Asylum Mobilitarium: January 2015

I was going through the Historical Dallas Morning News archives recently trying to find the earliest mention of a motorcycle in the newspaper.

The article was from January 19, 1903. The make of the “wheel” as the newspapers and the public called motorcycles back then, was not mentioned. Since Harley-Davidson didn’t really start selling their machines until 1904, and the few that were sold in 1903 were later in the year of 1903, It leads to anyone’s guess what make the bike was. Indian had been producing motorcycles since 1901, other brands had been selling for a couple of years, but the make was not mentioned.

The piece reported that a rider came “to grief” on the asphalt on Commerce Street between Akard and Ervay. It went on to say a pedestrian ran into the motorcycle as it ‘puffed” along causing the rider and bike to slide along the wet street. The police arrived but no arrests were made.

The City of Dallas voted on January 17, 1909 to purchase police motorcycles to answer “hurry” calls and the chasing of speeding automobiles and other lawbreakers. City Commissioner Seay said that he recommended that the city purchase two motorcycles at a cost of no more than $250 to $300. He also said that the City should advertise for bids for the bikes.

Detroit P.D. is generally thought to be the first police department to use Harley-Davidson police bikes. Dallas P.D. was not far behind.

There were two businesses in Dallas at the time that sold Harley-Davidson’s. These may or may not have evolved into Conley’s, once located in Deep Ellum, then as Conley’s AMF-HD that this author remembers at Plano Rd. and Forest Ln. then evolved into the old Shiloh Road store where I bought my first Harley in 1995, then the Allen store and finally the new Garland dealership, owned at one time by Big Greg, Little Greg and Doug Louke.

Anyway there was J.W. Ruff, known as the “Motorcycle Man.” Indeed he was instrumental in starting the first recognized motorcycle club in Dallas in 1909, the “Dallas Motorcycle Club.” As with other business’s selling Harley’s, (his was at 396 Commerce Street,) he also sold Indian, Thor and probably bicycles. There were no Harley-Davidson dealers, just businessmen getting in on the ground floor of this new venture of selling motorcycles, they were not loyal to any brand at this time.

There was also Charles Ott at 233 Elm Street. He advertised that he had the largest supply of Indian and Harley-Davidson parts, and that it was not necessary to “go north,” to obtain parts. Mr.Ott advertised that it was suggested that anyone wanting a motorcycle to come to his shop and “inspect’ before buying! A novel idea!

I found an ad for the American Motorcycle Company of Texas located at 2017 S. Ervay Street from August, 1909. This establishment touted the M.-M. Motorcycle. I’ve never read about this brand but since almost everyone was getting into the motorcycle business, this was probably just another start- up company perhaps.

Harley-Davidson received the bid for the first two police motorcycles for the D.P.D. and these were delivered a few weeks later. The Commissioner said the officers riding the new machines must be experts at riding and expected to pursue automobiles at high rates of speed and still avoid accidents.

Police motorcycles at this time answered calls like an officer in a squad car would today. Soon they were being mentioned in the papers as crime fighters. On June 19, 1909 two motorcycle officers came upon a citizen, Taylor White, at the intersection of Harwood and San Jacinto. The officers searched for the two suspects who robbed Mr. White and took over $4000.00 (?) using a pistol pointed at the man. The article mentioned Taylor White (maybe a prominent businessman) without describing why he would have $4000.00 in his pocket. It seems they assumed people reading the paper (usually other businessmen types, or people who could afford a newspaper at this time,) would know him.

On August 3^rd, Motorcycle Officers Lenzen and Schuiz had a running gun battle with a suspect in East Dallas. The officers answered a call at the corner of Haskell and East Side Avenues. It was reported a suspect was firing into some houses in the neighborhood. The officers racked up their Harley police bikes and went to the home of a woman who said a man fired three rounds through her closed door and that one shot struck the ‘comb” of her hair!

After a brief search the officers found a man fitting the description of the suspect hiding under the porch of a nearby house. He ran out and fired at the officers. The officers saddled up and took off after the bad guy down East Side Avenue as the officers began firing from their mounts and the suspect firing as he ran.

Officer Lenzen said that they chased the suspect into the Texas and Pacific railroad yards. As the suspect was climbing a fence, the officer pulled his shotgun from the scabbard on the Harley’s handlebars and fired off a couple of rounds. The officer said that he thought he hit the guy because he fell backwards over the fence and that’s why he quit shooting. “By the time I had climbed the fence myself and begun to look for him he had disappeared among the box cars and we couldn’t find him.”

It’s not known if the bad guy was ever caught.