The Cycle Age and Trade Review, Vol 24, No 126
Articles in this issue
- Tillinghast tire licensees formed the Pneumatic Tire Association at a meeting in New York, electing officers from the Goodrich, Diamond, and Goodyear rubber companies, partly to reclaim control of pricing decisions from Colonel Dodge and partly to investigate suspected violations of the minimum price agreement.
- Springfield, Massachusetts dealers reported the best bicycle trade in five years as fine spring weather opened the season, with labor union members notably choosing independent makers over A.B.C. brands and the Springfield Street Railway attributing a $4 per day per car drop in revenue to the cycling revival.
- A price war on medium-grade bicycles in Buffalo spread to involve nearly the entire trade, undermining confidence in higher-priced machines as the public concluded that expensive bicycles were no better than those being sold at cut prices, while the sundries trade boomed independently.
- Romeo, Michigan dealer John Newberry described how after six years of building the Tribune bicycle brand in his market, the American Bicycle Company abruptly terminated his agency without explanation after absorbing the manufacturer, illustrating the risk dealers faced when the trust took over brands they had spent years promoting.
- As a result of agitation by the National Association of Cycle Traders, British bicycle accessories and parts manufacturers met and organized for coordinated pricing, aiming to prevent the destructive price competition that had been steadily eroding margins throughout the English accessories trade.
- A New South Wales dealer wrote to the Cycle Age with practical advice for American bicycle exporters, urging makers to provide lighter frame sets better suited to Australian conditions and noting that American component parts were rapidly gaining ground over English ones among Melbourne assemblers.
- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that express companies were not obligated to pay for war revenue stamps on their package receipts, placing the stamp tax burden on shippers instead and resolving the ambiguity that had left express companies and their bicycle-shipping customers uncertain about their legal obligations.
- After waiting in vain for the American Bicycle Company to respond to their appeal for sponsorship to represent America at the Paris Exposition races, champion cyclists Tom Cooper and Earl Kiser gave up hope and departed New York for Louisville, leaving the trust openly indifferent to the international racing contest.
- The International Cycling Association meeting produced a significant dispute when Secretary Sturney persisted in misinterpreting a proposed membership limitation and was overruled by President Staal, leaving the N.C.A. to recognize that its interests and those of the European-dominated I.C.A. might increasingly diverge.