The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-03-05
THEHASKINLETTER
IN BEHALF OF THE HORSE
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

work as a five-ton truck for which YOU
must pay Sc 900. Overlooking, too, they
declare is much less dangerous with
horse drawn vehicles, than with motor
apparatus.
As an illustration of this superior eff
ficiency of mules to trucks, the asso-
citation says it knows of two mules that
originally cost only $500 which have
been driven on the streets Of Richmond
fnr the PAST IA wears, During this time,
have Travelled a distance nearly twice
the circumference of the earth and
have hauled a tonnage equal to a
freight train 26 miles in length, or some
such comparison.
For the short time that il has been
in existence. the Horse Publicity AS
ISOLATION of America has gathered a
large and bewidering lot Of data to
sustain its horse arguments, 1t has
even gone deliberately into the senti-
mental aspects of the question calling
attention to the horses faithful at
earliest history: to the poetry which has
been inspired by the horse, and to its
conspicuous place in sculpture. The
members of the association ask you
with tears in their voices if you ever
saw statue of an automobile, or II
you ever read a poem written about
garage,
After quoting long lists of figures of
delivery costs in favor of the horse,
the other day, a member of the associa--
ton who was addressing a number Of
local business men finally clinched his
argument with the following question:
DO YOU know why Maj. Gen.
Leonard Wood gets the most applause
whenever his picture is flashed on a
movie screen along with all the other
possible presidential candidates?
Because" he said. answering his own
question with dramatic pmDhaS sis
Wood is always shown accompanied by
a horse. He would not get half so
much applause if he were shown sit
ting in an automobile"
The Horse Publicity association is
the result of an Indignation meeting
held not long ago by all the various in
terests throughout the country con-
cerned with the use Of the horse as
means of transportation. 1t is aston
ishing to discover how many such in
tercsts there are. In addition to horse
owrcrE. horse breeders, farmers and
ranChers. horse dealers, horse and
stable supply men who attended the
meeting. for example, there were pres
ent horseshoe manufacturers wire and
nail manufacturers. blaCksmths, Veteri-
narians, harness and saddle makers,
wagon and truck builders, harness deal
ers livery stable owners, truck and eX-
IresS company representatives CON
tractors and builders. hay press manu-
facturers. hay shippers, feed dealers
and experts of the United States bureau
OF animal industry
All of these interests have suffered
by the decline of the horse as beast
of burGen. All of them are now pre-
paed to launch an expensive and wide
spread campaign to rebuild the com
rlercial popularity of the horse, and to
delay as long as possible his actual eX-
tinCtiON But some of them secretly
adm :, thai they are afraid they are too
late. Fol the automobile industry has
ceased arguing in favor of trucks-it is
nc. ely selling them.
we no longer have to argue that
hol~es arc too expensive for local haul
ing" declared an automobile manu-
fantlIcr here the other day. Even the
farmer admits that now. 1t will no ne
long before motor trucks have not DniY
replaced horses in our transportation
system. but will replace steam"