Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-10-27

league has accomplished SO much WILL
be of interest. Generally speaking, the
most successful method Of the league
has been to impress upon legislators the
fact that its thousands of members and
their many more friends are political
factor that must not be overlooked.
Politicians have not been slow in real
izing this, and in many cases are anx-
ious to show their friendship for wheel
men. OF course, the bills presented have
to be of merit, and the league has been
careful TO urge the passage of only such
laws as are reasonable. With a good
bill and the necessary political pressure,
it is only a matter of time until the
law is placed on the statute books
There are many cases. however,
which require special methods. A nota-
BILE instance was the passage of the bag
gage law in New York. That is con-
ceded TO be the leagues greatest
achievement. 1t had the railroad lobby,
the strongest in any state, to contend
with, and the fight that ensued was
perhaps one of the hardest the New
York legislature ever had. The special
method adopted was to overwhelm the
members of the legislature with per-
sonal letters urging them to support the
bill Every wheelInan was requested to
write his representatives. with the re-
suit that every man in the legislature
received mail by the sachful. They
could not throw the letters away on the
supposition that they were all on the
same subject. They had to open each
one, and this soon became such bur-
den that they had to throw the railroad
lobbyists overheard and give in to the
wheelmen.
When the bill reached the governor,
he was flooded with kilograms, and,
though Chauncey N. Depew represented
the railroad interests in urging him not
to sign it. he could not resist the press
ure placed upon him. There are other
cases in which unusual means had to
be used, but the strongest force the
league has is in the influence and back
ing of its members and wheelmen gen.
orally. If the organization had five
times its present mem bership, there Is
not legislature in the country that
could resist its demands. and when the
alliance with the farmers is completed
it will have tremendous influence on
our lawmakers
Bicycles are property, and the assess
ors have an undoubted right to tax
them under the law as it stands if they
see fit. The L. A. W. and its officers
70 CHI ha fr,fr of ,ot.
a tax because bicycle improves a road
and cannot harm it. So long as the
farmers narrow tired wagon is exempt
from taxation there can be no good rea-
son for taxing the rubber tired vehicle.
If only bicycles Travelled the highways.
we should have none but smooth roads
AS means of increasing the infiu-
ence of the league, both locally and as
q national body. the chairman of the
rights and privileges committee of the
New Jersey division, L. A W.. sug-
gests that the form Of the organization
be changed so as to place the unit Of
government within the local consulates.
Under this system the local consulates
would elect delegates to the state board
of officers, and they IN turn would elect
the national officials. This is practical
ly the same principle as adopted by
many fraternal organizations, and it is
believed would be advantageous to the
league, in that it would create addi
tional local interest in furthering the
objects Of the organization.
Some lawyers have advanced the
opinion that they do not think an ordi-
nance compelling bicycles to carry
lamps is valid. They argue that it is
class legislation, taking as their ground
the fact that the supreme court has de-
clared the bicycle vehicle and con-
tending that if one vehicle is compelled
to carry lamp all should be made to
do the same.
GrnI,nu T Mrr