South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-04-30
Seeing America
First
BY Fred Kelly.

When about to hire an automobile
in almost any big western city one
may have a great deal of quiet fun
in the following manner:
Go TO the hotel desk and inquire
the cost of automobiles The clerk
will pleasantly offer TO get you a car
for 81 an hour. Then stroll out of
your hotel across the street and you
will find plenty of high grade ma
chimes to be hired for 50 an hour
just as good machines and just as
good drivers as those for which the
hotel would have asked twice that
sum. But you must be sure to go
and inquire for the auto rates at the
hotel desk first-else you will not ap-
preciate the bargain you may find inn
mediately in front of the hotel.
Then. besides the touring cars TO be
chartered at such reasonable rates,
there are the jingling, jolly jitneys.
In San Francisco the jitney car seems
to have risen to the height of its use
fulness. There are so many Jitneys in
service that it is not necessary to wait
any longer than one would for a street
car.
One afternoon 1 was starting down
toward my hotel from one of the eX-
position exits. A taXicab man asked
me $1.60 to take me down-abOut a
. minute ride l thought it too much,
but he said he would lose money if he
did it for less. Just then a jitney man
came along in a neat, inoffensive, little,
Clearly washed car and offered to
haul me right 10 my hotel door for a
dime InaSmuch as the other man
would have lost money at any price
less than $3.50, l felt guilty over rid
ing for 10 cents. but the jitney Oper-
ator assured me it was perfectly all
right.
IF I could just keep my car filled, 3"
he told me, I would make a lot of
money. And / have no complaint as
il is For the last two months be-
sides my regular fixed expenses, which
includes my allowance for deprecia-
ton of tires and the car itself. I have
been putting $50 away in the bank
each month. And have allowed my
self a living wage for driving the
car"
This man also told me that he had
an early morning route to call at
homes of hardworking mechanics and
take them to their work They paid
him fixed sum by the week TO call
for them in the morning, and by do
ing so they were able not only to get
breath Of fresh air before going to
work. but could sleep a quarter Of an
hour longer and could avoid the per-
sonal discomfort of starting off the
day with a stand-up ride in crowded
street car.
I imagine these men Will easily n
crease their earning capacity enough,
by their comfortable work, to more
than overcome the slightly increased
cost of transportation.
A young man. evidently a scion Of
one of the first families. sat in a costly
new Fierce-SparrOw car which stood
by the curb as he waited for his par
ents There was a great deal of hau-
teur engraved on his features for one
so young. 4 pedestrian noted this
and walked up 70 the young man.
Rudolph" said he. in a patrOnizing
tone. will YOU haul me out 10 the fair
for a dime. or is your car engaged -
This is no jitney.' exclaimed the
horror-struck youth.
"Oh it's engaged. hey" went on
the Joker. pretending not TO under
stand We'll. here's a penny, any
how. just for luck. Take il home TO
your wife anS little ones"
And the yOungster was toe busy
gasping his surprise 10 refuse.
Another beauty OF the jitneys is the
they afford the lonely
passenger TO enlarge his acquaint-
ance In a street car one rarely talks
to the stranger at ones side. But
in a jitney every passenger talks 10
every other passenger. The novelty
of the thing makes conversation. a
great many romances are being
Matched in jitneys. Scenario writers
will derive more profit from the little