Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1914-04-17

All talk about the automobile dis
placing the horse, which has been so
carefully and truthlessly spread
thruout the country in the past ten
years, has been productive of a re-
suit not contemplated by either the
automobile people or the horse
breeders. In fact a condition ex-
actly opposite to that predicted by
the former and feared by the latter
now confronts US. namely, a scarcity
of good work horses.
During the last year we have
keeping careful check. on the ac-
tual conditions reported from all
sections of the country, and we are
now fully convinced that the next
five years will show that the
Horseless Age" propaganda spread
by the automobile interests has put
more actual profits into the pockets
of horse owners, as a class. than it
has taken away. Among our rea-
sons for forming this opinion we
will cite one in particular.
Within the last thirty days COM
plete and reliable canvas was made
of all the larger business firms in
Philadelphia that use horse or motor
vehicles, to get an authoritative
statement regarding the number of
horses and motor vehicles used and
the opinion concerning the relative
value Of each. Twenty-seven of the
larger concerns reported having q
total of 5O91 horses at work, and
180 motor vehicles. Of these
twenty-seven firms, with two ex.
ceptions, all were using or had used
the motors-had given them fair
trial along side of the horses es-and
every one of these had reported
that the motors were neither al
economical nor as reliable as tbs
horses. Many Of the concerns wer'
completely disgusted with the ma
chimes and would not renew them
a number had already given then
up after a thoro trial, some hal
been satisfied to watch the expert
ence Of others and had never use
the autos and never expected tc
while the remainder were usingN tn
machines in the proportion of on
to over one hundred horses to do
special form of work, altho the
knew horses would do the sam
work at much less cost.
There is nothing about Philade
phia that makes it an exception
the general rule of cities thruol
the country; SO we see the mott
vehicle is not worthy of being {
active competitor of the work hors
much less menace to his existen
and this after a most expensi'
educational" campaign on the pa
of such powerful organization
the allied automobile interests, viii
the horse interests had no organic
ton and no educational campaign.
Convinced that the demand I
horses is just as great as it ever "
and that there Is no likelihood of
diminishing let us now look towa
the supply. While governmt
statistics fail to show much of
crease in the total number of hor
in the country, special reports fir
the different sections show c
clusively that a large majority
these horses are of very infer
quality, being totally unfit for
! market. The effect of the Hol
less Age" publicity has been that
frightening the breeder of hi
class work horses with the re-
that during the last few years t
have curtailed their operations,
posed of their good markets
horses as rapidly as possibly
made little provision for produc
a new crop. At the source Of
supply we have an abundance
scrubs, cheap. undersized noI
scripts but few horses fit for |
work or to produce horses that
fit for hard work.
Summing up the entire situs
we can come to no other eOnclu
than that the the supply Of
horses is woefuIly below the den
consequently the man who