Evening star. [volume], January 10, 1932, Page 3, Image 45

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
In the Motor World
BY G. ADAMS HOWARD.
THE 1932 automobile, typify
ing almost mechanical per
fection, ensconced in set
tings of ease and splendor,
and endowed with hopes of com
ing prosperity, faced the new year
for the first time yesterday with
the opening of this year’s thirty
second annual show in Grand
Central Palace, New York City.
Besides the expected throngs of
admirers from the sidewalks of
New York, many were in attend
ance whose residences are in the
National Capital, where its local
exhibition will be held three weeks
hence. A large group of local
dealers, members of the Washing
ton Automotive Trade Association,
headed by its president, Fred L.
Haller, was included.
Opening Dramatic.
The show, according to advices
received here, opened somewhat
dramatically at this time, for pub
lic interest throughout the world
focuses upon America’s largest
manufacturing industry, and is
watching for the effect it will
have on business generally. It
the expectations of motor car
manufacturers are realized at the
national show—if sales, both
wholesale and retail, come up to
the level looked for—the country
will be just one step nearer gen
uine prosperity. The old and
wornout cars to be replaced this
season by 1932 models will mean
that much more employment for
thousands of laborers and arti
sans, who, in turn, will put most
of their cash into circulation.
And more than 5,000,000 people
are employed, either directly or
indirectly, by the motor car in
dustry. If the automobile today
were merely a pleasure vehicle or
a luxury, these expectations prob
ably would be silly; but the fact
that it is an economic necessity,
essential in so many ways, means
that the foresightedness of manu
facturers is based upon a sound
foundation. Several million cars
in America today are either in
bad, uneconomical running condi
tion, or not running and not worth
repairing. These will have to be
replaced to a large degree during
1932, and where ready cash is not
in the possession of the purchaser,
installment sales will be consum
mated to no small degree.
Nearly 300 new cars reposed in
all their glory on three of the four
exhibition floors of the Palace.
Thirty-two makes of passenger
vehicles and 11 makes of commer
cial cars and taxicabs are dis
played. Ninety-eight exhibits of
accessories, bodies, parts and shop
equipment are to be found on the
two upper floors. The display rep
resents invested capital of more
than $1,880,000,000.
Show Closed Today.
The show, which is under the
auspices of the National Automo
bile Chamber of Commerce, is
closed today, but during the bal
ance of the week will be open from
10 a m. to 10:30 p m. The shop
equipment section, on the fourth
floor, is open during the day to
the trade exclusively; the public
being admitted from 5 p.m. until
closing. The Show Committee of
the National Automobile Chamber
of Commerce consists of Charles
D. Hastings, chairman; E. R.
Erskine, Alfred H. Swayne and S.
A. Miles, show manager.
Unquestionably, the buyer of
every 1932 car will get much
greater value for his investment
than in seasons past. Never be
fore have models with such excel
lent qualifications, such meritori
ous engineering and style fea
tures, been offered at such lowered
prices. Unlike some, the automo
tive industry has not cheapened
its product in order to offer low
pricqs. The values are real. This
has been made possible by struc
tural and labor costs and the drop
in prices of raw materials. There
is revealed at the Palace an as
tonishing number of innovations
and refinements in the medium
and low priced categories—fea
tures formerly seen only on ex
pensive cars. Such modernized
advances as free-wheeling, syn
chro-mesh silent transmissions,
automatic starting, etc., are strik
ingly apparent. Even the elabora
tion of general design is greater
than might be expected, and in
the pleasing color combinations
and comfort appointments there
is, one might say, a touch of the
romantic.
Models Ne Plus Ultra.
The new models seem to be
ne pus ultra, so far as riding com
fort and operating control are
concerned. Free-wheeling, which
made its debut at the last show,
and which was offered at extra
cost by a number of manufactur
ers, is standard equipment on the
majority of models displayed^
Many ingenious applications of
the free-wheeling principle have
been discosed. Automatic pro
vision for changing from free
wheeling to a conventional or
positive drive in reverse, thus re
lieving the driver of the need of
shifting into reverse land of shift
ing into free-wheeling again when
changing from reverse into any
forward speed) is among the new
developments. The control of
lree-wheeling is more conven
iently located with the push-and
pull button, or knob type, located
on the instrument panel lust to
the right of the steering column,
easily accesible to the right hand.
Motor Don ts
Don't ‘Free-Wheel Recklessly!
Free Wheeling is
UNQUESTIONABLY ONE OF THF
MOST PLEASING DEVELOPMENTS OF THE
AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY- IT PROVIDES
CHEAPER .EFFORT-SAVING OPERATION
AND ELIMINATES OBJECTiOHABLE VIBRATloA
OF DECELERATION--BUT IT MUST BE
HANDLED SANELY.ON SLIPPERY ROAD
SURFACES OR STEEP GRADES rT IS WISE
TO USE NORMAL GEARS,THUS HAVING
the Aid of your motors compression
[ IN CONTROLLING VOUR CAR.
