The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-03-05

y NEW (IK. March : lr last fire
,iorse in New York is scheduled tn be
aucticned eff this month, and the en-
tirn fire department is 10 0e motor
izr |, mucu to the distress OF the m"m-
bers OF the new Horse Publicity Asso
citation of America. who are bitterly OPP
posing every substitution of motor for
a horse.
In changing its means of loco,notilr.
the fire department declares that the
tances tc be covered are so long. that
me Forse is no longer equal to the
task--a conclusion which seems 10 be
ACCEPTABLE to everybody except this new
organization for the championship Of
the horse. They remain unconvineed
until they see the actual figures Are
we sure, they ask cautiously. that the
motor can outrun the horse? Do we
absolutely know that the motor is more
efficient, or do we merely think so?
And so on, until by the time the
II. p. A. A. gets through with YOU, YOU
have the guilty feeling of having done
your favorite animal a great injustice,
ana that perhaps your knowledge of
motor transportation is about as limited
as your opinions concerning spirtism.
For the past few years it has been
taken for granted by most people that
as means Of quick and efficient trans
Dortation. the horse was fast becoming
back number Gradually, more and
more trucks have appeared on the city
streets, and one by one the largest bust
ness houses Of the country have sold
their horses and introduced motor
trucks into their delivery systems.
Moreover, the statistics show that this
Is not merely hallucination on the
part OF the public, but that the number
OF horses in industry is actually RAPIDLY
decreasing
In 1910 for example. there were 123.-
horses a IF
BY 1917 that figure had been reduced
to lOS,036, while. according to the latest
report of the United States department
Of agriculture. there are only rs. 740
horses owned in the metropolis this
year. In Chicago the number of horses
has decreased by II per cent in the
past year.
The Horse Publicity association ad-
mlts that these figures are only too
true, but they believe this widespread
substitution Of the motor for the horse
is due to a mistaken sense Of values
on the part of the driving or delivering
public. They believe that we are all
motor mad, and that if we would only
pause and calmly consider the facts we
would find that the horse and wagon,
while old fashioned, are cheaper
means of transportation than the motor
truck They do not blame us for hold
ing high opinion Of the efficiency Of
the motor truck, because. they assert
We have been subjected to the lustiest
KIND of an advertising campaign for the
past few years in which we have been
told over and over again how much
better is the truck. Millions Of dollars
have been spent by the automobile in
dustrY, they declare. in convincing us
Now the II. 7. A. A. proposes to spend
lot more money in showing us that
We are all wrong.
We horsemen have sat still and
thnT1hg Of
situation that has called for vigorous
action" declared the secretary of the
association during recent meeting,
many OF us secretly fearing or openly
admitting that the automobile has
doomed the horse, when the most cur
decline of the horse has not been iusti-
fled by the facts in the case, What the
horse needs Is fair trial and If con-
demned, we'll and good. But he won't
be condemned The truth is that there
has been a tremendous and sustained
publicity campaign in behalf Of the com
mercial automobile, SO that the horse
is actually being sacrificed to modern
business methods and advertising psy-
Choloey Merchants purchase motor
driven trucks and delivery wagons for
commercial purposes without eXamina-
Iion of comparative costs, because they
think 1t is the thing to do Horsemen
are entirely at fault for this condition.
1t is our aim to remedy the fault.
We want 10 pound hoppe TIE claim
that for anything up to IL miles. the
horse il cheaper than the automobile.
Il Is our claim that for the short haul
and many stop traffic, the horse is
more reliable and cheaper than tn
motor and that the growth of the auto
mobile in this direction has been en-
tircly fictitious. We believe that so
per cent of all hauling can be done
cheaper by horse than by automobile
truck
In nroof Of this contention the horse
mcr quote certain figures obtained fgcm
n large packing house which show t32t
the cost of delivery Tor an ave age
trim of ten.mles was 81 cents per Cwt.,
with a two ton automobile truck. as
AGAINST Is cents for one horse
wagon" This does not take into con-
sideratiuu the cost Of depreciation IN
the auto truck which during the second
year would he greatly increased, while
there would he very little depreciation
in a wagon, they point out.
The initial cost of the tWo-ton auto
truck according to the horsemen, is
s., 200. while a two-horse truck, includ
ing hnrse and harness, costs only $1,000
The motor truck wears out In five
wears while the horse driven vehicle
the horseman claim. will have to be
discarded only at the end of 10 years
Mules are even more economical, they
asset. You can buy two teams OF
mules for $1,000. which will do as much