State

A Touch Of Color Socially acceptable motor manners of the Twenties, including how to blow your horn and coast to a stop. By JANICE TEMPLE RAYNOR Apparently the traffic cop of the I920's was a different breed from the polite professional of today. In The Book of Good Manners, published in 1923 by Social Culture Publications. Frederick H. Martens, predecessor of Emily Post and Amy Vanderbilt, had this to say about the average police¬ man: "While the motorist need not ex¬ pect too much courtesy from the traffic officer — especially in forms of speech — good sense as well as good manners enjoins unvarying politeness on his part." Even an ill-mannered cop. however, was evidently susceptible to feminine wiles. "The woman . . . who sweetly and gently begs an officer to tell her wherein she was at fault, expresses her regret and promises not to offend again is seldom arrested." After World War I the production of automobiles increased dramatically. Two hundred firms were using Henry Ford’s assembly line methods to man¬ ufacture over a million cars each year which could be bought under the in¬ novative installment buying plan. Any alert young gent could easily distin¬ guish between a Franklin and a Max¬ well. By the crash of 1929. there were twenty-three million cars in America, paving the way to modern highways, service stations, garages, hot-dog stands and the blight of the billboard. The social and cultural mores of soci¬ ety changed rapidly and in the absence of codified traffic regulations. Mr. Martens stepped into the breach to de¬ scribe socially acceptable motor man¬ ners. Even the color of the car was a mat¬ ter of etiquette rather than personal choice. The car. like clothing, should not be so extravagant or fantastic as to arrest the eye. "Safe" colors were polished maroon, dark blue or black for town use and a full-finished grey car. with "a touch of color" for road use. "A Series of Chuckles" Mr. Martens waxed eloquent on the use and sound of the car's horn. The horn was "the voice of the motor car and should be ... a well-bred voice. The ordinary polite conversational tone of the motor horn should be a series of brief chuckles." Careful driv¬ ers were admonished to blow the horn when about to back, cut corners or round a curve, although some objec¬ tions were anticipated: "On a crooked and winding mountain road, you may feel that the continual sounding of the horn is an offense to nature where she displays herself in lowering hills where snow-clad silence makes your tootling squawks appear downright discourte¬ ous. . . ." Yet. "nature will remain sublimely unconscious of your affront, and you should not expose others to death as the result of a collision to in¬ dulge in a beautiful aesthetic emo¬ tion." With no lack of foresight, the author also envisioned use of the car for more than transportation. The careful mother was enjoined not to allow her daughter "to be exposed to the free and easy intimacies of the auto 'petting party’ in a high school boy’s roadster, so easily calculated to destroy mod¬ esty and respect for self in the young girl." The stylish woman driver of 1923 wore some form of leather homespun motor-coat in winter or the white "crash suit" in summer. Suede gloves or leather guantlets were "taken for granted." Aside from the "crash suit" prescribed for the women driver, some credit for competency behind the wheel was alloted to the female gen¬ der. When a gentleman was asked by a competent woman driver to "crank" her car. he was advised to use the hand crank rather than insult her by climb¬ ing into the driver's scat and "treading the starter pedal." Described as "the only dignified and well-bred way" to stop the car. the courteous driver should shift to second and. at medium speed, throw the lever into neutral, cut off the ignition and coast to a stop, not applying the brake until the ignition had been cut. Happy Birthday, Car It was decreed perfectly proper to hold a "birthday party" to mark the car's first year in the family circle. It is assumed, however, that the guest of honor did not partake of the refresh¬ ments and was even shunted aside to make room for the dancers on the ga¬ rage floor. I don’t feel I have missed too much by never having been invited to a car’s birthday party, but I wish that un¬ grammatical traffic cop of 1923. who seldom arrested women drivers, had been the one who stopped me last year. In spite of my tears and abject apologies, he was unfailingly polite and courteous while he wrote my speeding ticket. Even Mr. Martens would have approved of the color of his car. however. It was grey and the "touch of color" was a flashing blue light. 1 M * ^ ' c?\ У 7 з I THE STATE. March 1980 15