Evening star., 1908-12-13
CULLEN RAPS A
COUPLE OF SPORTS
Six-Day Bikers and Marathon
Hayes Roasted and
RidicuIed.
By Clarence L. Cullen.

BY Clarence l.. cullen.
Special Correspondence Of The Star.
NEW YORK. December II. 1908.
These lines, or few of them, are
going to be about the big six-day
bicycle race at Madison Square Gar
den.
Which the same I haven't seen, or
any part Of it. l saw all of the pre-
vious ones. But not this one. Last year
I took myself off into a shadowy cor
ner, staked myself to an energetic and
prolonged bOoting, and then made
little VOW and yum with myself that
I'd seen my last six-day bicycle race at
Madison Square Garden. Which is why
1 haven't seen any part or portion of
this one.
When, about six weeks ago, the ru-
NOR got around that the folks owning
Madison Square Garden were going to
associations, because it didn't pay.
sorry. Madison Square Garden was
more or less mixed up with their men,
ories and associations. 1t was an old
friend. They couldn't endure the idea
of having it obliterated from the land
scape.
But they had one consoling refiec-
ton, and it soothed them.
Too bad. they said. Shame to see
the Garden torn down. 1t sure is. But.
doggone it all, there's one thing: If
it's torn down, why, they won't be able
to have any more of those bedinged
six-day bicycle races around here, will
they?"
Yes. that was a soothing reflection.
all right. 1t soothed thousands OF people
in this neighborhood.
But the garden hasn't been torn down
yet, and may not be torn down at
all, and they're having their six-day
bike race-thatsis, they call it a race
there this year as usual.
You'll read lot of stuff about that
dismal, nauseating affair, large part
of 1T worked up by the publicity agents
of the race" But don't you believe 1t.
Maybe you've taken in one of these six
day bike "raceS"-Or been taken in by
one or two of them.
But if you haven't, just permit the
chronicler hereof to inform you that
you haven't missed anything. Not airy
thing. There couldn't be anything
monotonouser or wearisomer or Halter
or measlier or disgustinger than a
sx-day bike race. and that's the un-
draped truth. The sight of lot OF
rumpled. doddering. hairy, generally
stained and unclean furrin chaps roll
ing around a banked ring in a bunch
on bikes some of them pretty sick at
the stomach most of the time, and all of
them more or less unpleasing In e%te-
rior wouldn't, 7 am sure. make 10 cents
worth of a hit with you. There isn't
anything sporting or sporty about it.
1t isn't an athletic event. 1t isn't any
thing much. except get-the-kale
proposition that's rigged up year after
year by the explOiters who know that
in this vast population there are al
ways a certain number of thousands
who have pretty strong stomachs and
who will fall for any old thing or the
kind.
The six-day bicycle race isn't. as mat
ter of fact, a test OF endurance even any
more, as it really was quite long
stretch of years back. 1t is more than
intimated by folks who know that the
six day bike race is what is called
frame in four cases out of five. That
Is to say there is an understandings
pretty keen and close-figured understand
ing-as to which team is going TO take
down the one-two-three prizes
Nope. you don't miss anything by not
seeing the six-day bike race And 1t
ONLY Illustrates anew the dictum which is
often strummed upon in this correspond
ence namely that New Workers are the
easiest folks to do on the civilized globe.
when see how the projectors OF this
siX-day bike race get away with 1t year
after year they do.
Sore on Johnny Hayes.
At Hammersten's the other night
saw gloomy incident.
Dorando. the wop runner. who put it
all over Johnny Hayes at Madison Square
Garden. was appearing on the stage at
the Hammerstein vaudeville show. He
Just skipped out on the stage and showed
himself, while Loney Haskell in clothes
of the soup and fish variety, told about
what Dorando had done in the running
line and all like that.
Well. Johnny Hayes couldn't keep
away from there, somehow.
Hayes. naturally has been oscillating
around in a state of petulant and peevish
gloom ever since Dorando showed him up
in the twenty-s siX-mile race at the garden.
He's been saying that he was out of con-
dition at the time and all similar. And
he's been amoaninS-a moaning, oh.
sve1f so hard.-for another walOp at
Dorando. Felt he said, that he could put
it on Dorando il lie had that other
chance, and SO on.
Well, Hayes was in an orchestra chair
at the vaudeville show on the first night
that Dorando appeared on the stage. And
Hayes, he got up and challenged Dorando
to another run. Told the folks i'm the
audience that he hadn't 'baen himself in
the. garden race, aud said that he felt
that he was entitled to another whack at
the Italian, and so on. Dorando of course.
ND there on the stage, couldn't under
stand word that Hayes said.
But the folks in the audience missed
out loud. And the great conquerinG