Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-02

MOT so long ago there was a forlorn.
~ diminutive, low.caste demon that
labored unhonored and unknown to fame.
He grubbed at odous tasks in the kitchens
Of the land. He cleaned carpets and took
out stains. He was supposed to be
especially talented at the business of light
ing hres in stoves. He seemed condemned
to inglorious travail for all time. And yet
he ached for polite society. Occasionally,
to display his talent. he would rend the
walls of house and send cook or two
hurting magnifcently into the blue sky.
Now he Is universally courted. He moves
with the best people. 1t is even said that
he will win the war for U.S.
LIE IS the obscure devil that bides in
II gasoline.
TNHURSDAY will be the silver anniversary
L of his deliverance from hateful bond
age because the first Amertcan-made
gasoline automobile turned its wheels on
July 4, 1898. At Greentown. Ind. Elwood
Haynes climbed upon fearful looking con-
traption and moved off while the populace
fed for safety. Mr.. Haynes's machine could
average seven miles an hour. and you could
hear II three miles away. Now there is
motorcar for every twenty-four persons in
the United States
TINE amazing thing about most auto
l. mobiles is that they go at all. Few men
know why the wheels turn round A
gasoline motor Is a seething furnace OF
exploding gases kept cool by water
Gasoline oil, air and water are needed con-
stantly in SUCH a machine. That Is all
that most drivers know. OF the mysteries
of the pumps and the electrical equipment
most men prefer to be ignorant. Most
cars are sadly misused In consequence.
THE automobile Is not unlike the age We
l. live in, since It is bursting with mixed
impulses of good and evil. 1t came upon
the age suddenly and stealthily, just as II
the age were a gentle old lady trying to
cross the street. 1t has compelled exten-
sive revisions in the street plans OF cities.
And as It continues to crowd and multiply
engineers have been driven to desperation
In efforts to adapt the established order
of city streets to it's uses. In the future
motor traffic is sure to have streets and
avenues reserved and even especially
built for II.
DUNDITs have feared that TIE auto
l. mobile may make this an age OF liars
| There Is, indeed, danger OF some such
| calamity. The men who used to lie in
| sistently about the fish they caught now
| devote their talents to the glorihcation OF
| their automobiles. 1t is rare that a man
| can be found who will say anything un
| gracious about the car he drives. Indeed
a man who is meticulously candid and
truthful in every other relation will lie
like a German diploniatist for the honor OF
| his automobile. He will lie about its
speed, its agility. its getaway, the miles II
will do on gallon of gasoline and its
might upon the hills.
| THERE Is a reason for all this. An
l. automobile is more faithful than dog
And. like dog, II takes unto itself
something of the character Of the
| man who drives II. The versatile
devil that bides In gasoline is moth
ing II not adaptable. Thus the auto
mobile that takes a man demureiy tt
church on Sunday morning may often be
seen the next night lolling in state at the
doors Of a cabaret or brawling At sixty
miles an hour over a country road to show
that 1t Is as game and as various as its