Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 May 1892 — BESTRIDE THE WHEEL. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BESTRIDE THE WHEEL.

CONGRESSMEN WHO ENJOY BICYCLE RIDING. ferry Simpson Hsi Become an Expert and Aim His Accomplishment Conspicuously Several Other Statesmen Who Take Exercise In That Way, Legislators as Cyclers,

THE newest fad among our national statesmen is the * Congressmen’s Bicycle Club, of which Jerry Simpson is President and Thomas B. Reed its g|| latest nursling, g|» writes a WashinggjS ton correspondent. Only full-fledged fjPgiCongressmen are to member.ship in it. August KrumuT'and reverend Sena- —■ , - tors and powerful MfjlC a bln et officers I {} {-have no show in it, l*' and were even Pres-

Went Harrison to apply humbly for admission, he would be peremptorily rejected, so exclusive is this unique organization, and so sharply does it draw the line against all but Congressmen. All the members are enthusiastic wheelmen, and several of them are exceedingly skillful riders. Among the most expert, besides Jerry Simpson himself, the head chief, are Congressmen Tom L. Johnson of the Twenty-first Ohio District, Joseph E. Washington of the Sixth Tennessee —a lateral desoendent of the immortal George Washington— John A. T. Hull of the Seventh lowa, Lewis Sperry of the First Connecticut, and William Springer of the Thirteenth and Owen Scott of the Fourteenth Illinois Districts. The idea of the club originated with a select little coterie of congressmen who ait near each other in the chamber of the House of Representatives. Henry George of New York, though not a congressman, may be held primarily reBponeible for it. When the genial, sockless ‘Sage of Medicine Lodge" left Kansas last spring and visited New York he fell in with the single-tax apostle, who in due tjme made him familiar with the pleasures of the wheeL Representative Johnson likewise recently eame under the spell of George’s influence, and he, too, became a convert to the bicycle craze. Representative Johnson happens to sit next to Representative Washington in the Bouse, and through his rapturous praises of bicycle riding, daily repeated, he soon Induoed the young Tennessean to tempt fate on the revolving wheel. Ex-Speaker Reed was also prevailed upon by Johnton’s eloquence to forego his scruples

and link his fortunes in sport with the budding organization. In this way the charmed circle, first formed but little over a month ago, has been gradually but steadily enlarged, until now it is gaining several new resruits every week, and promises eventually to embrace representatives from nearly every State in the Union. The (xpansive streets and avenues of Washington, paved with the finest asphalt and the smoothest of concrete blocks, afford Ideal facilities for bicycling, and the slub avails of these superior conditions to the fullest extent.

More than an ordinary amount of nerve and courage Is required of Congressmen from certain parts of the country In contemplating for themselves lueh a frivolous diversion as bicycling In this capital city of the nation, where the eyes of the entire public, so to speak, are constantly centered upon them. In.ieed, such a deep-seated prejudice exists in many communities against blcyoling, tennis playing and kindred mild forms of ornamental athletics that the riding Congressmen from those secrions deserve to be congratulated &n the grit they have displayed in joining the club. The members, while not seeking to conceal their connection with it, have not courted publicity on the subject or sought to be Interviewed as to their accomplishments on the wheel. Down In Kentucky a few rears ago a certain capitalist from the East, filled with enterprising Ideas of progress and invention, undertook to make the race for Congress In one of blue grass districts, using a bicycle of primitive pattern on his stumping tours from place to place. He announced to his prospective constituents that he believed in all sorts of Innovations and Improvements, and cited bicycles as an Illustration, prophesying that they would In a short time largely supersede the use of horses and mules as a mode of locomotion. The voters thereupon, as might be expected, grew frightened at the prospect of losing their livelihood in raising horses and mules and at the polls unanimously snowed him out of Bight under an avalanche of adverse votes. Times have changed somewhat since then, but in these unsettled days for statesmen the dear people still insist on knowing both the personal .and public careers, and even the sports, of their representatives in Congress. Congressman Johnson is the most versatile rider in the club, despite the fact that he is handicapped with fully 300 pounds of flesh. He is one of the most jovial men in the present House, with a ruddy, smooth-shaven face, curly black hair and rotund figure. Unlike Henry George, who prefers a light-running English machine, houses a strong wheel of standard American make, ballbearings and cushion tire. Notwithstanding his ponderous avoirdupois, he has mastered the difficult feat known as “the pedal mount,” and in addition is able to execute to perfection some of the most Intricate figures In fancy riding. So enthusiastic a friend of bicycling is he that he has taught not only his wife but his three little children to ride, and frequently takes his whole family out for an airing “on the,road.”

