The times., 1899-08-06
THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE
Rich Women Are Running Their
Own automobiles.
The New Motor Vehicles Have Com
plcted the Emancipation of the
Pseases-The ~Auto'r an Easily
Managed Sewing Machine.

Newport Aug. HAS ,he motor We
| hicle come as the final emancipation OF
women2
Yesterday reporters had vision Of the
| very newest OF the new women-not the
| advanced female of the square-cut attire.
sober colors. and sociaIistic ideas. but the
! brilliant creature OF the motor carriage.
who is type unto herself, a creation Of
/ the hour
She was coming down the road in the
sunshine. She sat luxuriously among the
rich green cushions OF sparkling rew
victoria, with the top crushed back and a
footmaa sitting up behind, in aristocratic
stiffness and white-topped boots In at
tire. from her lace parasol to patent leath-
er ties. she was Whit one might expect on
the avenue on a sunny afternoon. but there
wasn't a mothers son. or daughter either
OF the thousands who turned out to watch
her go by who thought once of her clothes
| For her hands were on the two nickel
plated levers which curved gracefully up
| ward from the carriage floor in front OF
her and one dainty foot rested on the brake
bar.
4 She wore none of the tense. anxious ex-
/ erted expression OF the driver of horses.
A gentle turn OF neatly gloyed wrist in
creased or decreased her speed by several
| miles an hour; a twist OF the other and
the vehicle cut out to one side with
pleasant whirr and passed numbering
bus: a pressure OF her thumb and the elec-
| trio bell rang warning. 1t was ali with
out effort. graceful. and deliberate. and
yet dashing and Impressive.
| People watched her spin deftly in and
out among the maze of travel, easily and
quietly making speed about three times
that of an ordinary carriage. She swept
along like a breeze and finally drew Up at
| the portal of a palace as gracefully as a
| bird might alight. And thus is woman
| emaneipated at last No more the terror
| OF the runaway that haunteth by day, no
| more Of the odor equine no more OF the
| buckle horror, no more whips, no more
flies. no more dust TO fly UP from beneath
1 horses hoofs, no more clatter and bang
/ and rattle.
| For these thousand years or more a GER
| tain weakness of my lady's wrists has
! forced her to sit quretiy at my lords side
4
| the reins that guide his high steppers- And
| II that strength failed. what can she do
i but scream? Some there have been who
have driven, and yet no woman ever yet.
deep in her heart, quite lost the lurking
! fear OF the bit in the teeth nor overcome
| entirely her suspicion that the harness
| will break.
| But with the coming OF the new vehicle,
with its smartiy curving handles, all this
! is changed. A woman can drive now and
| turn and race as well as a man. Ii needs
/ only the strength of q child. And more
| than that she can stop-stOp wherever and
whenever she pleases. and in any one Of
| four or five different ways. And when she
goeS in to call or shop she has no need
| to worry about William and the horses. She
knows Of certainty that her carriage will
| remain exactly where she left IL, and that
| 1t cannot start until she inserts the little
brass key which she carries with her.
| Moreover. she is smancipated from troll
| ley cars and suburban railroads. IL she
| lives in the country, forty miles out. no
more will she arise In the dawn to catch
| the fast train to town and worry all day
about getting herself and her bundles to
| the fast train at night. She is ready when
4 she pleases best, her carriage Is never eet-
1 ing like horses, nor warm like horses. new
| er casts shoe and she gets in and rides
/ to town on 20 cents worth OF gasoline or
J electricity (her fare on the suburban train
would have been 40 cents), she shops where
| she pleases, locks her bundles under the
| seat, waits for lunch at her favortte res
| tagrant and stops for her husband at the
| Office and they spin home together in the
/ cool OF the afternoon, faster than the troll
| ley would carry them, with no jostiing
| nor crowding. and no changing of cars
| Once at home this new woman runs her
new vehicle intO-her summer kitchen IL
/ N~.1 h.-. -
| for another forty miles. There is no IN
buckling of moist buckles. no mysterious
straps to tie up-what woman ever really
understood a harness no oats to parcel
| out nor hay TO fork down, and no odor nor
flies. OF course, this paragon OF wheels
must be cleaned, but no more than an or
binary buggy, and it must be fed. but that
| is no harder than filling the parior lamp
l-unScrew a nut, tip up the can. and be-
holdi it is done The new vehicle must
be oiled, and the tires pumped at regular
/ intervals, but no mere than bicycle.
Fifteen cents will carry it 100 miles. and il
never eats when il isn't working. and that
is something every former horse owner ap-
preciates most kesnly. And the cost OF
really good vehicle. whether operated by
gasoline or electricity. is not so great as
| that OF a carriage and span.
| Any woman can learn TO operate mo-
tor vehicle in an hour; she can become
proficient in half day; two days she can
go anywhere, even in crowded streets. II
isn't half as difficult to drive 8 motor
carriage as il to learn to ride on a bicy
Gle. The main thing required IS presence
of mind: a driver must know instantly
which lever to pull to meet each emer-
gency as it presents itself. motor We
hiciist must exercise the intelligence Of the
horse, and no mean intelligence IL is. as
well as that of the driver The training.
therefore, is more that OF the mind than
OF the hands. There are only five things
TO learn at first: how 10 start, how to in
crease speed, how to use the brake. how
to turn of the power. and how to ring
the bell. All these operations are per
formed in most vehicles with two hand
and one foot lever: and they are no hard
er TO understand than sewing machine
! In conclusion il may be positively as
serted that the modern motor vehicle has
reached such perfection that it cannot run
away without the very grOssest careless
ness, and it cannot possibly explode. These
two facts viii reassure some women who
have formerly been a bit tiInid regarding
this new vehicle which has become the
greatest fad OF the season among the SMART
set in Newport and New York.
4 RrfduI SupersfEiioRx.