THE CONSTITUTION, ATLANTA, GA., SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 1909. 6 C
“Atlantans are either speed-loving people, or they don’t know a good thing when they see it,” said Morris Rich yesterday, when asked why Gate City autoists had not taken to the electric car.
Mr. Rich is a great believer in the electric-propelled vehicle, but, according to his statements, there are not more than twenty-five or thirty other Atlantans who want the “juice” to carry them along.
“It’s a great city for car us,” he said, ” and stands up under trips as lengthy as forty miles from the city. It has all the speed, 6 to 20 miles per hour, that the city laws will stand, and yet it seems that Atlanta is slower than other cities in realizing the worth of the electric car. It is ideal for doctors, and is the only car that is safe for a lady to drive. The upkeep is less than that of the gasoline car, and the operating expenses never run over a cent-and-a-half an hour, but still Atlanta folk don’t like the electric car. As I have said before, it must be that they love speed too well.
“A good electric car easily goes forty miles on one charge. The car can be charged at home during the night, and the expense is very light. The next day it is in great running order, without the odor and pistol-like explosions of the cars that use gasoline as a motive power.
“The electric car is very easy to take care of, and very easy to run. There are not a net work of controllers about your feet and hands to look after, but just one, which, with the steering wheel, is the only thing to notice when you are running the car. This controller brakes the machine, backs it, and does everything else, making the operation most simple.
“Savannah, a much smaller city than Atlanta, is much more appreciative of the electric car. Savannah has four times as many in operation as this city, and has not as many gasoline cars. Three-fourths of these cars in Savannah are run by ladies, and children have been seen to operate them.
“Why not? The electric car is safe. It has never been known to figure in an accident, while gasoline and steam cars are always running into a wreck.
“Having six speeds, it can be adjusted to suit the driver, anywhere from six to twenty miles per hour.
“There is no doubt but that the electric car is the practical car, and Atlanta is behind the times in its use. Every city its size has more and many smaller ones boast of a greater number.”
Mr. Rich is an authority on the electric car. He represents the Rauch & Lang Carriage Company, of Cleveland, who manufacture one of the best cars in the country, and he was probably speaking of this car in particular in his statements. He uses it extensively, and has found no trouble in climbing hills with it. Hill climbing is a very important item in an automobile. Old-timers at the business of running cars say that the way to judge the worth of a car is up a hill, instead of on a level road with speed, and the electric car seems to fit the bill in this particular.
After a thorough trial of the Rauch & Lang car, Mr. Rich is positive that it is the economical car, the safe car, and a car that will give satisfaction to all.