I came across an old book today entitled Hollyhock and Goldenglow by Elbert Hubbard. Hubbard was a quite famous writer and publisher in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This book was written in 1912, three years before his death (Hubbard and his wife both died aboard the Lusitania). It is a book of essays on a variety of subjects. One of the essays is entitled "The Age of the Auto".
In the essay, Hubbard is a great proponent of the new invention. I thought some of his comments were entertaining. Here are a few excerpts:
The auto subdues conversation to things that should be said, and eliminates most of the vacuous mouthy nothings.... He travels far and fast. He sees, hears, grows, hikes, honks, and becomes. His face is bronzed by the kiss of the wind and the sun. His pulse is full and even. His appetite is prodigious. The auto is a great move on behalf of temperance. The man who runs a machines prizes his brain and rejoices in sinewy hands, muscles of braided silk, and nerves of steel. Booze is for the wobbly and weak -- your autoist will have none of it.
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