The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-08-13
A Card.
The Mount Holly Nesos

Referring to the item in your issue of
Tuesday last, in regard to runaway said
to have been caused by my automobile, 1t
seems to be the custom in and around
Mount Holly to blame me and my motor
carriage as the cause, even when we have
not been within 10 miles of the scene of
the alleged runaway. As matter of
fact, in running over 5000 miles on the
public roads of Burlington and Camden
counties, principally, we have never
caused a runaway, nor been in any way to
blame for a runaway.
presume you will be fair enough to
allow me the use of your columns to make
plain statement of the facts as they oc-
Cured.
Last Saturday afternoon Mr.. William
G. Leconey and Mr. Walter s. French,
both of Moorestown, having business with
Mr.. Lewis at his new residence at Mount
Holly, left Moorestown in my motor
carriage for Mount Holly, coming into the
town over the stone road At the west
end we noticed a carriage drawn by one
horse Immediately ahead of us. l belled
about 100 yards from him, and slowed
down. The driver turned, and imme-
diately drove to the right hand side of the
road and stopped. l passed him with the
his horse was not frightened As passed
him noticed the left hand trace had slip
ped off the swingle-tree, and was hang
ing; motioned to him, pointed to the
trace, and called to him that his trace
was off Mr. Leconey did the same thing
and we supposed he understood After
passing him about hundred yards, Mr..
French, who was riding with his face to
! the rear, called to me to look out, that the
horse was running away | Immediately
pulled to the left hand side of the road
and the horse ran by us at full speed, one
shaft out of the lug on the left side, the
trace under the horses feet, breeching
broken, and the driver pulling with full
| force on reins. As breeching was broken,
this pulled the carriage up on the hind
quarters of the horse, and caused the run
away, and not the automobile. After the
driver had succeeded in stopping by pull
| ing his horse into the fence l ran past him
and stopped, and came back to see if
could be of any assistance. | asked him
| if he had not understood what we had
said to him in regard to the trace, and his
reply was this II was not watching the
horse, was watching your carriage. ;"
Such are the facts, and these will be
verified by the two gentlemen with me,
L
remarked to those with me at the time
accident with my carriage, as it would be
stated that Rogers automobile had
caused another runaway"
do not know who your informant was,
and can hardly believe the gentleman
driving is your authority for your state
ment. l would state, however, if he is
anxious to bring suit, as your item has it,
that, while | am not anxious to spend my
time in this kind of business, l shall well
come it, as it may be the means of defn
ing the rights of the automobile, driven
by competent man, as against the horse,
allowed to have his own will, while his
driver watches the'automobile.
Therein lies our greatest trouble
drivers of horses have eyes for the motor
carriage only, and many of them do not
even tighten the reins until the horse be-
gins to shy
l have written you thus at length, as l
wish the public to understand my position.
| do not wish to infringe on the rights of
Others and have stopped hundreds of
times, leading teams past my carriage, es-
pecially when driven by ladies, or when
horses appear fractions, and l challenge
you to produce a single statement from
TClIdDlC par hdNO ONOA III
showing that care and consideration which
l would ask for myself under similar cir
cumstances.
AS my carriage cannot possibly be run
faster than 30 miles per hour, unless down
hill, and as l can stop it while running at
this speed inside of 40 feet, I ask your
comparison between this and a horse
travelling at 3 minute gait-which is
quite commonwealth cannot be stopped
in 10 times this distance.
l trust l may be as fortunate in the
future in regard to runaways as in the
past, and in the 5000 miles run with the