H. J. LAWSON AND CYCLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2209, 2 July 1896, Page 37

H. J. LAWSON AND CYCLING.

The moment I got inside the door Mr Lawson assured me earnestly that he was an amazingly busy man, and would, therefore, plunge into the middle of things without a moment's delay. "I feel confident," he commenced, "that no .one of the outside public has an adequate notion of the magnitude of the cycle industry as it exiits to-day. Look at the city of Coventry. At the present time there are no fewer than 95 ojcle,. factories there, turning out complete machines, parts, and tyres. These establishments employ upwards of 15,000 hands, and pay away — roughly speaking— about £1,000,000 every year in wages. " The larger factories have a maximum output of from 400 to 500 machines weekly ; while the gross output of all Coventry is between 250,000 to 300,000 cycles annually. As an indication of the local development caused by thiß trade, it may be mentioned that the population of Coventry has increased by 20,000 in the last 20 years. More than £2,000,000 worth of raw material is imported into the city annually, to. issue again in the form of perfect bicycles." "But the 15,000 operatives, MrL*waon— are they all men?" " No ; about 5000 of them are girls, whqueara good wages in attending to the automaticmachinery.' 4 am sure it will interest the readers of Tit-Bits," Mr Lawson went on, " to know ttiat English-built oycles are at once the lightest and strongest in the world; they now nearly approach perfection. Perfeot 4 bicycle] ate built nowadays which range in weight between 171b and 201b ; and the full roadster, capable of carrying a 20st rider, will weigh less than 351b. As regards the c»re with which the component parts are made, I may mention, by way of illustration, that in the ball-making every ball is gauged to the 2000 th part tf an inch." Yet another few words before learning from Mr Lawson how he invented the moderp^mfety. It is computed by the higbe*t authorities that orders for over 500,000 machines are' every year shared up among the British manufacturers, .while in France, Germany, and the United States there must be an equal 'number constructed. This million of cyoles means at least £10,000,000 divided between cycle manufacturers, steel merchants, rubber works, and other trades. *- Unfortunately, the conservativeness of the British people has prevented Mr Lawson from obtaining that amount of fame which rightly belongs to him. On July 13, 1895, however, a banquet was given to the inventor, aud »n address presented to him, acknowledging him as " the original inventor of the ohain-driven safety — now the only cycle in universal use." This address wan sigued by the Mayor of Coventry, the managing- directors of the great cyole manufacturing firms, the proprietors of cyoling journals and trade papers, and, lastly, Mr Frank W. Shorland, the greatest rider of the day. " What was it, Mr Lawson, that led directly to the invention of the cycle of to-day ? " " Undoubtedly my stature," was the smiling reply— V or, rather, want of stature. But let ma tell you the story. In 1869 I was an apprentice at the Phcenix Works, in tho north of London ; and I remember*that next door were the premises of a man who had brought over from France one of the original bone-shakers— a massive affair, weighing about 1001b. Well, the fact is, I used to climb over the wall during the dinner hour with * fellow approutice for the purpose of having 'surreptitious rides on the machine. I got tired of this, however, mainly tacwu* Iww tiwu—w l am now— only sft 2ln

