The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-09-01
PRIVATE CAR HABIT GROWING
More Used Now Than Formerly, but
 Most of Them Rented.

New IOFk EVSn1nB FOSt.
 So many people from time to time have wondered what becomes of old Pullman palace cars after they have been supplanted by cars of modern construction. in which both decoration and luxury run riot. that popular question seems answered by the cir cular of a new company, whose ofnces in this city and Chicago. Briefly 1t sets forth that the business of the concern Is to make it possible for every one to own a private car; not every laboring man, but every one in that state of life suggested by the ownership of a steam
 yacht, Newport cottage, or even an
 automobile. for the private car is
 cheaper luxury than any of these. es-
 pecially if one counts the money paid
 out by the automobile owner in the
 shape of damages caused by his some times unruly machine in the way of col
 lisions and runaways.
 The life of Pullman car is not
 long ore-that4is, in the service of the
 Pullman Company. This is not because
 they wear otu or go to pieces. Ike the
 'one-hoss shay" though this they
 sometimes do under the stress of rail-
 way smash-up. Their life is determin-
 ed by the style" in the sleeping and
 parlor car world. The elegant and un-
 surpassed coach of five years ago Is to- day considered a tri1e out Of date. so many are the improvements in the way of greater comforts, better space ar rangements. richer hangtngs and up- holstry, wide vestibule platforms. and the like, being Incorporated in the car of today. The lot of the old car is to do duty on some obscure Western rail- road or to go into the hospital yard. there to await its ultimate fate. that of being broken up for salvage or being | sold to some railroad for conversion in- to an officials car"
 Under this new company's plan there | is still another life for the old coach. and a wider market. It makes spe- | cial business of buying up these cars | from the Pullman Company, tearing out the interior. and ref1tting them en- l tirely anew for the :;se of theatrical companies. The time was when priv ate coaches were used only by two or three very large shows" such as cir cuses and spec.acular productions. i Now it is estimated that in the height of the theatrical season there are sew eral hundred on the road. Even small minstrel companies travel in them | from town to town. For shows" this second hand car company has three | standard styles. One provides ID upper | and 10 lower berths for the players, the state rooms at the end to serve as an | office and sleeping room for the man ager. and a kitchen. Another style l provides a place for baggage at the | end, and still another includes also a stable IS feet long, for the accommoda- | ton of such animals as may be neces- sary to complete the comnanys outnt' This last provision is made especially | for the donkeys and bloodhounds Of the various Uncle Toms Cabin compan- l les.
 These rebuilt cars are either sold out right or rented to theatrical agents l From $1 800 to $3, 800 is the price charg- ed according to the interior fittings, size of car; from $35 a week upward is l the weekly rental, the average company paying about $60 or $75 a week for a
 season on the road. The members of 1.-the company are fed and housed aboard during the entire trip, and with no no- tel bills. and small salaries to pay, the managers find the .private-car scheme
 a very profitable one. As to transporta-
 ton charges, the railroads give low
 theatrical rate and an additional re- duction to the companies having their
 own cars. so instead of being mone ex- pensive it is really much cheaper to
 travel in this way.
 | Do many rich men now own their | private cars?" was asked the second-
 hand car dealer.
 l "Oh. yes far more than you would
 think; only I rent many more than
 sell. Private cars for pleasure travel
 ing are fitted up more handsomely than
 the theatrical cars. and there is quite a
 brlsk rental demand for them, but not
 for purchase. because generally the
 man with $5,00o or $10,000 to spend
 would rather have his car built to
 order. which he can easily do for that
 amount of money. Private car travel ing is more expensive than the ordin- ary way unless a man has eight or ten in his family in which case it is really cheaper for him to hire a whole car. though very few seem to realize this. At any rate, the custom is grow ing. and after awhile I expect to see rich men thinking no more of owning a nriyate car than a steam yacht"