The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-03-28
Richmond Postmaster Was
The First Wayne County
Man Who Ever Owned or
Operated a Machine.
PEOPLE THOUGHT CAR A
CREATION OF SATAN
Mr.. Spekenhier Relates the
Many Funny Experiences
That BefeII His L0t-Hints
To Motorists.
J. A. Spekenhier.

J. 4. spekenhier.
Ten years ago the self-propelled We
ticle was but little further advanced
than the aeroplane Of today, and 1t II
extremely difficult to realize the gigan
tic growth, accomplished by this in
dustry, during this brief period. L
only will be matter of a few NOR
years until America will have passed
her European sisters IN the manufac
ture Of dependable cars, which vii
force a foreign market, because of it
perfected product.
In 1880, l was stricken with a sewers
case Of automobilitilitus. The doctor
said, the hair Of the dog would proba
bly, cure the bite, SO l called In all out
standing loans, until several hundred
dollars were garnered. and then mad,
a pass at a man who owned a second
hand automobile.
Ridiculous he exclaimed, when hi
heard my offer, and moved haughtily
away. They all say that in trades
so l simply handed my card and also
faded away. About two months Later
a message came from him. accepting
my offer and the car Immediately
changed homes.
It was single-seated, narrow-tread
concern, propelled by. steam. and !,
took more power to blow the whistle
than to run the car. IT'S said, some
OF the big fellows" in motordom are
now wearing these cars for watch
charms.
His Troubles Began.
My troubles began with the debut o.
this disreputable dinkey shifter. ant
as the horses in this section Of thu
country had never seen . picture of 8
motor-car, let alone, the real snortine
thing. led an exceedingly strenuou.
life, but was learning more about
horses than automobiles.
never went where l wished to go
but always where the horses wanted
me to 90 and often times. would cruise
up IN alley to avoid meeting peevisf
horse, that was getting ready to stant
up. roll over, give his paw, etc.
One day on a country road, there wa.
met q lady driving q pair OF young pc
niles. She was accompanied by &
young girl, and when the occupants
saw the motor car, they both screamed
the lines were thrown over the backs
of the animals, and the two scrambled
over q fence, and ran a considerable
distance into the field before they turn
ed, to see II the scenery had changed
Some trouble was experienced In get
ting the outfit past the car, but the po
MES acted reasonable, and when thu
lady returned, rather sheepishly. she
admitted she had never before seen ar
automobile, nor heard the name. and
became suddenly panic stricken. Afte1
going through such performance,
never blamed a horse for anything.
Organized Club.
It dawned On me that I was getting
more than my share Of broncho bust
ing. SO induced several OF my friend.
to get into the game. We then organ
ized little club with five members.
One Sunday we planned to run tc
Eaton. Ohio, and to keep out Of the
dust, agreed to run one mile apart
West OF town was encountered sur
rey carrying nine passengers, mostly
children. On catching sight Of the
first car. they began to untangle them
selves and unload. The driver Their
held his horse. and in the meanwhile
cursed the machine, manufacturer
driver and everything connected with
It. Because Of his rude conduct ant
rough language, he was not informed
that other cars were coming and after
he had packed his cargo back into the
carriage. and gave the car q parting
shake OF the clenched fist, another
''dust-raiser" hove into view. There
was another hurried exit and another
and stronger burst of profanity. which
prevented the second driver from say
ing anything to him. When the last
driver drove into Eaton. he was wear
the first one one, homeward bound.
Cost Of Operation.
Many people inquire as to the actual
cost OF operating an automobile This
depends largely upon the driver. Il
the tires are allowed to flatten: rnr
carelessly over old boards. which may
bear concealed nails: horse-shoes
through rubbish, or round corners al
excessive speed. causing q seriou.
strain on the rubber end fabric, severa
cents per mile will have to be added te
the bills for upkeep, for the benefit
or the rubber trust. During the sea
son OF 1908. the mileage cost for my
car was trifle less than three cent.
pcr mile, exclusive OF storage charges