New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-09-20


o-,ohiles: he is an accomplished traveller
-,1osonber who has plausible views on al
o,,a-v subject an observer Of men and
and an entertaining writer so MS
ti,rA IF his long trip on an autornophe
Las MANY interests OF course, he does not
-.e-- far away at any time from the chle1
So -be automobile itself and mis- discussion
nac7,liarties Of this mechanism will be, no
= - benefit to his fellow Chaufeurs- Even
.i,,,-e record Of mishap and disaster. Of
-ts and collapse. and of the steps taken IN
o.-,,s Them are full Of susgestiveness 10
- ,,,ho are in constant peril OF similar DIM
r. Chauffeur had mis- full share OF such
Gu. ~ ba is inclined to put the blame on
s,ufscture of the machines. and the crudi-
.,6 fraperfections in construction. which
- bA obviated by care and conscientious
- -ba factory. He even thinks that the
-.,,;1a has been made Impossible by ITS
,,,e--,,c-iou. Ones confidence oozes out.
p0O- ,rbAn the machinery is laid bare for
inspection:
-s twisted. bent and hammered to get
s. j1,o nlsce: bearings are fled 10 make them
- ho1-s and screws arr weak and loose, nuts
soae 80 bIactsn7iths had spent their idle mo-
44oenrs in constructing machine
the comparative merits of French and
-, automobiles -'Chaufeur'' thinks that
: -bs construction Of high speed machines for
= or fine roads we have much to learn from
7--anob and We have been slow in learning
;: The conceir of the American mechanic
cunts often 10 blind stubhornness. but the
80 with which the foreign machines nave
,.ssaa the American on smooth ROADS has
- -. ewes If our builders" For AIneri-
,sn roads however. and for q moderate price
s+L.-e * no inexpensive imported machine
7aT7-
e., rroduct.' AS TO The practical operation OF
o,-or,obilas "Chaureur's' account is full OF ex-
..or.aroae and suggestions and advice His notes
- -be zzsvside are Of more general interest
"a finds that the willingness, not to say eager
,Ass Of the farmer. the 1ruckman. lhe hNetS
rnan-tn short. the owner Of horses-to helP out
4 machine he despises, is Ike unto heapiIis u
Goals Of fire or the head OF the autonloolie
driver So long the machine Is IN us Iuii
tide ~ glory they wish II evil; bur let II come 10
grief, and they will pull it out Of the ditch' maui
Il 10 their stables. and generally decline pay
-,sn, far their trouble But bysJanders, even
the most sympathetic, get 10 be a WEAKNESS 10
The flesh long before two thousand miles have
been covered Witness this incident at one OF
The minor breakdowns Of "Chauneur tflP
with his companion, the professor:
lust then e curious onIooker nudged the pro.
lessor IN the ribs and began, as 50 many hao
done before .,.
.sExacrIv'' groaned the professor, 1t weighs q
ren-rwo tons sonaetines-nnore N the SAND. II
COST 81 200 and viii cost more before We nave
done with II. Yes. I know what you are ABOUT
TO say. you could buy purity SICK team -ot
that price-in fact. q, dozen nags such as tnaL
one leaning against you-but we don care TOT
horses Ny friend here, VINO IS spllllng me
water ali over the machine. and z small boy.
once owned a horse. il kicked over the daSh-
hoard missed his rllother-in-law and hit him;
hgy- i'm h1H
he has been prejUdiced against horses: II goes
by gasolene-sonerimes that is not q boiler. x
IS the cooer-on hot DAYS we take turns sitting
on fl explosions-electric spark-yes, II is queer;
man al last stop made some bright remark: no
danger from explosions II you are not too near
about a block away IS safer; start py turning
q crank; yes. that is queer. aueerer than the
other queer things cylinder does get not, but
so DO We all sometimes. We ought TO have water
jackets-thst is q joke that goes with the ma
chine; yes. L Is very fast. from fifty 10 seventy
miles peT-pEr WHAT you say: well that de-
ponds upon the roads-nor at all. ! assure you,
10 trouble 10 anticipate your inquiries by these
answers-it IS so seldom one meets any one who
is really interesre3-you can order machine by
telegraph; any more information you would
like"
"Chaufeur's" experience Is that women and
children are more fearless than men in an auto
mobile; he has tested the casual stranger and
the assisting bystander, and found II SO Not
that they have more courage than men. but
men realize more wildly the things that might
happen. whereas women and children feel the
exhilaration Of the speed without thinking OF
possible disasters "Chaufeur's'' attitude 20
the rights and duties Of the automobiles on the
road is eminentIy conservative In law the au-
tonobile is Z, vehicle and has the same rights
the highway as bicycle or a carriage has; and
Furthermore the law makes it the business Of
ne horse 70 get accustomed 10 strange sights
ana behave itself. But until this has happened
Il Is the duty both by law and common sense Of
me automobile driver 10 take great care in pass
ing His sympathy should be always with the
oriPer OF the horse. "ChaUffeur's'' narrative
shows him consistently keeping TO this view and
Il there were more of his kind who shared it
with him II would be OF great advantage 10 the
sport.
The two thousand mile that he covered in
Guided the journey from Chicago 20 Boston,
through the Berkshires, back along the Sound
10 New-York, thence 10 Albany and Buffalo. and
into Canada His account is so detailed that it
would serve well any who wished 10 go over the
whole or part Of the same route He has man
aged 10 MI IL with life and incident and with
suggestive comment on what he saw. Some
times he is led into devious bypath. as when,
passing through Concord and Lexington, he is
moved 10 discourse at length on Emerson Haw-
'norne, Thoreau and Alcott- or. passing Labor
Day parade, TO discuss strikes. The assassina-
NAS-1 u fSfleCIfOnS
anarchisrn. and in Batavia the sight OF William
Morgan's tombstone suggests the story Of his
disappearance and the consequent fierce anti
Masonic agitation of three-quarters of a century
ago He makes il ali interesting whether he is
talking OF politics. wine. or art and artists
Even the slowgoins pedestrian or the inveter-
ate horseran can sympathize with him in his
hopes Of the future Of his sport
The promise of automobiling is knowledge Of
ones own land The confines OF city are sitting
the sport; the machine shorts with irnpatience
on dusty paVements filed with traffic and seeks
oF