Page:The Triumph of an Idea.djvu/25

 Ford happened to choose an eventful year. History, both scientific and political, was busy in the making  through 1893. Edison invented his motion-picture ma- chine. A peculiarly fitting coincidence of the year was the establishment of the Federal Office of Road Inquiry  by Congressional order. Few if any of the Solons in Washington knew Henry Ford. None of them, in all probability, believed in horseless vehicles, nor indeed  were the lawmakers of the nation or the states destined  to show any faith in useful motor transport during that  decade. The Federal Office of Road Inquiry and the new State Highway departments were due to the bicycle  craze rather than the coming of motors. However, the