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

IN BEHALF OF THE HORSE.

nOTEemeu quote certain figures %.
tanned from . large packing house
which shows that ''the cost of de-
livery for an average trip Of 10
miles was IS cents per hundred
weight, with . two-ton motor truck.
as against Is cents for q one-horse
wagon This does not take into
consideration the cost OF deprecia-
ton in the auto truck which during
the second year would be greatly
increased, while there would be
very little depreciation in a wagon,
they point out.
The initial cost Of the two-ton
truck. according to the horsemen.
is $1,000, while a two-horse truck,
including horse and harness, costs
only thousand dollars. The mo-
tor truck wears out in five years,
while the horse-drawn vehicle. the
horsemen claim. will have to 'be
discarded only at the end Of Is
years. Mules are even more eco
nomical, they assert. You can buy
two teams of mules for thousand
dollars, which will do as much
work as five-ton truck for which
you must pay $4,000. Overlooking,
they declare, Is much less danger
Gus with horse-drawn vehicles than
with motor apparatus.
As an illustration of this super
Tor efficiency of mules to trucks,
the association says it knows Of
two mules that originally cost only
$500 which have been driven on
the streets Of Richmond for the
/ last IA years. During this time,
the horsemen figure, these two
mules have Travelled a distance
nearly twice the circumference of
the earth and have hauled a tom
mage equal to a freight train 26
miles in lenSth, or some such COM
parison.
For the short time that it has
been in existence the Horse Pub
licity Association of America has
gathered a large and bewildering
lot of data to sustain its horse ar
guments. 1t has even gone elab~
orately into the sentimental as
poets Of the question, calling atten-
ton to the horses faithful attach
ment to man from the dawning of
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 a
statue of an automobile, or if you
ever read poem written about a
garage.
After quoting long lists of fig
ures of delivery costs in favor of
the horse, the other day. a member
of the association who was ad-
dressing a number of local busi-
ness men finally clinched his ar
gument with the following ques-
ton:
"Do you know why Major Gen.
eral Leonard Wood gets the most
applause whenever his picture is
flashed on a movie screen along
with all the other possible presi-
Dental candidates?
Because" he said, answering
his own question with dramatic
emphasis, Wood is always shown
accompanied by horse. He would
Tot get half so much applause if
he were shown sitting in an auto
1 mobile"
The Horse Publicity association
is the result Of an Indignation meet
ing held not long ago by all the
various interests throughout the
country concerned with the use OF
the horse as means of transporta-
! ton. 1t is astonishing to discover
how many such interests there are
In addition to horse owners, horse
breeders, farmers and ranchers
horse dealers, horse and stable
supply men who attended the meet
ing. for example, there were pres
ent horseshoe manufacturers, wire
land nail manufacturers, black
smiths, veterinarians, harness. and
saddle makers, wagon and truck
builders, harness dealers, livery
stable owners, truck and express
company representatives. contrac-
tors and builders. hay press manu-
facturers. hay shippers, feed deal.
ers and experts of the United
States bureau of animal industry.
All of these interests have suf.
fered by the decline of the horse as
a beast of burden. All of them are
now prepared to launch an expens-
, i've and widespread campaign to re.
build the commercial popularity o.
the horse. and to delay as long as
possible his actual extinction. But
, some of them secretly admit that
they are afraid they are too late
; For the automobile industry has
ceased arguing in favor of trucks
} it is merely selling them.
I'VE no longer have to argue tina,
horses are too expensive for loca
hauling" declared an automobile
manufacturer here the other day
Even the farmer admits that now
1t will not be long before motor
: trucks have not only replaced
horses in our transportation sys
, tenn, but will replace steam"