The sun., 1899-02-05
NEWS OF THE WHEELMEN.
WHAT WILL THE u. 4. W. ASSEMBLY
no WITH THE RACING QUESTION?


This Subject Likely to Cause the Princinn
Theme for Discussion Mt tho Providence
MeetinE-Germnn Manufacturers TAKE
stnnd Against American Wheels
The National Assembly OF the J.. i. w.
which will be held on next Wednesday in Prov
idence, will be the nineteenth annual affair oil
the kind Probably the most important dis
sussion will DO that on the amendment pro-
posed by Sterling Elliott. which. II passed.
will eliminate from the%constitution OF tho
League every reception OF bicycle racing. Tho
J.. A. W.. through its Racing Board. has beon
the supreme arbiter in racing matters ever
since the formation Of the organization. and
for II to relinquish its dictatorship will mean a
sharp face about" II tho vote OF the Assem-
bly, decides that the Elliott amendment shall
not be adopted and that the League shall con-
tlnue its Racing Board. the cycle racing game
Of 1890 will be placed In the position Of having
two organizations as governors. for the Ma
tiopal Cycle Association. with which the prin-
cipal riders. track onwers and promoters are
AFFILIATED, proposes to exercise control The
prophets ON each side cf the controversy are
many, but evcnsln this State. where the dele
Kates have committed themselves to an onpo-
sition OF Iengue racing. by voting to dispense
with the State Racing Board. the prevailing
opinion seems to be that the Elliott amend
ment will not get the nece 'sary two-thlrds
vote and that tho J.. \. ". RaCing Board Will
continue to exist.
Those who advocate racing admit that 1t Ia
through the Racing Board that the League is
brought most to public attention The men
who wish TO have tho l.. A. w. divorce Itself
from racing emBloy the same fact as one OF
their strongest arguments. contending that
such notorietv as is gained through racing
hurts the organization and prevents its
Whinbpyar oil Ip uina thp urDgDppt ia
that the racing cyclists will have troubles OF
their own this year. Some facts conc arning the
history Of tho l.. A. W. and Its work are apt to
be better for shedding light on tho subject
than the most fervent arguments advanced by
either sde and retrospective glance will aid
cycle riders to understand what racing has
been to the League and what the League has
been apart from racing. 1t is Justly said by
those who oppose continuation Of the Racing
Board that great many bicycle riders have
not joined the l.. A. W. because they believed
that its chief interest was in cycle racing. Ar
tlcle !. OF the constitution Of the l.. A. W. says:
Its objccts shall be to promote the general in.
terests of cycling; to ascertain defend and protect
the r ghts OF Nhc,lmcn; TO facilitate touring to
curc Improvements N tn. condition OF the public
roads and highways, and to promote and regulate
cycle racing on the track.
In Article VI. a section reads
There shall b, the following national committees:
Executive ana fllblti' CONSIST OF tne
and Vice Presidents; Membership. Rights and PRIV.
ileges. Rules and RnEnlAunus lmpr 'yemrnt Of
Highways TRANSPORTATION, Racing Board. Auditing
and Local OrKSni alton.
In both Of these EXCERPTS It will be seen that
racing occupies n place subordinate TO the oth-
er interests -ot the organization. There are
nine committees named and the Racing Board
is seventh in the list. The latter and the man.
aGement of racing are only a single branch OF
She Leagues work. as distinct "a its Touring
Committee. but this is a fact not commonly
understood with any degree u clearness The
Those who met in Newport on May 81. 1880,
and decided upon national association OF
that is to be held in Providence is a perpetu-
alton Of that gathering. the delegates being
chosen from each State, in proportion to the
number OF members. With the close of this
sss f1E9s The is sn1e n M
What the crGanzat ion has ACCOMPLISHED since
then is not so much in the direction OF racing
privileges fol all who ride bicycles.
There we're only about POO persons present
u OF the same year second meeting was held
here to elect directors and lll VACANCIES. At
inaI meeting was held pursuant to a cali from
Kirk Munroe. President Of the New York E
cycle Clun. Charles L. Pratt had. however.
PEesIde.nt, 0p Oct. 9, 1881. there. was an
i was on:SIav %, 1881, thatt,wEat may be called
l.. a. w,
held at Beacon Park Boston although there
was then no Racing board Strictly speaking.
were held at the Polo Grounds, this city on
Oct 6, 1881 There was n grand parade" in
which thirty riders on high wheels partici-
pated. Tie spectators nun mbered 200. On
May % 1898 tho fourth annual meet was held
in this city again There were no races in
connection with the meet in those days The
chief feature was a parade There we're 723
riders in the parade OF 1893 and they went
through Central Park under a special permit
On Nav 10 1874. when thp animal m
held in Washington. the League mem bership
vas 1850. In 1886 it was x. .4D3 and from that
time it has increased until now more than
$4,000 are enrolled.
In 1870 there was unanimous decision by
the Park Commissioners prohibiting bicycles
being used in Central Park. On July >. 1881.
a test was made by prearranRement. W. NJ
Wright on a trcycle. II, H. Walker on a bi-
Cycle and s C. Foster on tricvclo went into
the Park. we're arrested and fined So each
The case was taken to the supreme Court and
finally TO the Court of Appeals. This was the
opening battle in the war for wheelmen 'sriEhtS.
II continued until 1887, when bill drafted by
]. Is. Potter Of the l.. A. W. and supported by
the League passed the Legi stature and was
signed by Gov. Hill. This was the Liberty