Congressman Jerry Simpson, on the other hand, cares nothing for speed or fancy figures, but finds an infinite amount of delight in cantering straight ahead at a moderate gait. He rides at any hour of the morning, afternoon, or evening; sometimes with his friend Hull of lowa or Johnson of Ohio, but oftenest alone, ‘in solitary meditation fancy free.* He turns the street oornert

warily, la the most leisurely manner 1 Bossible, and In general conduots himself ter&llyllke a philosopher on wheels.. He lives on “The Hill, - near the Capitol, and when the debates in the House hap-! pen to grow unbearably dull, as they frequently do, he slips over home, gets, out his ’cycle, and takes a quiet little spin by way of mental and physloal refreshment. Occasionally he meets other members of the club by prearrangement on the open plaza at the east front of the capital, when they all have a hapyy-go-lucky raee over the smooth asphalt. l Thon, after they have sufficiently enjoyed the keen air whistling about their ears, they return to the House in time to vote, depositing their wheels in convenient nooks and crypts on the basement floor. Chairman Springer, of Ways and Means, is an old hand at the wheel and is one of the pioneers among Congressmen in the use of the rapid vehicle. He early initiated his youngest son in the mysteries of riding. Unluckily his late illness has prevented him from* joining his oolleagues in their regular praotioe, but his heart has been with them all the time, and when he fully recovers his health he will make up for lost time., Representative Washington from the, outset displayed a marked degree of | pluck and energy in addressing nimself to the difficulties that always beset be-' ginners on the wheel. With the assiduous coaching of his friend Johnson, however, he has become one of the best! riders in the club. He uses a very light | machine and discards all the unnecessary! appliances. Ex-Speaker Reed, who has the repu-| tation of riding the biggest upright;

wheel In the State of Maine when at] home in Portland, is content here ip Washington with a low-seated “safety.” It is related authoritatively that when be first learned to ride in Maine he “dished” his wheel twlee, and broke the delicate attachments. He still has oo eversion to riding in the fleroe gaze of publloity which obtains in Washington,' but he nevertheless consents to a little run now and then in the less frequented rendezvous of the club. Representatives Sperry of Connecticut and Scott of Illinois oan be seen on, their wheels almost any bright morning now, bowling swiftly o vet the delights ul streets of the fashionable northwest. Mr. Sperry affects a wheel of home man-i ufacturo, while Mr. Scott is pleased with an Imported one. Several of the “very young” Congressmen from Massachusetts and elsewhere have an equal liking for both uprights and “safeties" and are 1 considered connoisseurs as to the best styles and makes. While the asphalt streets leave nothing to be desired for ease and comfort in riding, the club’s favorite trysting place is the magnificent driveway called the “White lot,” inclosing fifty acres of beautiful level park, between the Executive mansion and the Washington monument. Thither the Congressmen repair when the House adjourns at five o’clock In the afternoon, and enjoy themselves immensely, with comparative Immunity from observation and Interruption. The only drawoaok there is the fact that the occasional passage of a swell carriage or equestrian rider tends to unnerve the

•weaker brethren,” often producing an ungraoeful fall and tumble.

WHERE CONGRESSIONAL WHEELMEN MEET.

REPRESENTATIVE SIMPSON ON HIS WHEEL.

TRYING A SAFETY.