The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-08-24
Automobiles And Roads,

The introduction Of the automobile has
been fraught with severe criticism on the
part of some people who drive horses or
mules that shy at the machines. Hard
things have been said about the man and
his machine. Unspeakablo emphasizes has
been made in such speech and sizzling,
frying epithets applied to the "shofer."
The man who drives a machine should
remember that he is being thus criticised,
and he should do all that is in his power
to put down the. prejudice against the
man with the machine. When the auto
mobilist meets a man with a mule that
frightens at machines he should not pass
by or leave the spot until he has assured
the man with the mule that he sympa-
thise with him that he is sorry his benzine
buggy has scared the other mule. The
man with the machine should pour oil on
the troubled waters and leave the man
with the mule feeling that he is in at least
speaking distance with the man in the
machine.
Let the man with the mule start out to
town whore he is to meet creditors. Guano
notes, low prices for his produce, and
other troublous eXegencies and let him on
some narrow strip OF road meet a google
eyed "shofer" shooting sparks and gaso-
line to a laundering, coughing, wheeling
t~wenty-horse engine, and let the man in
the machine, without looking either to the
right or left ont of his driving hell eye
glasses thunder by the man with the
mule sundry horrible..hoots and clouds of
of dust and gasoline smoke at the rate of
forty miles the hour while the man with
the mule occupies the gully and embank-
inent on the road side and by the piper
that played before Moses, when the man
with the mule lessons his grip on the lines
and once more gets back into the public
road and once more settles down into his
Jog to town if the air around is not lurid
then the mar is q good methodist.
But the man with the mule is usually too
prone to consider the man in the machine
in the wrong light. He should remember
that where the man In the machine seems
to be lacking in politenes, not looking up
from his wheel, that If the man with the
machine should look up and around there
would certainly be a wreck. The fellow
at thewheel cannot look at the sceneryand
talk politics and discuss prices and be
amiable and run an automobile at one
all the same time. The man with the
mule should beari in mind that engines are
stubborn things that they will run their
way or not at all. That the engineer can
not always make it 60 the pace he would
like to make it &c, and when he meets an
auto in the road kicking up a cyclone OF
dust he should stop and think whata dust
he would kick up if he were driving twen-
ty mules instead of one. One auto is just
as skittish, just as startlish, just as uh-
g%overnable, just as volcanic as twenty
mules. Let the man with the mule re-
member this that the man in the machine
has in his hand twenty lines. that his dust
proof google eyed binoculars are squlnted
on twenty bucking, restless, rampant
mules, that his nerve gauge stands at 200
with the safety valve tied down let him
consider these things and he will let the
man with the machine thunder past with
no more demonstration than a soft sooth-
ing sigh Of sympathy for the man at the
wheel.
The automobile is a great invention.
They are here to stay. If you have not
yet accustomed yourself to the horrible
honk, honk! you will become acostomed
it in time. Be easy. Some Of these days
a case Of cramp collie will grab you with
q pair of nail grabs. and when the medico
answers the phone message at the rate OF
40 miles per hour. The same old honk
honk will fall on your aurricular anvils
with as much pleasant welcome as the soft
soothing sound of twilight melody.