Get A Horse!
The proud owner of a new horseless carriage often loaded his family
into the machine while the neighbors ogled with envy. Invariably, the budding
driver would over-dramatize the ritual of donning his gloves, checking
his equipment, and cranking the engine into sputtering, back-firing action,
while onlookers held their ears. With heads held high, the driver and passengers
would then begin their baptismal trek into the country, beaming with arrogant
satisfaction. They would take the way which would lead them past the "right
people," of course. If ever there was a "thrill of a lifetime," this was
it. But such were the ways of life in those days that such joyous beginnings
didn't always have a happy ending.
Somewhere along the way, the tiny engine would start to cough and sputter.
The driver would assure his frightened passengers that there was nothing
to worry about, but the mechanical hiccuping continued. The driver's assurances
would waiver, and when the motor finally died, the ego-deflated owner suffered
the pangs of the damned. When no amount of tinkering, kicking, or cursing
would revive the engine, the humiliating trip to the nearest farm would
have to take place. The farmer would probably be glad to add to the driver's
mental anguish by making remarks about "them new-fangled contraptions,"
but with some degree of stability, he would harness his team and hitch
it to the front of the horseless carriage.
Now gone were the proud airs; mother and daughter blushed with shame
as they were towed back homeward past their snickering neighbors. Young
sons usually enjoyed the experience, but father was ready to explode. The
team of horses, as slow, expensive, and old-fashioned as they were, got
the final horse laugh. It seems right, somehow, that the term "horse-power"
has continued to be a measurement of the automobile's mechanical muscle.
The animal has certainly contributed so much to civilization that it needs
some lasting remembrance with the vehicle which unceremoniously dumped
it from public favor. The horse was not just replaced, he was caught up
in a competitive situation which saw him maligned by copyrighters, ridiculed
by a new strain of high-powered merchants, called auto dealers, and he
was even attacked by health authorities, who saw the motor car as an end
of manure heaps, disease-toting flies, and assorted other pollution.
Anyone who has ever walked down-wind of a livery stable knows that the
horse had an aromatic drawback. It was also easy for the sly advertiser
to win over a public, who was plagued with a need for sticky flypaper,
insect traps, and foul-smelling sprays. No one envisioned that the motor
car would be all health and happiness, either, but the economic argument
was hammered home by automobile publicists. They pointed out that each
horse in the U.S. required the production of five acres of land and twenty
man-days of work per year. Ransom E. Olds, writing in "Scientific American"
before 1900, took an swing at the horse when he advertised a new steam
carriage: "It never kicks or bites, never tires on long runs, and never
sweats in hot weather. It does not require care in the stable and eats
only while on the road." William A. White, a famed editor and horse-lover,
wrote, "...he makes no claim to speed, but his carburetor always works,
and while he has but two cylinders, he brings his guests back in one piece
at home rather than downtown at the undertaker's to be assembled by total
strangers..."
Stories of runaways, overturned buggies and other accidents due to horses
were widely exaggerated and overdramatized. Of 476 equine accidents, analyzed
by a prominent magazine, only two were reportedly caused because the horses
involved were frightened by automobiles. This statistical whitewash was
to refute the common complaint that motor cars were scaring otherwise good,
tame horses. The anti-horse faction, always looking for new ammunition,
made the most of a vicious heat wave which hit New York City in July of
1911. About 1,200 horses dropped dead of heat exposure, and it was quickly
pointed out that motor cars and trucks continued to function without difficulty
or detriment to the health of the populace. The once overwhelming notes
of rebuttal began to flag, and in spite of the fact that there were 25,000,000
horses in the country in 1912, Dobbin was definitely "out," and the "Betsy"
was "in."
This transition from a centuries-old form of land transportation to
one of automobiles was not easy, and it did not just happen in a day or
two. The horse was, after all, an important part of the economy. Feed and
veterinary bills amounted to millions of dollars each year. The Chicago
Times reported that horseshoes in 1915 required enough iron to build 60,000
motor cars. Harness makers, buggy-whip companies, carriage builders, livery
stable operators, blacksmiths, an army of street cleaners, wheelwrights
and even hitching-post manufacturers were all affected by the technological
development of automobiles. These companies had to either re-tool and adapt
to the industry or face the realities of a declining business.
The coming of WWI spurred the production of motor vehicles, and also
upped the need for horses and mules. After the signing of Armistice, however,
the final turning point came. From then on, it was really downhill for
the horse - not into oblivion, fortunately, but to a minor role of race
tracks, rodeos, show rings, riding clubs, and Wild West movies. The horse
retired to greener pastures (or to the glue factory) and became only a
legend in transportation and agriculture.
