Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 May 1895 — FOUR MILES FOR A CENT. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FOUR MILES FOR A CENT.

That la the Coat of Locomotion in a New Horseleas Vehicle. The latest and apparently most practical self-propelling vehicle yet produced in this country has just been perfected at Springfield, Mass., after

three years of experimentation. This improved motor carriage is daily traversing the roadways of Western Massachusetts. The total weight is 000 pounds. The wheels are rubber-tired and run on ball bearings. The front wheels turn on their own pivot located In the hub, the axle being firmly held by the side bars. The lever in front wholly controls the carriage. The lateral movement turns the wheels, the vertical motion starts and stops the vehicle, '-changes its rate of speed and also reverses Its movement, driving It backward when desired. The, lever connections all have ball joints, which can never become loose and cause lost motion. A brake drum of peculiar construction Is placed upder the seat and connected with a thumb button located at the front corner of the seat By pressing the thumb upon this button the carriage if running twelve miles an hour can be stopped within a distance of four feet The variable speed ranges from three to sixteen miles an hour, the normal rates being three, six and ten miles. To obtain these' different rates the motor does not change its speed. The increase is made in the gearing, which is alternately rawhide and iron and runs quite still. To obtain a greater speed than ten miles an hour the pressing of the button at the front of the seat will increase the speed of the motor. The mechanism runs upon ball bearings wherever possible, and otherwise metaline bearings are used, rendering oiling unnecessary. The motor has a driving capacity of four horse-power and is what is usually termed a gasoline motor. The cost of running this carriage is one-fourth of a cent a mile. *A supply can be carried sufficient for 150 miles and can readily be replenished at any town en route. The motor has proved entix-ely reliable, having been run several weeks on a test, and shows no variation in power or speed. ,It is simple, will cost but little to run and is applicable to business as well'as. pleasure purposes.

THE NEW HORSELESS VEHICLE.