The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-03-02
BEST N TIE WORLD
American Carriages Supreme
and How It Came About.
VEHICLES IN EARLY DAYS
Early Importation of Wheel
wrights TO the Provinces.
VEHICLES IN EARLY DAYS

From the primitive carriage Of the
Egyptians to the rubber-tired. barl-bear-
ing wheeled American road wagon is in
deed far cry. but much Of the distance
has been bridged within the last three
hundred years. and in this later-dav pro-
gress the United States has been prol
nently in the van. accomplishing more
in the last fifty years than the rest Of
the world in six times that period. These
are facts.
Up to fifty years ago the English car
riage reigned supreme, and then the
French vehicle slowly displaced L, and
retained supremacy until about the date
OF the centennial when Mons. NJ Quiet
one of the international judges. reported:
one can not fail to be struck with the
extraordinary progress realized during
the last quarter Of century, moro par
ticularly in the United States. ....Among
! the leading causes of this Improvement
we must, first Of all mention the division
of labor which now prevails in the manu-
factie Of the component parts Of a car
/ riage- 80. In the United States carriages
are manufactured BY the quantity, which
makes easy the application Of mechanical
/ processes and everywhere we saw ma
! chimes taking the place Of hand labor
ana on the largest scale" At the same
time the English Carriage Builders Ca
zette confessed: The American manufac-
turers have a tendency to take incessant
( departure from accepted English styles.
] gyr1 oF do
sign. aiming perpetually at originality.
successful in achieving remarka bic light
ness with due regard to strength All
Of which is just about on a line with
what the nation is discovering today in
/ almost every line of manufacturers
witness the increased export list.
To begin at the beginning. it may be
accepted as certain that the vehicular
limit OF the Indian was the trailing poles
behind the ridden pony. These being
unsuited TO the requirements of the pill
grim fathers and their descendants, and
it peirg necessary TO have suitable trans
portation to open up the virgin prairi.
ana uncleared forest land the first call
Of the settlers was for wheelwrights
Thus the earliest instructions to England
of Governor Endicott in 1929 were to that
effect. and Richard Ewstead was the first
to come. The second, in May of the same
year, was Richard Clayton, and these
two men were the fathers Of the great
American carriage industry of the pres
ent era. These men made agricultural
carts, etc Carriages were import 81, but
nos more than half a dozen were III the
country until 1863 when coaches were
introduced into Boston, ard somewhat s
later into Virginia. to the amazcment
OF the neignbors." Until the revolution
the distinction between those that rode
and those that footed it" was that Of
plebian and aristocrat. The first month
~ post between Boston and New York
was established in 1913. when this city
boosted Of twenty car men" whose Of
flee was to remove dust and diIt from the
streets. The first post to Philadelphia.
every two weeks. was in 1893 and the
roads were so bad that it was frequently
four days late William Penn had q
coach and q calash out there were only
eight four-wheeled vehicles in the prov
ince. five being coaches owned by Gov
ernOr Gordon, Jonathan Dickinson, Isaac
Norris Andrew Hamilton, and Anthony
Palmer Merchants and others were con
tent with chairs" the name ccning
from IsTaelitish times. this modern We
hicle being somewhat like the volante OF
the Spanish, two wheels far behind, the
body for passengers being balanced al
most midway between the wheels and the
forward end of the shafts. Then, in 1881
the first hacaney-coach was built in New
York by John Clapp. who ran it from
the postofnce TO his inn on the Bowery.
and from then forward the making of
carriages progressed steadily. and thirty
years later n Mr.. Shelton opened the first
hack for hire" stable in Chestnut street.
Philadelphia
In l73s William Campbell. a practical
wheelwrisht of England, was given a
grant of land to come here and teach tha
trade. He commenced hy bringing over
English carriage builders. ana in ten
years there was qquite number OF per
sons in the PRINCIPAL cities engaged I'm
building the true American carriage. al
belt stiH on European models. Soon 1
stages began 70 run IN all directions. and
in Isl, the historian Watson stated thac
private people were keeping their own
horses and carriages at their hores or
At inns. while the hack and livery service
was used almost entirely for business !
purposes aud that Mrs. Shoemaker of .
Philadelphia. then aged ninety-dte. re-
nCmberea her grandfather having a
carriage for pleasure but was almost
ashamed 10 appear abroad in it for fear {
of being thought ehcninate and proud /
IN l-Sf John Henry. crippled actor Of
Baltimore. whose govt caused a carriage J
70 De q necessity. being aware Of the I
rather hostile feoliucs towards the actor
had painted on his panels two clutches in
heraidic position. with the motto. This ]
or these. such was the prejudice :
srainst 'plcasure' vehicles that "a No (
,erher. 1868. the mob. enraeed at the Z
stamp act. broke open the stable Of Lieut. 5
Golden dragged oct his Encush coach. {
peradeI It with his efisv se7ted lnride. (
ana lu1ily made q bopdre CT the whole G
under the fcrt guns IL Bowling Green 81
several other carriages being seized and y
thrown into the flames I
with tie formation Of the Government +
~ the American Colonies 4 saw was PASS @
81 f0rbldGing the importation - car e
riasez. coaches and chairs from Eng- z
land. watch was a ssrioas blow - ms &
ooach-buildins interests Of the mother Z
country. ard. Tor D time, the death CT tire :
Budding -flaercan Ind sstTv. Washington $
had re he content with an ca second C
band coaeh. thC body ~ wh.ch -ttsr- q
wards blclruc q hen rcost at Or. YolrEs 81
1iacs az New orleans. tl-e panels how e
i q.