Editor's Note: The man whose business tics him to the city may feel the call of woods and fields, but the 
unpleasant prospects of isolation, lack of transit facilities, provincialism, etc., have deterred him from making 
a change. The automobile has solved these difficulties for many and has made a home in the rural country pos¬ 
sible even for city business men. This is the account of an emigration to a rural district made possible by a 
motor. The automobile was considered part of the plant, and yet even when its original cost zvas included in 
the price of the home, they found that it enabled them to buy quite extensive lands for the price of a place -in a 
high-class suburban development. How a motor served in a variety of practical Purposes, brought friends, 
made the family independent of distance and timetable, is taken from the experiences of a man who has 
proved his experiment. The story is of considerable interest in the facts it gives about the practical value 
of the motor car in the country and the part it plays in the family budget. This chapter tells of the start 
of the emigration. Succeeding issues will give details of the important services the motor rendered in all 
their activities. 
i 4 F) R-R-R-R-R-ING - br-r-r-r-r-r-ing - ing- - ing!’ 
Mr. Spence turned wearily to the ’phone. It had rung 
almost continually all morning. Something was the matter with 
the service, and many of the calls had been “Wrong number, 
’scuse me please” affairs that added each its mite to his nerve 
burden, already pressing almost unendurably upon him. 
“What ?—oh, that ap¬ 
praisement — no, I haven’t 
been able to manage it 
yet — yes, I hope by to¬ 
morrow — I know, I’m sor¬ 
ry — ’bye!” 
“Blame it!” said Mr. 
Spence testily to him¬ 
self. “I forgot it entirely. 
That’s the third thing I’ve 
forgotten this week. I 
must be losing my grip!” 
A few moments after- 
wards, a quiet-voiced 
stenographer entered the 
room. 
“Did you remember 
that to-day was your 
meeting at the Imperial ?” 
she asked. “Mr. John¬ 
son has just ’phoned and 
asked if you were com¬ 
ing, and if not, have you 
sent your proxy?” 
Mr. Spence stared a 
moment, then jumped for 
his hat. 
“Get me a taxi, quick,” 
he cried. “Of course I’m 
coming. Tell Johnson I am on my way now. What’s the mat¬ 
ter with my memory? That’s the second lie I’ve had to tell — ’’ 
and his worried speech trailed behind him as he flew for the 
elevator. 
Mr. Spence’s thoughts as he sped towards the forgotten but 
important meeting were not pleasant. It would have been awk¬ 
ward had he failed to attend and the action taken other course than 
Only part of his mind was on the busy 
of automobile traffic hurrying about 
what he desired. It would 
have cost him money. Mr. 
Spence, like many another 
man, needed all the money 
he could get. Young, en¬ 
thusiastic, able, he had 
pushed his business 
to the limit and 
found that while it 
was well built and 
firm and capable of 
making more money 
in later years, it did 
not pay him much 
more than a fair sal¬ 
ary. He had grad¬ 
ually formed some 
rather expensive 
tastes. His lunch¬ 
eons at a lunch club 
were a necessary 
business expense, yet they totalled, with fees and tips, more 
than sixty a month. He belonged to several other clubs and 
societies, and his wife entertained well, if modestly. His 
two children attended a good private school, where a cer¬ 
tain amount of dressing on the part of his little girl seemed 
inevitable. He had a nest egg in the form of bonds and 
stocks which he had sworn not to touch for his business, 
and he lived within his income, but it came to him with 
something of a shock that should he be late for this meet¬ 
ing, a heavy assessment made, he must borrow to meet it. 
“I don’t save a cent,” he confessed to himself. “I won¬ 
der why I can’t!—I am — ” 
The taxi stopped and the driver opened the door. 
“Sorry, sir,” he said. “Something’s busted. I can’t get 
any further—I’ve got to telephone for help.” 
Mr. Spence stared for a moment; then, with a muttered ex¬ 
clamation, flung a dollar bill at the man and ran. It was only 
four blocks, but they were long enough for him to reflect heatedly 
on the unreliability of the taxi, and the superior advantages of 
the street cars, which, whatever else they did, did not break down 
often. It was with a disheveled appearance, if a relieved mind, 
crush 
him 
THE STORY OF A “BACK TO THE LAND” MOVEMENT STARTED BY A MOTOR 
CAR—THE FIRST JOURNEY FROM THE HEART OF THE CITY TO ITS OUTSKIRTS 
(i5) 
