The San Francisco call. [volume], February 24, 1907, Page 3, Image 3

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
.:.\u25a0:\u25a0. - *-
TheJSan JPxanci§ca Siindiy X#alL
HOW THE AUTOMOBILE
HAS INVADED BUSINESS
AND THE INDUSTRIES
in amstwai fields bnt V«eo mm
sorprlsinc. that some ' d*y, like
Alexander It may siri for cow
worlds to Invade. TTfcat tbje atrtomo
blle has already accomplished jia^inm
its brief lite Is amazing; what It may _
accomplish during the hextiflecade may
rrovo more amazing ttilV Primarily
designed tor pleasure, the domains of :
the commercial, industrial" and s>grl-!'
cultural worlds are being .entered and
their manifold problems mst'ud selTed''
by the generative gasoline motor.
This Invasion of the business world
is a remarkable fact In Stself, but It
Is rendered still more remarkable by -
the early history of tbje automobile.
and the difficulties attesting it oa the
rocky way to Its preseatday success.,
It may surprise many to learn that the
first automobile was oiade In China,
and was a weird and uncanny affair
operated by foot. This wias In 1552, and ,
.the next motor car that Pawned on the,
horizon was in 1601, and seems to i
have been operated by something re
i sembllng steam. In the seventeenth
century a good German burgher was
popularly supposed to be inhabited by
*vl! spirits because h» constructed and
i navigated .throngh. tlae streets ef his
1 native town a fearfully and wonder
\u25a0 fully made machine. ; wtJcn It took both
| feet aad bands to ebct. There were
! others. Franc* h*Aj her crasy ones,
\u25a0 too, but there werW xaore determined
'and undaunted pars pen «f the Idea of
I ft self-propelling machine in John Bull's
; tight little Island Uiasx anywherel T Ev- -
«rybody laughed e.t else, but
they kept on tryicjg. It was Newton
awa*y back In 1650 who conceived the
thought of steam . as ft motive power,
but for some rearton the idea was sot
pet into practical' operation. A little
later ft French officer built a sort of
artillery carriage which was clumsily
operated by steam, but it was crude
'and almost useless in ttye face of acci
dent.
In England, Jsanes Watt had patent
ed & steam cax)rlage, but It was far
from being the, conception /Watt had
fancied; still, fit bad far-reaching j,r«
sults, for » William Murdock. a subor- '
dinate of Wafcfs. thought that high
pressure tvoul^. solve the problem. In
pursuance of **Jxls Idea he used to ex- .
; perlment witn, a dull, clanking ma
chine which coeaked and groaned mo^st
lodostrioutly -over the country roads
,at night. Thibse of the neighbors who '•':
gpled it promptly took to their heels,'
believing it the devil, and large, stories
spread. Wsftt made Murdock give' up i
his nocturmfl practices, and the growth
of the molijr car ceased till another
Englishman,' came along who Intro-:
duced a Gearing between the . crank
shaft and fthe road wheel, which _im-;
proved th>» machine vastly. In/Tthe
United States there were several gen-.
iuses toilJJag and molling i for, the same
end with the result that there were;
several carriages In - operation, notably '
one in New Orleans' which ran quite
' respecUbily by means of "clockwork^ so
on the 'Wtvele the automobile bushier.'
•v«n back .In the gr«at-great-siand
father days was active- * . :
Brerythlnr irai progressing/ beau
tifully when the trusts of those days
decided to take «; hand. The machine
had made such' forward strides that
twenty or more were running about
London, aad 'there were : , ; five"' regular
cars 'tn service which \u25a0 carried 12.000
people over 4000 miles In 20 weeks.
This" was going altogether too fast to
pleas a whal Is knownVas ... the. "Turn
pike ; Trust/ a corporation' which
owned thousands of ' horses and hun
dreds of; stagecoaches, and which, had
a monopoly on all business coming Its'
way. The Turnpike Trust \ didn't care
much about "the, automobile/ so It set
to work in its 4 town little r way.' It dujp
trenches along the motor car high
ways, tore up the roads for miles at a
stretch and made things generally un«;
pleasant. Parliament backed up "the
trust by enforcing obedience to a law
compelling' every self-propelling yehW>
cle on a public highway to.be pre
ceded by a man walking and carrying
a red flag.- This: absurd! law endured
until 1895, when Its repeal v v was cele-'
brated by a glorious procession of self-.
propelled .vehicles 'from • London to
. Brighton*... s * /
'.The First Real / ' .- * ' %
But the English; Inventors had. failed;
; in. the 'very essence of the thing. ; : As ' it .
became clear that ; some other elemenVt
: besides . steam w^as . needed, many, bril-'
Hant minds set ,to '_' work^ upon ;" : dKe';
scheme; \u25a0 but > It Is ,to 'America .thatXth'e;
: honor of gaining the goal \u25a0 first; Is due,"
for'jit was i an American, George* B.
