Automobile

au-to-mo'bil, a road vehicle carrying its own motive power. It is a nineteenth century realization of the prophecy made by the ingenious medieval monk, Roger Bacon, "We will be able to propel carriages with incredible speed without the assistance of any animal." The theory of the automobile was known to Solomon de Coste of Normandy in 1641. He wrote a book on the propulsion of carriages by steam power, and was cast into a Paris madhouse for it by Cardinal Richelieu.

Steam motors for road use appear to have been the subject of more or less successful experiment in France as early as 1769. In England, Watts, the illustrious inventor, took out a patent for a steam carriage in 1784. For a time it was an open question whether the passenger locomotive of the future should travel on public highways or on metal rails. About 1835 interest in the steam carriage ceased for a time. In 1894 the modern automobile made its appearance at Paris. At first it was a scientific curiosity, then an expensive toy, later a desirable luxury, and now it bids fair to take a place as an indispensable ranking with the carriage and the farm wagon.

The kinds of power used are steam, electricity, and gasoline. The electric motor was introduced first in this country. It is operated by a storage battery which must be recharged at frequent intervals of say forty miles. The steam carriage carries a small engine with boiler, fuel, and water tank complete, and runs, of course, until its fuel, chiefly gasoline, and water give out. The gasoline car is propelled by the explosions of gasoline vapor in the cylinder. At present the electric or storage battery car is safest, quickest to put in operation, and most easily cared for; steam is the most powerful motive force; gasoline seems best adapted for long runs. Recently kerosene has been coming into favor as a fuel. Among the arguments in favor of the automobile is its freedom from the strong objection to livery stables and barns in the city, and the further fact that, when not in use, an automobile eats nothing and needs little care beyond shelter.

As compared with a railway locomotive, it is claimed that, while sixty-five miles an hour is the limit of safety for an engine running on rails, the racing automobile on a broad firm road makes easy work of 90 and even 100 miles an hour. It is the swiftest vehicle on record. The hawk can outfly an auto, but the swiftest animal that runs can be left behind. The Vanderbilt prize for a 300 mile race or ten trips around a triangular thirty mile course on Long Island was won in the autumn of 1904 in five hours, twenty-five minutes, and forty-five hours, and forty-five seconds, with the second machine less than two minutes in the rear. The automobile has a record, too, for traveling 1,000 miles without pause or stop. It is able to climb a hill ascending one foot in three, a feat impossible for a locomotive. It is claimed that an auto whirling along at the rate of twelve miles an hour can be brought to a standstill inside of four feet. No other human contrivance is capable of drawing so heavy a load in proportion to its weight. Even draft animals are unable to draw as many times their own weight.

Aside from the cost of a machine and the expense of repairs, the actual expense for power is small. A machine carrying four persons will run 100 miles and back again on from six to twelve gallons of gasoline. The machine costs more perhaps than a good team and carriage, but does the work for a fraction of the expense for keep and in a fourth of the time. Autos vary in price according to size and quality. An efficient but not large machine, such as might be desired by a physician for surburban practice, is worth from $650 upward. Powerful racing machines of sixty to ninety horsepower have cost as high as $25,000. There is every probability that, in point of cost and economy of operation, the automobile will displace the horse in part. The influence of automobiles is already on the side of good roads, and may be counted on in the future. It must be acknowledged on the other hand that the broad rubber tire is guilty of sucking the dust out of a macadamized road bed. In this way some fine old roads have been disintegrated and seemingly ruined.

The automobile has entered upon the commercial phase of its service. Delivery wagons of every description are no longer uncommon. The Pillsbury A flouring mill of Minneapolis delivers flour to its local customers with a five ton auto that trundles off carrying 15,000 pounds of flour with the utmost ease and trustworthiness. Automobile fire engines, horses, and cabs have appeared in various cities. Among recent applications is an automobile carrying lofty staging for the repair of overhead telegraph and telephone wires.

Annual automobile races are held at Ormond Beach, Florida. In 1906 a cigar-shaped car ran a mile in 31 4-5 seconds. In 1907 an English car made a run of 121.6 miles in an hour. As great speed is attained with a hundred horse power car as with one having twice the power. In 1907 an Italian drove his motor car from Pekin to Paris, a distance of 10,000 miles. The trip was made by way of the Gobi Desert, Moscow, and Berlin. The car was eight weeks on the way and came through without a breakdown.

According to an estimate for 1904 there were ninety-nine manufactories in the United States, producing automobiles worth $24,000,000 a year at wholesale. An estimate given out January 1, 1909, places the yearly output of automobiles at 80,000 for America, 40,000 for France, and 25,000 for Italy. Germany and England have large factories also.

The growth of the automobile industry in the United States may be seen from the following statement of the factory output for a series of years:

UNITED STATES AUTOMOBILE PRODUCE.

In the year last named there was one auto in use per each 200 adult inhabitants.