From La Pèdale (France), 09 Feb 1927:
This Sunday, in Paris (the théatre of their daily feats) the porteurs de journaux will hold their annual championship. Others will describe for us - in this newspaper - how picturesque this unique race, which is such a hit with the Parisian public, is. We will therefore not write of that here, thanks to the opportunity to discuss the danger of [disperition] which can threaten a labor and sporting body: the cyclo-porteurs.
Who among us, my friends, does not know those that Pierre Labrie, in a moment of inspiration, nicknamed "Roule-toujours"? You see them every day along the arteries of the capital. Whether it rains, snows, is sunny or windy, in the morning they mount itheir faithful, robust bikes; the most visible characteristics of which remain a front platform rack on which are tied up imposing piles of newspapers. For most of the day they pedal, pushing their heavy machine through the dangers and troubles of the street. Can a Parisian ignore their silhouette, tilted on the handlebars and lightly jerking with effort? Young or old, wearing short skirts (because there are women among them), shorts and cycling shorts or long trousers as the common bourgeois, cyclo-porteurs put away about fifty kilometres a day each and this in conditions not only perilous but inconvenient. Also, in seeing these men battling against eshaustion and struggling to avoid the thousand traps of traffic, have you never sometimes found extraordinary that the bike or cyclo-porteur is still not replaced by a means of transport which seem - a priori - much more secure, quick and comfortable: the car or the motorcycle? The question concerns the social order as much as sports, since one of these solutions could cause the disappearance of a trade which touches on sport more than just a litte.
Oh yes! In our epoch, where industrialist and merchants strive to follow the old English proverb: "Time Is Money"; in the modern city where the greatest speed possible is the object of all study, which led to the actual reign of the machine, does not the cyclo-porteur already seem to be an anachronism?.. One would be, at first glance, tempted to reply in the affirmative; however, an inquiry, made in competent circles (and aimed at the readers of la Pèdale) showed us the error which could be made by considering this lightly and in ignorance. Some discussions with various leaders of commerce, one or two 'opinion polls ' directed at the cyclo-porteurs themselves, allowed me to note that the persons concerned feel not at all threatened in their present situation and are filled, on the contrary, with the greatest optimism as concerns the future of their job:
It is, in effect, with a most indulgent smile that the leaders of the cyclo-porteurs' cooperative on one hand, and several salesmen from various newspapers on the other, received the alarmist proposal which I made to them. Everywhere I received the same answer, which I hardly expected: the greatest ease and speed of distribution - in Paris - by bicycle rather than car or motorcycle. The proof? Here is:
Just a few years ago, a transport company made a proposal to a big evening daily which was quite a threat to the cyclo-porteurs. It offered to serve the vendors of our associate with the aid of a special sidecar service. A bold and experimental man, the manager of the newspaper in question made his approval conditional on the results of a test: On a predetermined course, a cyclist and the deliverymen, in cars and sidecars, undertook a "tour".
The purpose of the latter is - one can see - to supply every newsstand or bookshop on the route with newspapers. Near any delivery point, the driver honks his powerful horn twice. The agents or sellers prepare to receive the 'paper'. The driver stops, quickly hops out to deliver his packet of newspapers (which varies in size according to the news of day, and sales of the day before). He must often discuss payment for sales and get paid for the 'goods '. After this, he takes off like a whirlwind and stops again (a hundred metres farther) in the same roundabout, taking into account that seconds are precious... The newspaper first delivered is the first sold!...
And therefore, our three contestants having been tested, the cyclist finished the route first, in front of the car, which had been handicapped by traffic jams. As for the sidecar, it dropped its clutch due to stopping and too many repeated kickstarts. The man had taken on the machine and this victory cemented its position, as cyclo-porteur.
Since traffic jams are only growing and becoming worse in the capital, the superiority of the bicycle (as means of the quickest displacement) is incontestable. We still remember the bet between Sadi-Lecointe and Wambst. The latter, on a bike, beat the pilot, who drove a powerful car that day, easily.
It is not very difficult for a cycling journalist to start conversation with one of these young cyclo-porteurs who, on the rue du Croissant, wait for [la sortie du "canard"]. I tell a youth, his torso squeezed into a maroon sweater, wiry legs gripped by pants matched in color to his jersey. Having discussed for a moment the approaching Critérium, I state resolutely: "You won't have ajob for much longer. Don't you think a motorcyclist would beat you on your route?"
A roar of laughter first answers my question; then I hear a confident voice: "If you have cash to lose you can always bring me a "tacot à pétrole". You will see how badly it is beaten!... "
So the unanimous opinion, emanating from knowledgable people, and which analysis confirms, the cyclo-porteurs are indispensable support for the newspapers. Lucky dogs! the have beaten the most recent products of progress on their own playing field!... Their abolition cannot be imagined: For a long time to come we shall be able to admire the courage and boldness of these modern "knights" who on their "steel horses" compete in speed with the quickest buses, fool pedestrians and slip through traffic jams, taking off under the nose of modern racing cars which cannot chase them!... Sweating, sometimes moaning, they seem to make light of danger and troubles. Nevertheless they give us - at the same time as a nice example of sportsmanship - a socially edifying lesson of endurance and work.
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