L. A. W. Bulletin and Good Roads, Vol 27, No 20
Articles in this issue
- Editorial leader arguing that Public Opinion is a slow, unreliable guide who merely follows the crowd, citing how it dismissed the bicycle as a toy before reversing itself.
- Editorial squib ridiculing the cycling alarmists who, having worn out the 'bicycle face' scare, now warn that riding will abnormally enlarge ladies' feet and ankles.
- Brooklyn's George French recalls dandy horses of 1823-36, his father's 1836 cog-propelled four-wheeler, and the machines he built at Coventry in 1849, one later copied by W. Robinson of London and presented to the Prince of Wales.
- League member No. 190,010 reports a Port Richmond, S.I., party's gearing test on the 44-mile round trip to Morristown, N.J., concluding that medium gears (68 4-9 to 71 5-9) and small sprockets are best for long runs.
- Good-roads item urging Philadelphia wheelmen to protest the planned re-cobbling of ward-thirteen streets and asking readers whether cobble-stone pavement is being laid anywhere at present.
- Second installment of a health feature, drawing on Dr. Lagrange, that argues cycling is the supreme exercise of speed, oxygenating the blood and engaging more muscle groups with less jar than any other pastime.
- League member No. 185,876 attributes the winter break-up of Long Island macadam not to poor drainage but to drivers following the same ruts, praising the warning signs that keep the Merrick road in perfect condition.
- Good-roads essay marshalling Dr. Lucien Howe and Dr. E. J. Overend to argue that bad country roads raise blindness rates and mortality by delaying medical aid to the sick and injured.
- Announces winners of the Ad. Critic prize (E. A. DeWolf, Robert Davidson, Sidney W. Green) and restates the contest inviting readers to judge and improve the advertisements in each issue for cash prizes.
- Feature distinguishing a wheel's durability from its intangible 'life,' blaming the over-light machines of 1895 for poor longevity and explaining what construction, design and proportion give a bicycle its responsive quality.
- Lead Good Roads article reprinting Hon. Robert MacKinnon's address to the Ilion, N.Y., Board of Trade on Scottish road-keeping by contract and inspector, contrasted with New York's farmer-labor system.
- Abbot Bassett's official section opens with the 1897-98 officer roster and committees, then folds in division notices from Kentucky, New York State, Wisconsin, Maryland and Indiana (Owen Lawson, W. S. Bull, Sam J. Ryan, junior membership) plus Renewal List No. 19.
- President Isaac B. Potter introduces a new League benefit of reduced club-rate subscriptions to hundreds of periodicals ordered through Secretary Bassett, followed by an alphabetical list of titles, classes and prices (to be continued).
- Chairman Albert Mott's Baltimore bulletins of May 10 and 14 list track restorations, expiring and new suspensions (including Augusta and Columbia, S.C. riders), professional transfers, and registrations such as Major Taylor and James Michael.
- Department listing bicycles reported stolen with makes and serial numbers, including a Crescent, two Columbias, a Rambler and an Eclipse, naming owners from St. Augustine, Germantown, Brooklyn, Pittston and elsewhere.
- Lists the Indianapolis meet committee under chairman D. M. Parry and secretary Evans Woolen, naming the heads of accommodations, races, track, tours and transportation.
- The state-by-state roll of membership applications (total 721) published under Article III of the Constitution, organized by division and club with members' names and addresses, plus a short list of new League clubs.
- Recurring department answering readers' touring questions, noting cyclists may ride the Erie Canal tow-path and that the Fall River Line charges to carry bicycles, and recommending the Long Island R.R.'s 'Unique Long Island' picture book.