SelaenV> a'" student of * law 'at ; Harvard,
who conceived and carried out the idea!
of, lnternal combustion* applied as mo
tive power. - But Seldan* was \a > busy ':
* man, and 'it was , not * until '1875 \ that
' he.found tljne v to build a^ machine ac'-,
cordlngrito \u25a0 his plan. That :; machine,',
however,' ls the father of the motor car
,of today. At the 'time Selden was work-,
ing on his ; invention? public opinion
•against him ran , so nigh" that it 'was
; not safe .for .him / to venture \ on the
\ pubic; highways ''.With his machine. -\ lie
iwas advised to take care of his family
and >\u25a0 to let alone, j In this
connection it is interesting'to state that
80 per cent of the; Aniejlcan: machines
;are;'inaßufactare^'jby.:periAisßtoa 4 of : -Mr.''
Selden. and i CO 'per; cent r ;"of- the forel^a
fears come under thesaioe law.
.: The; event; which caused the great
awakening'^ 6f "American" : lndustry, .was
the ; Herald 'race- fn Chicago^ \u0084 which'
.out every, type. "and ;descrlp- :
j.tlon of^vehicle^to, compete; - Since then
?the motor : car. has been steadily ad
vancing. The J motor \u25a0' is" still Vfar from
\ perfection, 'but' new 'Improvements \u25a0 be
; ing constantly added render the area; of
; the xobtor7of' the future
practically unlimited. '\u25a0'*' The for
.today ; eoj f ar^eiceeds i the f supply"
.'that ; al thooirb" ttier «^are \ 150 m'akeri 'of
-cars Inithe]United.States.^and ; th^ibir
i factories emplo"y *f roiri 3000Tto '4000 'men
each, tncy ; are unable to cope-xrithtfj oi
need." V One large firm "'evS^! before /
the; opening of the season:- had sold
its J entire- output* of-cars and- was con
elderlng' arrangements for the stock
of 1908. ; It is ' estimated that the .out-;
put of automobiles i for'JISOT; Will' ;be
r valued^. at* ; *57,000,000 i' Including the
cars- expected to 'be.; sold from, last
year'ai; supply, which may to":
$18,000,0 00 1 more,*, there * will % bis --' about ;
$75,000,000 /c expended - for i ca"rs -during"
this;iyear.rCThej United : States?/ today
counts *, 100,000 ?: ' automobiles '-In ; use"* in
Us v dlff erent l > sections, ; which > represent =
mot-el than i?200,000,000\ and^ a combined'
motive"; power jof i 2,000.000, horses.' • ; - ;
. Oddly| enough; the. State s owning the
largest^ number/ of ;cars^l3:Hhe ; little"
one/of }New/ Jersey. ,;,. This "iis r .because:
there|are no finer roads -anywhere,';" and
!, automobiles ;:from , adjacent * States "1 use
her Jroads as a' touring: field. ;- New^Tork ;
State^has^O.OOOfcars;; while" California,'
withv her tremendous ;!area,? can' claim
but; 3000. /But;; thi3^lack:. of:" touring
cars yis , attributed i to ' the
poor!; condition - of t - many fof j her I roads. 1 '
r which f niakes driving: >at car 'over >, them
'expensive. « However,-' California 1 makes
; up ; for '\u25a0-: this }by ?\u25a0; the f only ;.:- State"
in the Union where so j large a "numbfr
of .motor, machines are used. in farm
\u25a0work: for in .the great ranches of , the
• Sacramento and . San "Joaquin ,the mo
tor.; wagon;; Is \ used^.by i the farmer to
haul, his grain 'direct to. market, and
the motor : In plowing, threshing .and
grinding. , ; with* twice the- case of the
old' style ; methods- and ten times its
\u25a0 rapidity ; and accuracy. *
Pushing Its Way
'.The! advent] of the motor car in- com
mercial!, and- industriar: centers has
caused a distinct advance In the volume
of business handled, j In the industrial
"•ivorldi the ~'-\ motor •;, wagon •• Is ' _able to
carry, merchandise^ from the factory to
the warehouse;* or* from- the retailer to
consumer at aya v much cheaper rate than
was possible:; when-. horses were the
main factors for hauling, purposes. For
the sarhe'reason the ..commercial- world
has; welcomed; lt !witH-bpen arms.' Re
tail houses use It to deliver theirgoods;
physicians save .valuable time \u25a0 in*, reach-"
ing thV,bed3ides.of thejsick, and'num-,'
bcrlcss^ factories,-. breweries, and other'
like firms are : finding it an efficient
and cooperative factor. \u25a0 For civic serf;
.vice its » uses are . multiplied.
