Greg O’s Garage; A bit of humor at Willie K’s expense from the Horseless Age in 1901
A rare satirical article from the Horseless Age in early 1901 pokes a bit of fun at Willie K and his propensity to drive a bit fast on public roads.
Greg O.
Willie K at his usual real-life self, would speed around Newport, NYC and Long Island scaring horse teams and pedestrians, having run-ins with animals on the road, all the while racking up speeding infractions and getting billed for whatever mayhem he caused on public roadways. He even went so far as being arrested and fined for his excessive speed of the day at one time.
Known for being billed and promptly paying for his damage of life and property by him in his Mercedes White Ghost, the usually very serious Horseless Age publication decided to have a little fun with this at Willie K's expense in their January 2nd, 1901, edition.
In the short, satirical piece, smart and prosperous farmers have discovered that they could receive at least 10 times the amount of money for a deceased horse when billing out Willie K for their damages by his Mercedes, rather than the 6 bucks or so they'd get from a glue or fertilizer manufacturer.
He inadvertently created lines and fights of willing people along his route to have "the privilege of having [their] horse killed first" by Willie K's Mercedes every time he went out. What an honor!
Even if one didn't own any horses or animals, they found it was profitable to purchase old, worn out street car horses to leave in Willie K's wake of destruction. Just don't be like the "two near-sighted speculators" who let their horses be killed by a cheap automobile not owned by Willie K!
I wonder if Willie K. found this as humorous as their readers back then!
Comments
Neat article, Greg. Here’s another take on the automobile’s impact on who they shared the road with back in Willie K.‘s days. Wonder how much a cow would have fetched! From the Motor World of July, 1902.