New-York tribune., 1918-05-12
The Horse Is Doinq a
Slight Comeback
These Days

The war has given the horse a new
lease on life in the inevitably losing
battle which that animal is waging
to prevent the automobile from forcing
him into the glass cases along with
the remnants of the pterodactyl and
the mastodon.
Three years ago the number of
horses in America began to dwindle
and last year no less partisan of the
horse than the Secretary of Agriculture
said in his annual report: "Slowly but
surely the auto-truck is driving dray
horses from the city streets. Already
the automobile has effectually put the
driving horse off the country roads.
The farm demand for several years has
been the mainstay of the horse
| market"
But just at the moment that the
automobile had the horse dangling on
the ropes ready to sag under the fin
and under the stimulative effect Of a
heavy demand for cavalry horses and
for increased motive power throughout
the nation, he got back his wind and
| now is battling away with all four
| feet, determined to last out several
more rounds.
One automobile enthusiast has point
ed out that the horse eats SO much that
there would be an immediate demand
replace him quickly for the work which
must be done. BY way of statistics this
man points out that although only co.
| 900 900 acres of farm lands in this
country are devoted to wheat growing,
41,0O0,O00 acres are given up to oats
and 54,000,000 acres to hay, two articles
Of diet which arc essentially horsefeed.
Ninety-fve million acres for horsefeed
and only 60,000,000 for wheat in these
times when every acre counts shows
altogether too much favoritism to the
horse, in this mans opinion.
Having practically vanquished the
horse in the field of passenger trans
portation, the automobile is now taking
a new line of attack by making a strong
bid for supremacy in the field of truck
transportation.
A statistician of the United States
Tire Company estimates that nearly
100000 truck tires are now in use on
commercial vehicles in this country.
| The trucks in use have already sup
planted more than 100000 horses, and
over and there is a surplusage of mo-
tive power the auto trucks will stay
and the horses will go. The same may
be said of the farm tractors, which ap-
pear to be destined for an important
place on the farm at the expense Of
the horse.
The motor truck easily demonstrates
its superiority over the horse-drawn
truck in the present national emer-
gency, in which the automobile has
been called on to help out the rail-
roads. Although motor truck transpor-
tation has owed its very existence to
the solid rubber tire, the truck has
shown its best result in the present
emergency when equipped with pneu-
MATES - such, for instance, as the
"Nobby Cord"-which make long trips
at high speed possible without serious
wear and tear on the car and with a
great saving of gasolene.
Tire experts are of the opinion that
the solid tire will play An important
part in motor truck transportation for
years to come, but the Developments in
the pneumatic tire for this class of
work make it appear that the air tire
will displace the solid tire, except for
use on trucks of four tons and larger.
In the foregoing nothing has been
said about the automobiles. struggle
for supremacy with the mule. With
his usual obstinacy, the mule refuses
to get to one side and continues to
show an increase each year in this
country of from $4,000 to 100000.