CHAPTER XXI 



THE MOTOR AS A FACTOR 



The force of the foregoing statements concerning the profit- 

 able production and use of horses will be influenced by one's 

 conception of the future status of the horse. To this end the 

 motor must be reckoned with. At no time in history has the 

 horse been subjected to such keen competition for place and favor 

 as at the present. 



The motor is such an important factor as to require considera- 

 tion in any discussion of equine affairs. The view-point, how- 

 ever, should be fair and logical, not obscured by such sentiment 

 or entliusiasm as characterizes a partisan review of either side 

 of the question. There are ardent motorists who would have the 

 horse annihilated for all time, while some riders and drivers 

 would legislate the same end for all motordom; yet neither of 

 these positions is warranted by the facts. 



Other Factors. — History is but repeating itself, apparently, 

 as in the case of the invention of gunpowder ; the advent of canals 

 and, later, railroads ; tlie adoption of the cable and the trolley on 

 street railways ; and the past popularity of the bicycle ; each of 

 which in turn threatened to supplant horses in their different 

 fields. 



Advantages of the Motor. — An analysis of the situation at 

 present concedes to the motor three distinct advantages over the 

 horse: Speed, endurance, especially in hot weather, and vogue. 

 Whenever the miles covered or the time consumed is the sole 

 consideration it is reasonable to suppose that the motor will be 

 shown the preference. So it is in the case of the doctor or the 

 sales solicitor, men whose earning capacity is limited by the 

 facility with which they can get about; likewise the travelling 

 public and society folk have become so accustomed to a minimum 

 time allowance for making trains or keeping engagements that 

 they could hardly be expected to dispense with the taxicab or 

 limousine. Suburban deliveries are made much more expedi- 

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