The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-11-24
FIRST AUTOMOBILES.



Che automobile is with us 10 stay and
naturally, some interest Is taken In IFS
history. The scientific American mas
Investigated the question OF It's origin
and awards the honor of its Invention
10 Nichoas Joseph Cugnot. French
man, who In 1868 built and ran a sue
cessful model and who a few years later
In 1899, constructed for the French gov
ernmfnt "a three wheeled steam gun
carriage for Transporting heavy ord
nance.
Almost quarter OF a century before
however. another Frcnchman, Naucan-
! son by name, is said 10 have invented
! a hors less carriage, which, about lilo'
he bad the honor of exhibiting to Louis
! XIV of France says the Philadepma
! Record The monarch was SO pleased
with its working. so the story goes'that
he promis Naucanson his patronage
but the Ca,ails of this long-ago inNen-
ton are so involved i'm obsCurity that
! the journal above quoted rightly con-
/ siders that the honor Of being the plon =
eer i'm tnis now rapidly widening ieih
I
I fore. no disputing the fact thaE 20
French inventive genius was due the
first utaClcal automobile ever put TO-
gothcr And I'm France more 80 than In
any Other country, has the prescnt-day
motor-propeiled vehicle more nearly APP
preached perfection. although II IS a
w sll-knoWn fact that even there tht
obstruction automobiles may Well
be class q among the ''infant indus
tries.
II Is probable. however, THAI In years
! 10 come American inventors viii i'm
prove the automobile OF today until II
supplauts those OF French. German an,
English manufacture. Ind ecd, am An'
erican steam driven machine has al
] ready been evolved which. IN the opin'
ion of French experts who have testec
| Il thoroughly. is superior I'M almost eN'
cry respect to those at pres M accepted
i'm Parts as the acme of automobile per
faction.
The French technical journals. always
exceedingly Jealous OF French mechdn
iCal supremacy. have be n going int'
ecstacits over tha American steam We
hicle. which sells there for $1,000. al
though It's price in this courTY j. bu
5000. 1T is q telling stimony TO its in
tl.nsic Inerit," says the cycle Age am
Trade Review" "that this American
&
of automobile manufacture with the EN-
barge of import duty and agency eN
pcnses added TO it's American stllinl
price
Motor vehicles OF the threa accepte'
types electric gasoline and steam
having been adapted TO almost ever,
! conceiVabl use. il occurred 90 CORE
spondent Of an English Journal to won
Ger why UP 90 date no manufactures O
self-propellcd vehicles had as yet dare
To supplant the horse drawn hearse
our prejudices in this respect are $
ingrained that probably many year
viii elapsc before We can bring our
selves 10 thu point of forever abandon
ing coal-black horses as the motiv
power for conveying our deceased rela
dives to the Great Beyond.
And YET here is clerical gentleman
Rev. \. :. Parsons. of Oakland. Cal
who is having built a Gospel automobil
from which he intends 10 conduct re
ViNal services next year. ~ Will be tn
gasoline variety. with a maximum {
four horse power and Weighing thre
tons This strikes us as being an ente1
prising move. but Why auto-salVatio
wagons should m e with approval an
auto-hearses should not is matter b,
yond our ken. In commenting upon tn
up-to- date means OF bringing sinner
back into the fold the Motor Age
remarks: IF the reverend gentlema
should get nto hily or sandy district
he may find practical use for Ehe fait
| that will move mountains