152 
EDITORIAL. 
tion of thoughtful men. It is a part of the life of good men and 
women to love their fellow-creatures, and in proportion to the 
intelligence, the usefulness, and the fidelity of those creatures 
the meed of affection is displayed, and more abundantly returned 
than it is received. This link of love will ever preclude the 
possibility of discarding them from performing their proper du¬ 
ties of labor, of usefulness, of pleasure, of companionship. How¬ 
ever wonderfully man may perfect machines to be propelled by 
any form of motive power, they will never supersede the soliped 
as a means of pleasure progression ; and if the inanimate pro¬ 
peller ever attains a state of utility'sufficiently perfect to be of 
service in the realms of business, in greater proportion will the 
horse find his proper godgiven sphere before our pleasure car¬ 
riages and under the saddle. No true friend of the horse ever 
felt other than thankful when electricity took his place upon our 
street cars in the cities ; he had been bred in the coarsest mould 
in order to cheapen his price, and his life was a continual drud¬ 
gery and disgrace to his noble race. The horse, as a race, there¬ 
fore, will be greatly benefitted by the cessation in rearing such 
nondescripts. Anyone who seriously believes that the bicycle 
will make any prolonged opposition to the horse for pleasure 
must argue the question from the standpoint of a pessimist and 
not from sound reasoning. 
A correspondent of the Review —whose opinion on other 
subjects we very highly esteem—gives a very alarming view of 
the situation, and whose article is in a measure the occasion of 
these remarks. He quotes what he terms the following signifi¬ 
cant figures : Loss in horses and livery for the past year, $20,- 
000,000; loss to pleasure vehicles, $15,000,000; loss in harness 
and saddles, $10,000,000. He takes his inspiration from “ a New 
York journal of recent date,” which journal is probable catering 
to a bicycle-reading public. From what journal or from what 
source can any estimate be made ? It is a guess, and the wish 
is father to the estimate. Even if the figures were correct, 
would the loss be attributable solely or in small part to the bicy¬ 
cle ? Every branch of business—manufacturing, the trades, arts. 
