Gunnison news-champion., 1920-02-13
The DAY OF TaE AUToxoBuLE

Exehange:-
We have become . nation ON wheels.
u IS estimated that every man in the
United States could climb into an auto
and be transported from one place to
another at the same time, says the
New York Commercial II the popu-
iarIty Of the machine continues at the
present rate of progression, it will
not be long before il will be possible
to include the women and children, so
so that il il became necessary for the
entire population to flee the United
States on the occasion Of an invasion
from Mars or somewhere else. there
would be transportation facilities
enough to do the whole thing at once.
This il all the development of the
last twenty years. The closing years
Of the last century witnessed the be-
ginning Of the present industry. They
were called "horseless carriages" until
the word automobile" was coined and
some wild guesses predicted that with
in another twenty years the horse
would disappear entirely from the
streets. Those were the days when
there were horse cars on Broadway.
and mail trucks and fire engines were
hauled BY horses. The horse has al
most disappeared just as was predict
ed, and We read that all remaining
fire horses are to 20. The city Of
New York still has 358 fire horses and
the expense Of their upkeep is SO
great that the entire department is to
be motorized. The practical point is
that the motor machine gets there
quicker, covers a wider territory and
Is much more effective in every way,
to say nothing Of the lessened upkeep.
As for pleasure cars, they have been
necessary development Of the age,
They have enabled our crowded city
populations to spread out over the
surrounding territory, but their great
est value has probably been the ending
Of the isolation Of rural communities.
This one factor alone is of supreme
economic value. 1t has made farmers
sons and daughters more willing to re-
main on the farm il they could keep
in touch with farm life such as is now
possible with the ease of communica-
tion. 1t has forced the DEVELOPMENT
Of good roads, in themselves a splen-
did asset to any community. In fact,
il one were to begin to catalogue the
benefits resulting from the motor driv-
en- car, it would that the tremendous
development of the times was very
largely based upon it. The late war
was really fought with motor trucks
for without them the tremendous feats
OF army transport would have been
impossible, while for peace require
ments the volume Of merchandise now
moved by truck could not possibly be
handled by horse vehicles nor by ex-
isting railroad facilities.
To one who has followed the devel-
opment of the automobile from the
horseless carriage age to the present
day of superb pleasure cars, motor
trucks, and fire apparatus, the evolu-
top has been one of unfolding interest.
Manufacturers turned their attention
first to the development Of the motor
driven pleasure car. and indeed It
was not until q fairly uniform type
had been established that the problem
of trucks was taken up. 1t seems a
far cry from the old one-lung chain
driven car which provoked the topical
song Of: Get out and get under" to
the present multiple cylinder, smooth
running, noiseless vehicle, which in the
days of the former would have been
considered as suitable only for a
prince Of India. Present day cars are
tribute to American skill and genius,
in their development Of power and sta
bility, and what Is equally important,
their "foolproffness." Even for those
who do not drive cars Of their own,
there is q certain thrill Of pride in
these finished products Of American
achievement.