The Butler weekly times., 1905-09-28

PALATIAL STEAM YACHT, MOTOR
pictured by many us being driven
speedily along the Roman roads,
crushing beneath them the forms of
the common and lowly subjects Of the
Empire. 1t remained for the rich of
the modern world, however, to
develop great speed, and s;ll greater
speed from some sclf-propcllcd vehicle.
While to some poor inventor might be
ascrihcd the origin of our "spccdtoys,
still the world owes TO the rich every
advance made, through their financial
encouragement.
The Earliest Bicycle.
At about the time when the Thirteen
Original Colonies were ringing with
shouts of freedom, French balloonist,
named Blanchard invented what was
known as 'stradtle- wheel" for his
own amusement. This was nothing
more than two wheels connected Ivy
simple framework, with no pedals. The
rider straddled the machine and
pushed it along with his feet, or
coaStcd down grade. The dandics of
Paris and London took up this toy and
had great sport with it. but it was too
hard work and the speed was not great
enou"h.
Following this, in about 1923, Cug-
not. a Frenchman. ard Trevi;hick, an
EngliShman, and Oliver Evans, an
American, experimental with sort
of carriage propelled nv steam. Moth
ing so fast had ever been seen. and the
carriage became quite the fashion with
gentlemen who had money to spend
and whose aim In life was enjoyment.
But these carriages were noisy. clumsy
and very dirty affairs and We're dis
carded.
The Wheel of the Last Century.
The bicycle with the hich wheel in
front and little wh"cl behind came
next, and being fairly comfortable.
speedy, clean and creating no noise,
quickly sprang into fashion, hut there
was always an element of danger to
the "spced- seekers" throu"h concealed
stones in the path. which meant a
header, so that something even more
speedy and safe was called for.
The safety bicycle was an evolution
coming some twenty years later,
whose high price at first placed it as a
luxury much to be desired. Bicycles
were for n long time placed in the
same category as pianos end carriages.
though they were of little use other
than for pleasure The safety was.
as It's name implied safe. swift and
noiseless. BY 1898 the bicycle boom
rose beyond any proportions assumed
by the previously dcmandcd sneed
toys. In the United States four hun
dred factories, representing a capital
of something like $1J000.nOO. turned
out nearly a million machines year.
Half a Mile Minute too Slow.
The fad lasted five years. when al
demand arose for something even
faster than the speed of q mile In twdl
minutes or so, attained by the bicy-|
Gle. and more comfortable seat than
that afforded on the bicycle frame.
Inventors were already at work. and
while II may not be true that out of
the bicycle develoDed the automobile.
yet the two-wheeled conveyance, with
Its pneumatic, tires, created the
demand for something better
Men Ike W. X. Vanderbilt, Jr.,
.rohn Jacob Astor. and Albert G.
Bostwick were among the pioneers
in America to bring over from Europe
the speed TOYS Of the rich. and their
machines were the targets for thou
sends Of pairs of eyes In the streets
of New York.
A Mile In Thirty Seconds.
When one of these men made
record Of mile In something like IS