:'v"i Government- institutions, such as the
postofflce. tlnd it thoroughly adapted to .
their' needs, for it ', not: only; decreases -
the •;\u25a0 area . of ai city , but increases \u25a0 the .
efficiency, of , the;: work s performed by
; leaving an unhurried :! official more time
in which ; to ; perform j his .duties. Tie
•'great*,- metropolitan j newspapers use it
foivquick delivery: of parks \u25a0
; and :.buildings; would :^b'o unable
<to 'I cover ; their ; routes ' in \ the ; prescribed .
\u25a0\u25a0 time iwere It 1 not^for the-ever/ready'
rao,tor; car. . ,In . eeyeral ; European .cities
Uhe. trolleyi lines; have: been almost fen- i
>tirely i supplanted iby,, the : motor ; omni-T
bus.T.which^hJasiJtbeXadvantage;of : not
needing power, houses and .which cannot
ibe J thrown *\outft°' \u25a0\u25a0• coinmissioh;:.by r a
ibreakiin .the" line" which,\withi the '- trol- 5
ley," disables the "entire 1 system.". ;-*ln;, the
military^: field: its "usefulness; is J a'i thing j
•past *questlonv'J;lt ? can 'transport j^ rapid-.
\u25a0 firings guns;"; or;-, take \ the i place -/of.; the -
;packiinule.",performlnßr>both duties r in ; ;
a jthird^or.a , foufthipf the^-time re
\u25a0 quired Cunder^the 'old "system.^ As; an '
t it's !,wor k.\u25a0 has 7, been hi ghly '':
j approved." 'Think twhat %it i means to ' a
"dangerously^woundediman. whose safety
* may;= be |a}matter lot ] minutes ! X,*ln the ;
i Fire --- Department 't\ expenses 7 - are cv t
'."downiVa" /,the % motor^engine - does no t
j consume fuel'sW&eh^ldiehpubllc property
«and s : private \% dwellings ;; are •*• saved >. in
I many cases (by: a ' quicK appearance \on
SBBBsflEflnffimS^ .'.. >
the sc;ne jind the wear and tear of
the heavy trucks on the pavement done
away with to the satisfaction of the
city- authorities. It is used as a street
sprinkler, all repair departments are
finding 1 it". effective, and street conges
tion has been markedly lessened as the
motor vehicle does not take up as much
NEW AND INGENIOUS TALLIES FOR CARD PARTIES
THE liveliness of card parties and
progressive games has been
greatly accentuated this winter
\u25a0. ;•., by..' the^,, novelty of . some of the.
tallies which have lately been orig- *
inate»l.. Indeed, progressive games
especially are too easy and jolly a
means of entertaining a number of
guests : for them ever • to. ''grow old--!
fashioned. The tallies used are always
a matted of consideration. Decorated
cards -bearing, the guests' names, their
places a» the 'tables and subject, as the
garoe goes? en. to baying gilded stars
pasted on them," have after many win
ters of popularity been laid aside for
newer things equally, efficient as score
•keepers.'" J. 1 ,
f. Recently, at a meeting of a small card
club "bracelets . were given to the
women as J tallies ami -key rings to
the men. '.These bracelets had been'ex
pressly : made, of "heavy copper wire.
