The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-04-05
THE FOOL PROOF AUTOMOBILE
II viii Come Eventually and Theh
Everybody VIII Have One.

When man takes hold of the knob OF
his office door he knows that, year III anu
vrnr out. the knob will perform It's prop
er function. When the housewife sltS
down 10 her sewingmachne she knows
that hardly once in a thousand times WIZ
il fail TO do its work, ana 40 WEI
Unreliable is an indictment TO when oHl
cars must too often plead guilty. II
America we have done a lot OF foolish
things IN motor car building, but We are
approaching saner methods and more cor
rect lines, The car of the future, elther
for business or pleasure, has not yet been
laid down. lie would be "A bold, perhaps
rash prophet, who would undertake any
detailed description OF this car Never
theess, reasoning a PRIOR, there are soihe
features we may prognOstieate. In lhS
first place, il will be built OF better steer
than we have been accustomed to use. IN
the next place, the cars VIII become slahu,
ardized and when standardized they WIN
be built by machinery in enormous qnan'
titles at an exceedingly low cost Inc
wheels will he large. built OF wood and
of the artillery type. Hard rubber or
some enduring substance will take the
place of the present 'high.prced unsatis'
factory pneumatic tires. The car Will De
light. simple. strong and easily kept IN
repair Mr. Edison once said the auto
mobile will never be wholly practical un'
iii il is fool.prOof and the ordinary re-
pairs can be made ON the highway 10y
darby with a monkey wrench. The pres,
ent highly unsatisfactory system ,ol
change.speed gears will be suppanted 10y
Handicapped device. There are NOT
wanting good Judges who believe that the
problem will be solved by a system Of by
draulic transmission. The fuel Of the iu'
ture will be kerosene or grain alcohol.
Thirty-hve per cent. of the population OF
America are farmers. The farmer will be
the chief automobile owner and user,
The maximum speed OF his car may he
ONLY % miles per hour, but that Is twice
as fast as his present mode OF travel The
car will be an invaluable adjunct to ms
work on the farm. The adjustment OF
belt. the turn OF a crank, and the automo'
bile engine furnishes power TO thresh MS
grain, cut his wood, chop his iced ana
pump his water. After being in constant
use all the day, the ear is ready to take
the entire family to the social gathering
in the village at night. or TO church ser
vices on Sunday morning. The farmer
will use the automobile a. will the butch
err the baker and the stOTekeepcr-When
he can in no other way get the same
amount OF work done at so low a cost;
and when the business man can deliver
his goods more quickly and more economl-
cally than he can by using the horse he
will do so.
There will always be motor cars de luxe
for the rich, but they will be merely the
fringe OF the garment OF a great industry.
The countless millions OF tons OF freight
now slowly and painfully drawn over
country roads and through city streets
by poor dumb brutcs will go spinning
along, the motors of the heavily laden
trucks humming tune of rich content,
and all the thousand tongues OF COM
merce will sing the praises OF the motor
car
Let me suggest a few practical things
that the tireless horse of the future will
accomplish:
lit will solve the problem of the
over-congestion Of traffic in our city
streets.
2-lt will free the horse from his bur.
dens. A few years ago, in the city of
New Orleans, an old darky came in from
the country and for the first time saw
the electric street car which had taken
the place of the mule-drawn car. The old
darky threw up his hands, and looking
up to heaven, said, "Bress de Lord, de
white man freed de Niger, now he done
freed de mule.
3-The automobile will furnish relief
to the aforementioned districts.
At will stimulate the goodroads move.
ment throughout the United States.
sit will save time and space and be-
come invaluable to the physician, to the
fireman, and to many classes of citizens.
Cit will tend to break down class dis
tnctiOns, because one touch of automo-
bilism makes the whole world kin.-Har-
per's Weekly.