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Show THE BATTLE OF Arrrieulturii and Commercial Press Servlcel It is interesting to watch the forces of civilization battling for supremacy. The struggle now going on between the rubber and the iron tire promises to be the liveliest contest utf tXi Twentieth Twen-tieth Century. The struggle is a silent one and there are no war correspondents to write vivid descriptions of the conflict con-flict but the results are more far-reaching far-reaching to present and future generations gen-erations than the war of Europe. The rubber tire lias been maneuvering maneuver-ing for point of attack for several years and has captured a few unimportant unim-portant positions in traffic, but it has now pitched a decisive battle with its iron competitor by hurling a million mil-lion "jitneys" at the street railways and the battle is raging from ocean to ocean. Upon the result of the struggle depends the future of the ' rubber tire. If it is compelled to retreat, re-treat, its doom is sealed, but if it wins the battle it will revolutionize the transportation methods of this nation. If the rubber tire conquers the street traffic its next struggle is with the railroads of the country, and then the greatest battle between economic forces ever fought out on the face of this earth is on. for iron is the undisputed un-disputed master in transportation, and is fortified behind billions of dollars, and millions of men. Stephenson applied the steel tire to an iron rail in 1814. but it was 1869 before the golden spike was driven at Promontory Point, which bound the country together with bands of steel. It took the iron tire fifty-five years to creep from ocean to ocean, but the rubber tire while warm from the creative mind of the inventive genius sped across the continent like I an arrow shot from the bow of Ulys-j Ulys-j ses. The roadbed was already pre-j pre-j pared and therein lie's the power of I the rubber tire over that of iron, for ' government builds and maintains the : public highway. But iron is a stubborn metal and it has mastere every wheel that turns; has fought buttles wilh every eirment above and beneath the earth and lias n--vcr tasted the wormwood of defeat, and when rubber hurls its full force r,ainst this monarch of t-'.e Mineral Ki:i;;doi:i, it may rebound to the factory stunned beyond recovery. recov-ery. . The rubber tire first made its appearance ap-pearance on the bicycle, but it proved a frivolous servant and was dismissed j for incompetency. It has always been ; too much inclined to revel in luxury : to be taken seriously as a utility ma-I ma-I chine and its reputation is not one to inspire confidence in heavy traffic performance, j But to those who care to waft into dreamland, it is enchanting to note that there will be a marvelous difference differ-ence between a rubber and an iron age. The rubber tire will scatter the cities throughout the valleys for with transportation at every man's door, why a city? It will traverse the continent con-tinent with a net work of Macadam : highways us beautiful as the boulevard boule-vard built by Napoleon. It will paralyze par-alyze the law making bodies of this nation for how could the legislatures run withftut the railroads to operate on? ! I |