in height, and therefore could not properly reach the pedali. '"In this way I got the idea of inventing a cyole whioh could be ridden with equal facility by a shorb or a tall man. I spent two years in trying to bring the idea to perfection, but with little success ; and it was not until I thought o£ turning my model about, so to speak — that is to say, plaoing the big wheel behind and steering with the little wheel— that I constructed my new bioycle in anything approaohing a practical form." "And what was the next phase ? " "In 1873 I returned home to Brighton, where my father was a clergyman. By this time? I should tell you, I had spent at leasts' £1000, which was virtually all my eaviagsand capital. At Brighton, however, I was joined by a friend who had About £1200, and who was very much interested in my idea of a safety bicycle. We established our workshop over & lime-kilo, and in time we had constructed about a dozen different kinds of machines'. These we would seoretly take in lime c*rt» to Clayton Hill, where the trials took place. , "After three years' experimenting, r<w partner had spent all his money ; hit patieafo hid likewise disappeared, and he gave up d&JDitely " the idea of a safety btoyole. The word • safety,' by the way, was given to the machine by my father, and was registered by me in 1876. I might also mention here that public opinion was dead against the new bioyole ; and later or» it w,as known as 'Lawson's orooodile' and ' Lawson's abortion ' among the makers of high or • ordinary ' bicycles. "All this, of course, tended to discourage me ; and any improvements made subsequently, I kept as quiet as possible. The first important trial trip I -made was from Brighton to Enfield, and on this occasion I started at 9 o'clook in the morning in order to escape Dotice. A solitary fhherman, however, did witness the' start of what was unquestionably the first ride on tha sifety bicycle— a lever pedal arrange* ment of great weight. „" In 1879 Mr Singer, the well-known maker, sent for me and offered to manufacture, my oycla for tho market, paying me & royalty of £2 on each maohine. Somehow the innovation did not meet with popularity at this time, uod ib was not until 1865 that the safety bioyole wai fairly established in publio favour. By tbjg time, though, I had relinquished my patents, so that I have never reaped an/ peouniary profit; from my invention. "As a matter of fact, hostility to the safety was so pronounced that the very olub I belonged to warned me that I could not ride my maohine and remain a member." ( . Now as to " horseless carriages" — for inventor was likewise full of this great revolution in vehioular traffic Virtually, the first horseless oarriage was the invention of Mr Lawson, who patented a cycle propelled by a petroleum motor on September 27, 1880. " On account of theidiotio Locomotive and Highway Aot," remarked Mr JOawson resignedly, " we English inventors have had to ' stand still while the Frenoh, Germam, and Amerioans forged ahead in a very literal sense. What is the act ? 'Why, the four-mile-an-hour-red • flag • man -in - front - and - tyro - engineers* arrangement, of course. I mutt say,' however, that in a very few weeks' time this stupid regulation will no longer disfigure the statute book. . Then, indeed, we shall ba able to go ahead — of course, after our foreign rivals have had months in whioh to perfeot their copies of my invention. "Look how the motor carriages are encouraged abroad. You may remember tha race from Paris to Bordeaux and back (about 760 miles), that was run on June 11, 1895. The first four prizes, and aho the tixth and seventh— of the total value of ,60,000/— were won by the Daimler Motor Carriage, which was far superior to its 45 other competitors. Thanks to tfee inepitude of our own Govern* .- ment, I have been compelled to purchase at ft cost of £40,000 the German .patent rights (Daimler Motors), which are founded on my own invention. A great company is now in . proceis of private formation, which, with A capital of £1,000,000 sterling, will immediately commence the manufaoturo of horseleif carriages. The ordinary carriage builders will design their own vehicles and take their motors from the company." _ "What a revolution there will be in the streets of London ! " I remarked. " Yes, indeed. Quite apart from the hygienic advantage of removing horses from the streets,, there is the peculiar-advantage that people rud over by a horseless carriage will suffer little or no damage, partly because there will be no horce to trample upon them, and partly also on account of the enormous pneumatic tyre. " Then, again, the roar of the present traffio will praotictlly disappear. These carriages will be built in about 15 different styles or type*, varying from the fashionable dog cart, victoria, or phaeton, to- the" tramoar, omnibus, or Government transport van. We have orders for 'many of the last-named vehicles, by the* way ; they are to run at six miles an .hoar, and carry two tons. As' for orders generally,' we have already » sufficient number in hand to occupy us for two years." "Will your oarriage wholly wperiede the horse, Mr Lawion ? " . _,* • • Not quite. I don't see how you o«n plough without horses; nor will we .undertake to supply mounts for cavalry and hunting men. You may expect some startling designs in the new carriages, thus entirely changing the aspect o£ our streets. The picturesque sedan chair for one person may come back; and there is no reason why sober statesmen should not career through Palace Yard in a mysterious, horseless Roman chariot." " Now, a§ to the cost of the propulsion ? " "Very well. We estimate that 4gal of petroleum, costing 33 6d, will be sufficient to propel a oarriage containing four person* for a> distance of between 150 and 200 -miles. The mechanism will be invisible, without heat, , smell, noise, or vibration, and it is so light that ■ a two . horse-power motor may be lifted op the little finger. The price- of a horseless oarriage will be little more than that of an ordinary vehicle of the same description. As regards speed, I may say that both the horse* less carriages and the motor oycles will run as fast as may be desired ; there is no reason why they should not travel at the rate of 60 miles an hour; but, of course, the ordinary speed will be regulated to lomethiog under 20. "The Prince of Wales himself," concluded Mr Lawson, " takes a very great interest in the future of horseless carriages ; and at the Imperial Institute he travelled in, one at the rate of 15 miles an hour, up a very 'steep gradient." -Tic Bits.