The Portland daily press., 1900-10-25
RUNNING MOTOR VEHICLES.
Something More than Pulling the Lever
NeedfuI to the Successful Use of the
Automobile.
lFrom the New York Nine.

(From the New York Times.)
With the enormous increase IN the sales
and general use OF all kinds Of motor
vehicles, electric, steam and gasoline, has
come the conviction that it takes mora
than the purchase Of an automobile to
make the purchaser capable Of running
his vehicle. As ons OF the prominent
drivers Of motor vehicles lately expressed
1t, the automobile is by no means a
''push the button" and some one elsa
does the rest affair, for it is necessary If
one is to get out of his vehicle the
amount Of pleasure that 1t Is able to give.
to have a thorough and comprehensive
knowledge Of its workings, to acquire
which is no small task with any Of the
patterns Of vehicles now in use.
In New York city, for instance, one Of
the insuperable obstacles would seem to
be the necessity Of procuring an engi-
neer's license, which is required to run
boiler such as is a part Of the steam
automobile. The firms manufacturing
this vehicle, however, have got around
the municipal law. The law says that
one must have been a fireman for five
years before he can be licensed to run a
steam boiler. The law is universally
condemned as absurd, but it is on the
books, and must be observe. To observe
1t the automo bile manufacturers obtain
/ for -,r7rah uroru IN oDo4roor5o 14oonco N
Yonkers, the possession Of which entities
the holder to a large amount Of considera.
ton from the local authorities. In fact,
only perfunctory examination is re-
quired to procure license to run the type
Of boiler or engine mentioned in the doc
ument
A school Of instruction is needed, 1t is
said, and so far, with all the great num-
Der OF motor vehicles in use there is moth
ing Of the kind. OF course instructions
are given to purchasers, but even the
builders admit that this instruction is
not thorough, especially SO far as COM
plete understanding OF the machine is
concerned.
man who buys a motor vehicle, although
he may understand how to run it, is an
tirely at sea when it fails to run through
accident or ignorance on the part of the
driver. Many an automobile driver has
been caught on the highway somewhere
with machine that refused to move,
and has been compelled either to push
his vehicle to a sta bic or to HE to the
nearest telephone and call for a machin.
isb. 1t is this incomplete knowledge OF
the machine that has robbed many a
driver Of the pleasure that the motor
vehicle can give. There is also always
the lurking suspicion in the driver S
, mind that he would not know what t.
do If something Unforeseen should hap
pen.
Probably the most peculiar fact in con
nection with this matter is that the build
ers know the needs in this direction, anC
the buyers or prospective buyers have
called their attention to 1t many times,
and yet they have done little or nothing
to remedy it. They even go so far as to
admit that their sales might be larger il
/ they could give to the buyers all the
knowledge of the machine necessary, and
yet they do nothing to bring about that
end.
One of the companies which menufac-
lures steam vehicles, not very far from
this City, takes purchasers to the works
and there shows them how the machine
is built and endeaVOrs to explain every
working part to them. They say thai
If man has taste for mechanics and
is quick to learn, he can in this way be-
come fairly familiar with the machine
After this the buyer is put into an auto
mobile with a teacher in propulsion, anC
then it depends on his aptitude as to tn.
time 1t will take him to master the run
/ ming Of the vehicle After he knows how
to run the machine, kit OF repair tool
and book Of instructions are given him
and it is possible he may know what t,
! do II anything happens. 1t is, however,
not probable.
According to the builders themselves, 1
{ is about one chance In 20 that the buyer
will know what to do If he gets il
] trouble. The chances are quite as great
: against his going home and trying t,
gain the mastery of his automobile b,
studying Its parts. What the average
buyer wants is results. He wants to gel
into an automobile, turn on the power
and be propelled along. 1t is not pleasan
{ for him to think about why the thin|
goes or how it goes. AS long as it does
go he is satisfied.
In this connection a builder Of automo
biles said yesterday; "It Is about time
thai some newspaper came out with q
correction Of all the tommy rot ideas tina
have been put into the heads of prospec
tive automobile buyers-that all they
have to do is to turn on the power anC
, the thing is done. That falIacy has given
US more trouble than anything else.
don't know Of any other thing that
} man takes in this way. Even If b,
bought a horse, he would not taxi
chances by driving him through crow dec
thoroughfares, or even in country lanes
without first having learned something
Of his disposition and Of trying to flnC
out what he had to expect OF the animal
} But not so with a motor vehicle. The
purchaser won't understand that he hal
a more or less complicated piece of ma