El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-04-17
Autos Not So MetU; Operated
ASFarBackAs 18th Century
IITHAT kind OF autos did they have
w IN 1912 Hear the ready

.YIyHAT kind OF autos did they have
w IN 1912 Hear the ready
in 1s2iF
But as It happens. there were au-
tomobiles as early as 1855; IN fact,
men began to experiment with motor
carriages almost as soon as the loco
motive engine became known Be
tween 1921 and 1870 number OF
motor. road carriages were built BY
private individuals. mostly clumsy
affairs of course. but practicable as
Tar as they went. All. Of course. ran
bv steam. The actual development
OF the automobile as we know It
waited on the invention Of the ex-
plosion motor. and as the first ex-
Dlosion motors were gas engines.
there was still another wait until
We had learned to store our fuel IN
liquid form. as gasoline, the spread
Of good roads. the development OF the
rubber tire. and a few other things,
the automobile had a clear field be-
says a writer Of a leading article in
the Universal Engineer.
Steam being practically the only
known power aside from air. which
drove windmills, etc. that very
naturally was first used for the au-
tomobile. being applied to wheel car
riages IN 1853 by one Nicholas Joseph
Cugnot. a French military engineer.
The ministry OF war. at that time
having become interested IN the in
vention. the carriage vas built with
public funds. but was unsuccessful
owing to the difficulty Of furnishing
water to the boiler or because Of the
fact that 10 could not run for more
than q short distance without stop
ping 20 get up steam Il has con-
siderable power, and was credited
with breaking down q stone wall in
one OF its journeys
Three wheeled Car
The second machine Is a three
wheeled car. the boiler being placed
in front, and the foreWheel driven
by a double cylinder engine. This
car is now preserved in the Conserva-
toire des Arts, at Paris. and Cugnot
may thus be credited with having
made the first successful horseless
carriage.
watt, in England, was too busy
with other work TO pay much atten-
don to passenger cars, but applied
for & patent for one in 1871, though
there Is no record OF his having fol
lowed the matter up he is said,
however in later years. to have been
opposed 20 steam carriages and would
not permit them 70 pass his resi-
an 177z oliver Evans. IN America.
started his Investigation OF steam
engine, petitioninE the legislature Of
Pennsylvania IN 1776 for the exclusive
right 70 use his invention for steam
carriages and flour mills. This was
granted in 1887, but the carriage part
OF il was entirely ignored. The leg
islature OF Maryland granted a SINH
lar petition IN 1887.
Evans IS said 10 have made for
the board OF health OF Philadelphia
= steam dredging machine which.
when finished. was mounted on
wheels and ran BY steam from the
shop where Il was built to the water
a distance Of one nile and a half.
where the wheels were removed and
the boat launched and steam used 20
turn the paddle wheels.
william Symlington, also an Eng
lishman. who Is supposed TO have
built the first practical steamboat,
also built a carriage in 1855 which
gave fair results. No really success
ful steam motor car was made fl
until 1901, when Richard
Trevithick produced a rude but prac-
teal locomotive which was first
tested on December 25. 1901 and ran
for several trips.
introduces Steam ExhauEt
Much Is due 20 his experiment. he
being the first TO Introduce exhaust
steam into the smoke stack.
From 1871 10 1870. carriages were
built for operation on common roads,
mostly by private individuals. all be-
Ing heavy End clumsy, not running
more than seven miles without stop