Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-02-16

New yOfK, Gu. IL No Aecs -
horse In Neg York is scheduled to
be auctioned OF this month, and
the entire Ere department is to be
motorized, much to the distress OF
the members OF the new Horse
Publicity Association Of America.
who are bitterly opposing every
substitution of a motor for horse.
In changing its means OF loco
motion. the fire department de-
clares that the city has grown SO
huge. and the distances to be COW
cred. are so long. that the horse is
no longer equal to The task-a con-
clusion which seems to be accepta-
BILE to everybody except this new
organization for the championship
Of the horse. They remain uncon-
WINGED until they see the actual fig-
ures. Are we sure, they ask eau
tiously, 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 H. P. A. A..
gets through with you. you have
the guilty feeling of having done
your favorite animal great injus-
tice, and that perhaps your knowl-
edge Of motor transportation is
about as limited as your opinions
concerning spiritism.
For the last few years it has
been taken for granted by most
people that as a means of quick
and efficient transportation the
horse was fast becoming a back
number. Gradually, more and more
trucks have appeared on the city
streets, and one by one the largest
business houses of the country
have sold their horses and intro
duced motor trucks into their de-
livery systems. Moreover, the sta
tistics show that this is not merely
an hallucination on the part of the
public, but that the number of
horses in industry is actually rap
idly decreasing.
In 1910, for example, there were
12S,224 horses on the streets TOT
New York. By 1917 that figure had
been reduced to 10S,036, while, &C
cording to the latest report of the
United States department of agri-
culture, there are only 75,74O
horses owned in the metropolis this
year. In Chicago the number of
| horses has decreased by II per
cent in the last year.
The Horse Publicity association
admits that these figures are only
. too true, but they believe this wide
spread 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 wag-
on, while old-fashioned, are a
cheaper means of transportation
than the motor truck. They do not
blame US for holding such a high
opinion of the efficiency of the mo-
tor truck, because. they assert, we
have been subjected TO the Iustiest
kind of an advertising campaign
for the last few years in which we
have been told ever and over again
how much better is the truck. Mil
lions of dollars have been spent by
the automobile industry, they de-
! clare, in convincing u.s. Now the
/, II. P. A. A. proposes to sHend a lot
more money in showing us that we
are all wrong.
I'VE horsemen have sat still and
twiddled our thumbs in the face oil
a situation that has called for Wig.
orous action" declared the secre-
tary of the association during a re-
cent meeting, many Of US fearing
or openly admitting that the auto.
mobile has doomed the horse, when
the most cursory investigation will
prove that the decline of the horse
has not been justified By the facts
in the case. What the horse needs
is a fair trial, and if condemned
we'll and good. But he won't be
condemned. The truth is that there
has been tremendous and sustain.
ed publicity campaign in behalf Of
the commercial automobile, so thai
the horse is actually being sacri.
feed to modern business methods
and advertising psychology. Mer.
chants purchase motor driver
trucks and delivery wagons fol
commercial purposes without ex
animation Of comparative costs
because they think it is the thins
to do. Horsemen are entirely a
fault for this condition. 1t is oul
aim to remedy the fault.
I've want to pound home thu
claim that for anything up to 1:
miles the horse is cheaper than thu
automobile It is our claim tha
for the short haul, the many-stol
traffic, the horse is more reliable
and cheaper than the motor, ant
that the growth of the automobil,
in this direction has been entirel,
fictitious. We believe that so pel
cent of all hauling can be don,
cheaper by horse than by automo
bile truck"
In proof of this contention, tn,