“CARRIAGES WITHOUT HORSES”

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22467, 30 July 1938, Page 19

“CARRIAGES WITHOUT HORSES”

THE days when the first motorcars in England were forbidden by law to travel at a greater speed than two miles an hour, and when they were called “horseless carriages,” or “road machines,” but never “motor-cars,” are recalled hy an illustrated article that appeared in the “Weekly Press” at the end of 1895: The writer of the article, which was published in the “Detroit Free Press,” found that the French were pre-eminent in the new field of transport, but prophesied that the United States might find in it a profitable field of enterprise. I The article is as follows: I took a run down to Tunbridge Wells the other day, not for the drinking of the waters, nor even with the object of seeing the very pretty little town, but to witness an exhibition which I thought might be of interest, the author states. This was a show of carriages withou* horses, and it was not a bicycle exhibition either. .This exhibition of horseless carriages was gotten up by Sir David Solomon, who, like his namesake of old, is evidently a wise man, and sees into the future. Not long ago there was a road race of horseless carriages from Paris to Bordeaux and return in France. It was a long journey, and was won by a carriage Worked by a petroleum engine, which Wade quicker time on the high road than the usual French expresses do on the railways. < The Steam-roller Law In England the law makes such a road exhibition impossible. The law says that any carriage not drawn by horses must be preceded by a man carrying a red flag, and that it must not travel faster than two miles an hour. This law was evidently framed with an eye towards the crushing steam roller; nevertheless, it prevents any steam or electric vehicle running on the Queen’s highway, *he wonder is that it did not IjgP in in time to prevent bicycling. Vi 6 * s an agitation just now in England to have this law repealed, doubtless it will be repealed ultimately. it was, the exhibition at Tunridge Wells could not talce place n the high road, but was held in the JJricultural grounds, which, with Sir damp, sodden grass, made out as poor a place for such an

exhibition as could well be imagined. England, of course, is far in the rear in the invention of machines of this kind, and accordingly only one English carriage was to be seen there, which was more than ordinarily clumsy, and by all odds the poorest vehicle on the grounds. All the rest were from France, and some of them were very neat carriages indeed, without any perceptible machinery about them that would show they were not to be drawn by horses. The one steam carriage exhibited could hardly be called a success, as every now and then a cloud of steam and smoke enveloped the carriage, which made it rather uncomfortable for the occupant:?. Future of Petroleum The petroleum and naphtha engines are evidently the practicable and workable machines of the future, although the advance of electricity may yet oust the petroleum engine from its place. No electric motors were shown at work there, however, so one could not judge. The carriages worked by petroleum engines, it was said, would run 200 miles without needing a further supply, and the cost was something like a cent a mile. A bicycle, made in Paris, was shown worked by a petroleum engine, and these are said to be becoming very popular in the French capital. There was also a tricycle worked by the same means, although 1 a person had to do some pedalling at the start, and also to work with the feet when going uphill. These machines did not look as cumbersome as might have been expected. My own idea is that the tricycle and bicycle of the future will be fitted up with storage batteries that will be, as it were, interchangeable, and that all along the main travelled roads a person can get a charged battery in exchange for his exhausted one, just as now a fellow can get a drink at various refreshment places, which, in a way, is a kind of physical storage arrangement for putting new energy into the cyclist. Although England made such a poor show at this exhibition of road machines, she claims to have been the first to have introduced a practicable horseless carriage. In 1827 a steam carriage was run in Regent’s Park, and about the same time another ran, carrying passengers, between Paddington and the Bank, charging 12 cents for the trip. America’s Opportunity If America takes to the invention of horseless carriages she ought to make the business hum. The machines shown at Tunbridge Wells

Cars Were Primitive in 1895

cost, they told me, from 600 dollars to 2000 dollars, so there ought to be a good margin of profit in the making of them. By and by, when the United States quits fooling about trivial questions like the presidency, the silver question, the tariff, and such,vand turns its attention to the real live and important problem of good roads, there ought to be a great future for horseless carriages. Several of those on exhibition, made in France, had no difficulty in going 15 miles an hour, and a carriage that can run along like that, only needing filling once every 200 miles, is going to be no unimportant competitor of the railroads.

How Many Steps? Averages prepared by statisticians of the American National Association of Chiropodists indicate that a mother, busy with her housework and children, takes about 12,000 steps a day. The total number of steps taken by others is: Athletic girl, 10,000; girl wearing high heels, 8000; professional woman, 9000; society woman, 6000; nurse, 10,000.