Show A Million Bicycles The historian who will write the true history of the closing years of the nineteenth century will be compelled to say a great deal about the growth inlluence and cltects of the bicycle habit during that period The points which he will feel obliged to cover are us numerous us they are interesting The bicycle as the legitimate legiti-mate successor of the velocipede of a quarter of a century ago was taken up us an appliance for exercise and pleasure plea-sure These it has furnished to an extent ex-tent not anticipated by Its most enthusiastic enthu-siastic devotees In addition It has passed beyond any limits of mere plea lure or exercise It has forced Itself on the attention ot the great war powers of the earth It remains to be seen what vvailike put poses it may serve but it Is bate to say that in the next European war the IIrst man of the Invading In-vading force In the enemys country will be mounted on a wheel It has conQuered con-Quered society Aristocracy in England and France as well as In this country has recognized its worth In adopting it the idle and luxurious classes have rendered u service by enormously increasing in-creasing its popularity The hundreds of thousands who might have hesitated between desire and dread In the uncertainty uncer-tainty as to whether It was the propel thing have hud their doubts cleared away A custom which has the sanction sanc-tion of the Fuubouig bt Jcimaln of the British peerage of the Mlehuux club of Newport und of the local Four Hundred in each one of out great cities is us tlrmly established as the Constitution Constitu-tion with its subsequent amendments In this country it Is creating us we have said social and economical conditions condi-tions worthy of the attention of the liibloilun It may not be true as Mrs Anthony says that woman Is riding to tsultiugc on the bicycle but It is undoubtedly un-doubtedly Hue that she la ildlng to greater tieedom to a neaiei equality with man to the habit of taking cal e of herself and to new views on the subject of clothes philosophy The woman wo-man on the wheel Is altogether a novelty novel-ty und IH essentially a product of the lust decade of the century In this country alone the sales of bicycles bi-cycles for this year are estimated at half a million Ihe total number of bicycles bi-cycles in use is estimated at a million lhese ilguies are mere guesses but there Is nothing incredible or Improbable Improb-able about them It is certain that we are only at the beginning of what is called the bicycle craze and the Indications Indi-cations are that the cruze Is not getting get-ting ready to disappear even If it Is not getting teudy as is more likely to supersede all other methods of locomotion locomo-tion |