Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-06-28

lea and the rest OF the world might
still be without their automobiles
When present day Americas, who
could with difficulty contemplate what
the world would be like without the
automobile, recover from the shock
Of this suggestion they will naturally
ask FOR proof And they must get Il
They will probably have forgotten The
fact that the pneumatic tire was In
vented IN ireland. and without the air
tire Il is perfect safe to say that the
automobile as We know Il today could
never have reached the state Of per
fection 10 which II has been brought
More than this the man WIN invented
the air tire Is still alive and nutwith
standing his eighty-two years Is quite
well and hearty. | can vouoh for this
for only yesterday afternoon | spent
a couple Of delightful hours with him
al his home In Aileshury Itoad. Dub
lin. ireland was IN other respects I'm
''on The ground floor" In the autofno-
bile business Was 1t not here that the
first great Gordon ilennetf motor race
vas held uvpr twenty Years ago, and
Is Il not Il fact that u of the first
newspapers, The Mptor News. pub
lished In Dublin. has Just celebrated
its twenty year in great special
coming of age number.
In the Motor News special number
/ which is edited by its founder. MIR II.
y Mecredy and his able partner. MIR
I J. g. Percy, there IS special note by
/ the great London New spaper Magnate.
/ Lord Northcliffe, IN which he paws a
/ tribute to Mecredy'a pioneer work both
+ IN cycling and motoring Indeed i
he writes the effect ~ his personal
work In thu early days cycling had
an innrence on the world which very
+ few people realize. The internal com
/ bustion engine for land sea and air
was the outcnme of the motor car
without the pneumatic tire high aiypd
automobile vehicles would have been
impossible and the motor car could
not have developed type If engine
which eventually became the engine
~ aeroplanes. Public attention to the
pneumatic tire Was brought about ht
Mecredy.
IN the romantic page nf hietof5
which viii portray the rise aua ,la
veiorment af the pneumatic ilr,. and
automobile, ireland must ueetlts a
very large sna,e. The page has. how
ever. yet to be written, but Mt Dun-
op who invented the air tire hpuea
notwithsta nding his great age to sup
ply il before long. 1t waH with feel
tngs of profound interest that yes
teriay evening armed with an intro
duction from Mr.. J. c. Percy that /
sought Mr.. Dunlop at his residence
lie welcomed me cordially. A veneer
able figure with a l5ng natriarrhlal
beard, now almost entirely white. he
looked rather like one Of the fathers /
% the old Testament than the chief
originator Of the prize means Of To- /
connection uf the present era. Some
what cnfpehled physically lis mind i +
as active to-day as it was III his prime
Strewn round about were pagea nf
manuscript run of psohlen,s acIsntif. I
ic and otherwise which he IL hnsiiv
enga Ecd in solving
While he entered heartily into a fits
cussion of his part in tho development
# the cycle and the motor ear. one
soon became aware of the fact that
the remarkable mind does not confinpi
itself - activities regarding mechan-
ical matters. lie has studied every
disease that the human flesh il heir
10, hygiene and health Problems in
terest him intensely and some Of those
problems lying around have tor their
object the soutiun uf ahstrtse 1urs-
tinns which have baffted the ages
true. Il is a somewhat weak point
50 lar a. lrciand+s claim IA the matter
81 the invention of the pneumatic tire
Is concerned, 10 have 10 admit thar
Mr.. Dunlop is Of Scotch nationality
lie was born in Ayr. As Mr.. percy
VINO Is q eonfirmed punstrr, said 10
me II Is appropriate that the man
VINO invented the air tire should have
pe'n bofn IN Ayr" But to all intents
ana purposes he is Irish. for at the
age II ~. he came to Ireland has
liVed his long life here and hopes Ia
finish here.
Born in 1870 on the 9Th Of Febrn-
ary, he chose the veterinar, nro-
'ession much against his parents wish
since they regarded him as to quiet
70 oe success IN The business of eur.
ing animal diseases. At the age of
~ he received his diploma It The
Royal Dicks Veterinary Cauera
Edinburgh, and immediately after h.
.aine 10 Downpatriek County Down,
ireland, where hc started his frst
3racticc From there he went 10 BE-
ast where he was soon regarded rs
ne IeaalhS man ia his profession. H.
'peciali@ed IN the preparation Of sfs.
1ii compounds for numerous animal
ascases, and although that is mo-,
uity Years ago many If then, A.
IN III use by his successors. liz
'stentcd these and before long fro.5
iiss. sources alone he nefted Il Very
handsome Torture. His success as
.eteiinary practitioner, he told mo #
vas due to the great care he aipays
Xercised and his avoidance of violent
measures HI
II was in the year 1887 that he in H
ented the pneumatic tire As usual /
. such cases the idea came about +
cry simply. III
i had noticed" he said, when /
al at school that wooden agricl1l- !
Gral roller Of large dimensions he Il
1nging to my father was much easier +
. draw than a lighter stone roller II I
.sser diameter. Obviously the larger t
oiler SKINNED over the surface of
he soft ground because the area - i
he surface Of the roller in contact tI
18th the ground was comparatively /
'rge and therefore the pressure per 4
nit Of area comparatively small. iii
lought Of all sorts Of spring wheAis I
aving flexible steel rims. that would +
atten out on the road and Inns ia i
rease the contact area as well as ra Il