins MTw oarGs Shs | first question somebody would ask would | be: How much entry fee can we charge,
 and how much can we make on the pro-
 Such features as whist, euchre, crib haze and hearts tournament, over which
 we make such hullabaloo, are inter- snersed between these big events like rel | ishes at dinner Inter-club games of | biIliards. pool, bowling, indoor baseball | and shuff1eboard help to make up the odd
 time. until clubman has to have a date
 book to keep track or ms engagements. | and not to belong to at least one of the
 local bicycle clubs is to be completely
 Tn Denver the Wheel Club has begun a
 systematic saving of pennies in prepara-
 ton for trR to club paFs stendsS t 5 bs Ninety | tional IL. A w. meet at Asbury Park l two years ago, and the same crowd will
 20 to Indianapolis this year. Great inter-
 est is attached by the members to these pilgrimages.
 | thusiasm is manifested over certain
 coasting contests, managed by the Asso-
 ciated Clubs. man may not be a racer | but any wheelman can be a coaster, and
 for prize hung up by the association ol
 by some prominent dealer these riders
 assemble in hundreds to outcoast each
 other on some gradual decline. one of the
 most exhilarating sports imaginable and