The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-06-10

TIE streets OF our cities These expert
n1euts are in the perfecting Of practicable
motor carriages. IL is reported that the
Pope company and the Victor company
are each working on the problem and ex-
pect within year or 40 70 be putting self
propeiIing carriages on the market The
recent visit % President Overnan. OF The
latter company. abroad. it f. asserted. has
been principally for the purpose Of see
ing the annual motor vehicle race which
takes place in Paris this month. with q
view Of getting hints for this experiment.
There IS no particular novelty in the
idea OF motor carriages. In some form or
another they have been made ever since
the FIRST successful rise OF steam "a
motor power. and heavy traction engines
arc in common use In some parts OF the
country today. But this Is not the prob
lem with which the inventors are dealing.
Their attention Is now being directed
toward the light. easily handled pleasure
vehicle. which viii require no expert skin
20 operate. something which will be 70
the bicycle what carriage is 20 the sad
de horse.
OF the various means OF propelling such
a motor vehicle. the choice at present
seems 10 rest with the naphtha or wa
por'' motor Steam is out OF the question,
and electricity has too many disadvant-
ages. the principal OF which are that
thoroughly practicable storage battery has
not yet been perfected. while in any event,
the use of electricity would require that
the motors should always be kept within
easy reach of an electric station at which
the storage battery could be replenished
when exhausted.
The Springfield Republican. OF a recent
date. contains "A description of a petro-
leum motor vehicle recently built by par
ties in that city which seems to be prac-
ticabIe, although II is still open to much
Improvement. The novelty OF the motor
which operates IL, and which weighs Us
pounds. is that the power is generated by
an electric spark, which explodes one drop
OF gasoline at time in the cylinder. thus
preventing any possibility of an explosion.
The vehicle presents much the appearance
OF an ordinary carriage. One lever oper-
ates both the steering gear and the motor.
a movement I'm a horizontal direction
guides the wagon accurately, while the
speed is regulated by movement up and
down. When the lever is horizontal a
speed of about eight miles an hour is OBJ
tanned. and when the lever is pushed still
further down a higher set of gears is
brought into use until a speed OF fifteen
miles Is developed.
The machine first constructed and from
which the description is taken. weighs
with the motor coo pounds. but the build
ers say that the weight can readily be re-
duced 20 40 pounds. AS to expense of
operation. trials have shown that on or
binary Massachusetts roads a distance of
thirty miles can be travelled by the use of
one gallon of gasoline.
Such machines, with motors, can be built
and sold at a profit at $500 and upwards,
according to the finish of the vehicle, and
they will be equipped with pneumatic tires.
ball bearings, ETC., like a high grade BIZ
cycle
The carriage. however. is but the first
step. The inventors propose to experiment
with the construction of heavy trucks
next, and think that they viii have a
much less difficult problem to deal with
In that direction than they have already
solved. and that when their machines are
completed and once in use, they will rap
idly take the place of all wagons drawn
by horses. so far at least. as the cities are
concerned.
Certainly the improvement of the condi-
ton OF the streets which would follow from
the general use OF motor vehicles and the
consequent disappearance OF horses, are
instantly apparent. The work of keeping
the streets clean would be much lighter.
for one thing. and the paving problem
would also be much easier of solution
The electric street car lines and the hi
cycle We have already with us. the motor
vehicle is in the near future. and the horse
as domestic animal seems doomed to ex-
tinction. for the food value of the species
is hardly sufficiently high to warrant their
being bred for that purpose.
1t is not improbable that in another gen
GRAFTON. horses. like fox hounds. will be
bred and kept solely for sporting pur-
poses.