The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-08-28
-OURTEEN years ago there was
n automobile In Keokuk. To
= da1, ono nerson In every thirty

one automobile in Keokuk. To-
day one person In every thirty
i've owns Q car.
While there Is some, little dispute
about the matter, 1t is believed that
Dr.. c.. d Ruth. for many years surg
con at st. %Joseph's hospital, was the
first automobile owner in sYKeokuk,
being the proud possessor Of a small
locomobile capable of carrying two
passengers when.i 1t would run. Ere
Quently 1t refused to carry any. Short
ly after buying the car but long
enough thereafter to enable the doc
tor to gain4much valuable experience
in the operation of the same, he gave
a lecture at a meeting of the Broth
erhood of the Presbyterian church in
which he told of the things that had
happened to him and his q 'fhe
meeting was much heralded because
Of its uniQueness and the attendance
was very large. What he told the
brotherhood has since become the
common everyday experience OF 100
auto owners in the city.
A Homemade Car.
Shortly after Dr.. Ruth's a made its
appearance on the streets Of keokuk
Frank knight, the electrician, brought
out a homemade car which was not
much on appearances but which never
failed to run except up steep hills.
| Knights car was not much of a hill
climber but Keokuk's auto maker
could always drive his machine
on a level stretch or down hill. The
| car was a three-wheeled affair with a
body like a large cracker box and a
steering arrangement in the form OF
a long rod running from the front
wheel like that Of an old fashioned
tricycle..
Very soon a number Of other Keo-
kukians bought cars, but for several
years the approach Of an automobile
caused people to stop and gaze until
! the machine had passed. The early
cars were not capable of much speed
and yer not to be compared with the
fast roadsters OF today. In a few
years. however, people here began to
buy touring cars. With the improve
ments hat came, the purchasing of
cars became more general until today
nearly everyone who can afford it,
owns q car.
Brings Farmer Closer.
In che early days of the automobile
and ever until a few years ago
horses were prone to brighten at the
machine which threatened to supplant
them. But today auto drivers remark
that very few horses scare, SO common
has become the sight Of a car, even
to a horse.
It vas perfectly natural for the
garage to follow the automobile as an
incident to 1t and today Keokuk main
tains ten Of them, that is ten garages
where cars are repaired and acces.
SORES purchased. 1t Is a failing OF
the auto driver to stop at every garage
along the route when he is travelling,
whether he needs anything or moi.
The automobile has brought the
farmer closer to Keokuk. IT has also
brought the surrounding towns closer
to Keokuk. And in the small towns
and the country districts the ratio of
the auto to the population is much
higher than in the cities. For in
stance. in many small towns Of Iowa
one out Of every six persons has a
car, and every farmer who can af.
ford a a regards It as a necessity.
Today farmers are bringing their
products to Keokuk in automobiles.
This is especially true Of those who
bring in milk, as it Is possible to bring
the milk in before it gets warm and
so deliver it in the best possible con-
l dJt}op CoyoroI dovo oCo forpoor