The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1920-07-22
'0utworn Ideas About the Auto
mobile

necessity.
In its traffic ordinances, In dealing |
with narrow streets and in Ignoring |
the demand for great motor thor
oughfares it is still acting on the as
sumption that people really don't
need cars and could get along with
out them II they only would.
The trouble is that it is hard for us
to make our mental adjustments to
new conditions. Our old ideas cling
to us and hamper us when the condi-
tions on which they were based have |
passed away. The present generation
recalls yividly when the automobile
was regarded as a sort of freak, II
was a toy for eccentric persons OF
means to play with-and toy that
was nuisance to the rest OF the COM
munity. 1t made frightful noises. 1t
emitted terrible stencil. 1t put ey-
cry respectable family in jeopardy by
making 1t unsafe to go out with Old
Bess and the family carry-all. One OF
the noisy monsters was likely 10
come along any minute and cause a
runaway. Grudgingly we admitted
the automobile to decent society and
gave it some of the privileges of mod
ern life. 1t isn't so very many years
since 1t was permitted on the Cll1
Drive on sufferance two afternoons
a week. Not so very long ago the
council was discussing whether the
speed limit within the city should be
allowed to go above eight miles an
hour.
Many of us are still thinking OF
the motor car in terms OF twenty
years years ago when all the prophets
predicted that it would never be any
thing more than the plaything Tor
rich men. We still talk about 1t as
a luxury and when in a thrifty moou
speculate on how much the industry
is costing the country, and how much
tetter off it would be If the money
we're invested in houses or clothing
or what not.
And vet, if we consider the matter
fairly, we must admit that the motor
car has become an essential part OF
American life.
The truck, of course, is indispensl-
Bile. No delivery business could get
on without. 1t has supplemented the
horse-drawn vehicle within cities. 1t
is crowding the trolley and the steam
train or express service over short
hauls. There is no argument here.
But the sevice Of the passenger
car. while in some respects not to be
reckoned in dollars and cents, is just
as fundamental In every city tens
of thousands of persons use it as
means for rapid transit to and from
work. For the doctor, the salesman,
the painter and men in dozen other
occupations the motor car is busl-
ness vehicle pure and simple. 1t has
become increasingly the reliance OF
the farmer. 1t enables him to get to
town and back in an hour, whereas
| it used to take him the better part
Of a day. Finally, it is the greatest
possible aid to family life.
There may be persons who sneer
at such a statement as exaggerated
and who regard the relation of the
automobile to the home as OF negh-
gible value. They simply do not
comprehend the facts. To many
busy mother, both in country and
city, the family motor car has been
life saver. 1t has helped break
down the isolation and loneliness OF
farm life. 1t has enabled the city
woman to keep in touch with her
friends in distant parts of town IN
way never possible before, and 1t
has prOyided a means of recreation
for the whole family. Every warm
evening the Kansas City boulevards
swarm with cars carrying father'
mother and children. Every Sunday
the roads about the city are similarly
crowded. On a smaller scale the
same thing is going on in all the
smaller communities of the country.
When an article so meets the needs
of human nature in wholesome fash-
ion that it has come into almost uni
yersal use, 1t is simply stupid to wave
1t aside as unnecessary. or course,
we might live in a cave, as our an
cestors did, kill animals for food with
club and dress in their skins. We
could get on without bathrooms In
our homes, without electric lights,
without running water, without books
and magazines and newspapers. All
Of these modern inventions have TAX
en- labor that otherwise might be
turned to digging caves and making
clubs.
But 1t Is useless to talk about turn
ing back the clock. Human nature
makes civilization and In turn is
made by civilization. The automo-
bile has responded to the demands
Of modern life. 1t has become one
of the essentials, like the railroad and
the printing press.
In dealing with the various prob
lens involving 1t, I'VE shall go wrong
and butt our heads against stone
wall IL we fail to understand the i'm
portance of the motor driven vehicle
to the individual and to the commun-
ity as whole.-Kansas City Star.