The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-02-14
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 REPORT OF CHAIRMAN W MOTT.
His Annual Statement to the Nationa,

A. w., recently made to the HatloIldl do-
 sembly at Providence, is as follows;
 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR. | Sanctions were granted for 1899 race
 meets, distributed in the districts as be-
 low:
 w. I. Doty, 1O6; J. B. Sheridan, 226;
 H. w. Foltz, 279; A. W. Robinson, 34S;
 A. D. Waite, 409; A. Mott, 571.
 | There are 621 professionals registered
 and the records show that over twenty
 thousand wheelmen engaged in racing
 either as professionals or amateurs.
 With the exception of a few of the
 large cities, bicycle racing has been a
 financial success to both promoters and
 racing men. There is more publicity given to race meets in large cities, but
 those in the smaller cities, towns and | country districts, although seldom 1 heard of outside the Racing Board, far | outnumber them and have been vastly
 more profitable. This is due to the fact | that in the smaller places the expenses
 are much lighter, and the attendance | nearly as great on the average as in | the principal cities. Especially is this
 
 l ies participate in the contests. In fact, the amateur race meets in the country districts have proven exceedingly profitable to the promoters given them, and satisfactory to the racing men par ticipating in them.
 THE AMATEUR QUESTION. The classification of the racing men
 as professionals or amateurs still gives
 rise to the same conflict as had existed since the amateur definition was first incorporated in the constitution Many
 amateurs, after they have been trans ferred to the professional class, have frankly admitted that they preferred to be amateurs simply because they could command larger revenue in the amateur class than they could in the professional. The records of the Rac- ing Board will show that in some cases their preference is well founded. It has
 been found that some amateurs were employed by manufacturers or dealers, subsidized by them directly or indirect ly, or that they were given certain sums for winning positions in heats and races, graduated in price with the prominence of the place, whether a first, second or third. Furnishing anna
 teurs with wheels, tires, saddles for racing purposes was quite common, and the name of the wheel ridden was frequently required to be placed on the racing suit, until at last an anna teur bicycle race had in appearance something in common with a process sion of advertising sandwich men on a city street. In the last season, however, much of this was corrected by the boards interpretation of the amateur rules as published in the book of rules, one hundred thousand of which were distributed from Maine to California without cost to the l.. A. w., except transportation Many so-called anna teurs, who under the conditions above named, were by false pretenses robbing actual amateurs of prizes, were investi- gated, caught in the act, and trans- ferred to the professional class. Adver- tisements were also inserted in the pa- pers and on score cards by some man. ufacturers and dealers calling atten- tion to the fact that such and such amateur racing men rode their wheels, and giving the record of their winnings upon them. This naturally called the attention of the board members to the men so published. Other so-called anna teurs, were, without visible means of support, going about the country from race meet to race meet, travelling in palace cars, putting up at only the best class hotels, and were fitted out with racing paraphernalia consisting of wheels in wheel trunks, trainers, etc., in the style usually adopted by the most prosperous professionals at the expense only of some manufacturer. Some of these amateurs have been upon the supposed ignorance of members of the Racing Board when they were officiating at race meets. In one instance where majority of the board was officiating, an amateur who had won a qualifying position in a heat, although 1t was second, claimed first; i and when he was told it made no differ ence to him so that he had qualified, still persisted, and stated that a first, even in a heat where there was no prize, was worth more to him than second. Of course this was an inad- vertent confession and the man was eventually transferred by the board.
 Such action usually causes friction with the friends of the men so trans ferred. In some cases the friends, mis- the case and not know ing the board record, become quite vi- olent. To illustrate one case, an assist ant secretary of state and two judges joined in a plea for one transferred man, and offered as an argument why he should not be so treated, that he was the only son of widowed mother of whom he was the sole support, and that her main revenue was from the proceeds of his winnings in racing. Of course it had to be explained to these llustrious personages that the action 1f the board was not a punishment, but l mere lassification-that the man, probably through ignorance, had not classified himself, and that-- he board simply stepped in, told him 1e was mistaken, and rectified the mis- .ake by placing him where he could egitimately support his widowed moth- 1T from the proceeds of his winnings. in this case, they were in- intellectual men, and hey thanked the board for the explan- ltion and expressed themselves as sat sfied with it.
 But. unfortunately, such are isolated ,ases. Many others, sometimes includ- ng whole clubs of whom the trans sa H Mn