They "slipped over the hand and hung"
loosely 'on thp arm: after, the .manner
of bangles.;- The* key „ ring's were also
made; of copper wire, although some
what^lighter r in weight, and had been
twisted Into •shape by the same Jeweler
who '.; fashioned': the bracelets. . As the J
partr assembled each one of the guests
drew. from the number a ring or bangle
and learned by ~l the \u25a0.', little . ribbon tied
on it, at which table :a . place was to
t be, taken. ;' The women slipped the ban
-gles , on? their; arms;7 the men. suttaa
key rings in their pockets. ; Later lit
tle brass bells were passed, 'around to
be hung on ; the" tallies "of : the winners,
while ;downs and ?,tlny pigs . decorated
those \so unfortunate as to' lose. \, Be
fore J the end of ithe game there was '
naturally a : merry Jingle of these trin
kets..; ; " f .
..There are.; lndaed, an infinite* number*
of/. lnexpensive 'brass charms which
- might be bought It or this : purpose" and
: which". would add^toMhe ; jollity of the
jgame.' "The ildea.i. moreover. .is 1 not - *>'
'costly, one ; tb* put in execution. : In fact. -
at the mentioned card pajty there were
\u25a0pics as en ordisary wasor., and mores
twice as quickly.
The most extraordinary ns« to which
the übiquitous motor car has yet been
put Is that of a funeral car. This can
only be seen In Paris, but even In this
particular its merits are obvious. The
distances to interment centers, which
took formerly several hours to covar.
are shortened by this means, and the
•low pace of the hor3«s no longrer* neces
sxry. The motor hearse Is absolutely
noiseless In operation and is capabl*
of making from one to forty miles an
hour. Another, innovation 13 the in
troduction of motor cabs in London,
which are fitted with an apparatus
called a taximeter which registers the
distance gone over and the far*
charged.
VThat. then, are the possibilities, of
a vehicle which has accomplished ail
these marked Innovations In less than
& dozen years? Looked upon as a mere
plaything in the days of its birth. It
bids fair to become the giant of the
age. Almost It makes one bellare In
prophecy; for if one remembers. Mother
Shipman foretold Its coming In an old.
old rhyme. One does believe, for the
"roots of the future are In the pres
ent," and If the wagon, why not the
stagecoach; if the stagecoach, why not
the railroad: if the railroad, why not
the automobile, and if the automobile,
why. not the flying machine? Can
prophecy further go?
present or«r fifty people and the cost
of the tallies amounted to leas than
seven dollars. Roman fibulas instead
of bangles might be given tOj th«*
women for charm holders. On their
bodices the fibulae would 'appear very
decorattva ami the inconvenience that
some flnd in playing cards while w*ar
ing a bangle would be overcome. Neck
and -watch chains are also being U3ed
for tallies at gay card parties. In
choosing them the best tast* calls for
effective and Inexpensive on**; Lars^
brilliant Venetian beads are strung 1
on the' women's .chains 'whenever they
are winners, and either, black or *vhit«
opaque ones Indicate that th*»y hwa
been losers. T«> str;ng «»n th« me Til*.,.
watch chains any selection of h«*;tda i
can be made, so longr a* tvv<> dUrtinct'j
kinds are used, indicative of .«rmt-egs ».r
failure. Yellow and red arv gay tolors-'
Little pincushions, have -als«» -found
a place this winter as extremely ;tt
tractive tallies. For the women tiipy
are inadf of red «-!oth in th»- ahnpe ot\u0094
hearts and diamonds. ' Th»» mi»n. ar*; : ,
given those of black cloth cut in.thn -
shape of spades and dubs. As a means
then of recording the games srood sized
china beaded pins of two distinct colon
are , passed around, black ones usually
.being chosen as indicative of failure.
The pincushions for the men are con
siderably smaller than those given to
the .women, They are designed for tho
waistcoat pocket, ai2 often are found
.useful locs' after the party is over. ~ As «
soon as a good pattern for- these tallies
Is drawn they can be dexterously mada
at homo with very small cost.
Small embroidery hoops for women*
and tiny bows and arrows for men ara ,
also used this season as tallies fo? card,
parties. Their, repeated decoration with,*
narrow ribbons of antagonlstia colors '
is the means of keeping tUs score. \u25a0
-These things, however, have to~b« car
ried« from table to table; and. since it
Is desirable. to have the hands £r«« at
& card party, they are not In <tolt* a*
high favor as taliiss that ua b* worn, j