Description:
Sept. 1, 1918, the first "gasless Sunday" of World War I, brought people out for a stroll on a sunny Sunday and left the traffic policeman to read the newspaper at his post. The scene at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Main Street, now Capital and Michigan avenues, shows both popular modes of transportation that rivaled the horseless carriages — the street car at right and the interurban just turning the corner near the top of the frame. "Gasless Sundays" were invoked to conserve energy — even churches canceled Sunday services. During the week certain days were designated as "fuelless" to save coal or coke for the war effort. Only essential businesses, including cereal companies, were exempted from the order.