THE WARNING TO CYCLISTS.

Evening Post, Volume LVI, Issue 73, 23 September 1898, Page 6

THE WARNING TO CYCLISTS.

With reference to the article appearing in our columns yesterday we have received a letter, a copy of which is set out below, from Mr. T. Young, solicitor for the originators of the scheme. As the additional facts stated by him place the scheme in :i different light, we give the letter in full : — "To the Editor. Sir— The originator of the scheme referred to in your article of last night, headed 'A Warning to Cyclists/ has consulted me with regard to the terms of your article. The article charges the originator with fraud, and is unfair in that it does not h\\\y explain the system. If you will consider the matter a little; further and peruse the conditions on the certificates, a copy of which I send herewith, you will find that the imputation of fraud is quite unwarranted, and that the originator is bound to carry out all the conditions upon his certificate, which actually enables purchasers of the coupons to get a bicycle for 4s. You will say ' How can the origiuator afford to sell a bicycle for 4s?' but the answer is plain. The holder of the coupon has sold 10 bicycles for the originator, and the £20, the value of the machine, is onty equal to a commission of £2 upon the sale of each machine, and the originator will have received £2 with each coupon, which is the proceeds of the sale of 10 coupons at 4s each. You say the population does not allow for the sale of so many coupons, and, therefore, the system is :i fraud, but jou Ijave overlooked the provision which was put in especially to protect the holders of coupons who are unable to sell the whole 10 on the certificate. The condition is that the holders of coupons are to get credit for all coupons which are presented at the office of the originator, on account of the price of their bicycles. If they are unable to dispose of all, they may themselves present the coupons which have not been sold. This it is claimed is ample protection for the purchasers of coupons. If the whole 10 are presented the holder gets a bicycle for his original 4s. If only nine are I) resented lie presents the tenth himself, and so gets a bicycle for £2 4s, and so on, according to the number of coupons impresented, and the originator is bound to give him a £21 bicycle. The system is merely an ingenious method of getting the purchasers of coupons, interested in the sale of the originator's machines by giving them what amounts to a commisiou on all sales effected through this system, and the originator assures me that he can supply the whole of Wellington with bicycles on a few days' notice. I havetaken the responsibility of advising my client that the system is perfectly legitimate, and I feel sure that, now it has been explained to you, you will withdraw your imputation of fraud, and make the further explanation which I have suggested above. I must ask you to give the explanation as much publicity as was given to the article in question."