The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-11-02
BICYCLES MUST PAY.

This is business, and how do you
bicycle riders like it? Ten years ago if
you wanted TO go to a town SO, Is or
even 10 miles away you took the train
and paid your railroad fare.
Now when you wish to go to these
towns you go on your Wheel
Your wheel has thus become a COM
retitor with the railroad train and for
short distances the wheel is the winner.
or course the railroad corporations
must get back at you some way. The
snrest way is to tax your wheel so heav-
lily that you cannot afford to take it with
you. Ii you wished to visit town 100
miles distant, the chances are that if
you had your wheel with you it would
carry you to half a dozen adjacent
towns.
If your wheel has been left behind you
are compelled to patronize the railroad
hence the railroad corporation seeks to
compel you to leave your wheel at
home.
Fine scheme this, for the Railroads
but how do you wheelmen like it?
Down in Boston, New York and Phil
adelphia the railroads, street car COM
panies, hack and livery companies and
department stores have combined to do
the bicycle riders.
The companies, of course, elected and
own and operate the city councils there
as here, and here was the field for their
enterprise.
little influence was brought to bear
upon these city fathers and straightway
they began to grind out city ordinances
that made wheelmen tired
Wheel racks, so convenient for the
wheelmen at all the big stores, were by
the council declared to be Instructions
to public travel upon the sidewalks and
ordinances passed prohibiting all these
wheel racks around the large stores.
Next came ordinances prohibiting
bicycle paths as interfering with fire
hydants, and railroads imposed upon
owners of wheels every petty annoy
ance possible in checking wheels as
baggage.
Finally heavy fines were imposed and
enforced for not carrying attached to
the wheel a bell and a lantern, and
using same according to most exacting
rules. Ordinance after ordinance was
passed until both convenience and
safety were legislated away from the
wheel and travel was driven back to it's
old time channels-the hack, the livery
rig, the railroad and the street car and
pluto newspapers announced that in
Eastern cities the bicycle fad had had
its day. AS result high grade second
hand wheels, but little used, are selling
in the Eastern cities for S. to $40.
Even the seo,oOO,OoO bicycle trust has
been unable to prevent the price of
these second hand wheels going down to
almost nominal prices.
Chicago is now just at the commence
ment of similar experiences and in the
near future the same influences will
strike at the wheelmen of our Twin
Cities
Only few weeks back the Tribune
complained of bicycle paths being in
the way of hydrants on our streets.
Soon these corporation dailies will
call public attention to wheel racks OBJ
structing Sidewalks; already every little
commission of wheelmen to flash light
or ring bells finds place in these COL
umns. Wheelmen in the Twin Cities
are just now having their innings.
The street car companies will soon
come to the bat and the wheel will be
knocked out on foul.
Consider for moment this PROPOSE
ton. The railroads and street railways
are public utilities. They are intended
Tor public use, convenience and benefit
exactly the same as our postal service.
They are owned by private parties
whose pocketbook interests are in direct
conflict with the basic principles of a
public utility.
These private pocketbooks are best
served by charging the people the big
gest price for the least service. Private |
pocketbooks of few are amassing mil.
lions, while the people pay the freight.
Travelling millions each year pay out
their money and select few receive it. |
These corporation owners thus have
every motive, every incentive, every in
ducement to increase their receipts out
of the public expenditures.
Not so with the postal service. Uncle
Sans pocketbook pays every item, of
expense connected with transporting
the mail. Uncle Sans pocketbook is |
replenished with the money paid by. the |
people for every postage stamp used. |
1t is the same pocketbook that receives |
and pays out the peoples money. No
body makes any profit Nobody is made |
a millionaire out of the receipts from
postage stamps. The people get the
service at cost. There is no profit to a
privileged few in the postal service.
There are no lurking, skulking.
greedy private interests behind the
postal system to buy city councils, state
legislatures and congress in behalf OF