Operating control not only has
been greatly improved, but simpli
fied, as well. Several manufactur
ers have eliminated the starter
button or pedal. Turning the
ignition key starts the engine and
automatically restarts, should it
stall under any condition. This
new control offers real safety fea
tures, particularly for the new
driver.
Genius of Engineer.
Indicative of the genuis of to
day’s engineer is the development
of a thermostatic heat control for
manifold temperature regulation
that eliminates the manual dash
control and the guessing of the
operator as to the amount of
choke for starting a cold engine.
The new device voids the penal
ties of forgetfulness, such as waste
of fuel, dilution of the crankcase
oil and carbonization. Many in
genious methods for preventing
overchoking are disclosed, and
equally convenient and economi
cal devices for temperature con
trol also are displayed.
Ride control will unquestionably
appeal to all occupants of the
car-^drivers or rear seat drivers.
This new feature accomplishes
three things desired by the mo
toring public in car performance.
It enables the driver, without
leaving the seat, to adjust the
shock absorbers to compensate for
rough or smooth roads, for fast or
slow driving and for differences in
passenger loading. Variations in
spring and shock absorber action
also may be controlled in this
way.
Riding Comfort.
Riding comfort in the 1932
model goes far beyond the con
ventional provisions of former de
signs. The power plant, for ex
ample, is mounted on rubber
cushion pads and one maker em
ploys double pads for each engine
bracket. In all models marked
improvement has been made in
subduing engine vibration and
preventing its reaching the frame.
New treatment of tops for the
convertible or all-weather body,
which is gaining in popularity,
will be shown for the first time.
The new conversion is easily made.
These structures are light in
weight and built to withstand long
usage. Convertibles will be seen
in greater variety in the popular
and low-priced fields.
The frontal aspects of a number
of makes have undergone a
change. Some adhere to the flat
radiator, but use a narrowing
radiator profile toward the bot
tom. Others favor the V and the
sloping. Newly shaped fenders,
single bar bumpers and clever
mounting of the front fenders,
radiator and headlights to pre
vent frame movement being
transferred directly to these units
are features worthy of attention.
The Road Show.
The exposition held each year
by the American Road Builders’
Association in 'connection with
its annual convention is widely
known as the “Road Show.” This
exposition has grown to include
both the materials and machines
for building and mantaining
roads and also the commercial
vehicles that transport goods over
the highway.
In addition to every conceivable
machine and material for building
roads and streets, the exposition
this year will include the largest
display of motor trucks that has
ever been gathered.
When the twenty-ninth annual
convention and road show of the
American Road Builders’ Associa
tion assembles in Detroit tomor
row, bringing together the largest
assemblage of equipment and ma
terials in the country and 25,000
road builders, according to asso
ciation officers, a number of other
associations will meet in conjunc
tion. These affiliated meetings
include the Associated Equipment
Distributors, the Truck Associa
tion Executives of America, the
Association of Asphalt Paving
Technologists and the Consoli
dated Truck Terminal Operators,
which will hold an organization
meeting.
A. M. A. OUTLINES GAS
CONSUMPTION IN 1931
Ipproximately 15,000,000,000 Gal
lons Used by Motorists
Last Year.
Motor car owners of the United
States consumed approximately 15,000,
>00,000 gallons of gasoline during 1931,
jn which they paid more than half a
billion dollars in gasoline taxes, accord
ng to data compiled by the American
Motorists’ Association.
The association points out that last
year was the first year in which gaso
line tax revenues exceeded the half
billion mark. Other interesting figures
in the A M A. tabulation are those
which show that the average motorist
paid close to $20 in taxes on 565 gal
lons of fuel which carried him last year
a distance of approximately 6,800 miles.
"Government figures on gasoline tax
consumption for the first six months of
1931 provide the basis of some interest
ing calculations,” says Thomas J. Keefe,
general manager of the association.
"For one thing they bespeak a striding
gain in consumption which will carry
the total for the year very close to the
15,000,000,000-gallon mark if. Indeed, it
is not actually exceeded.
"With the average tax on such fuel
3.44 cents per gallon in the various
States, that means gasoline tax reve
nues will exceed the $500,000,000 mark
which was approached last year, when
the average rate was only 3.35 cents
and when the total earnings of this levy
were $493,865,117.”
Asserting that it is doubtful if more
positive evidence of the meaning of the
motor car is available than that repre
sented in gasoline consumption figures,
Mr. Keefe continues:
“A gasoline consumption of 15.000,
000,000 gallons means that the average
vehicle will use 565 gallons this year.
At the average tax rate of 3.44 cents a
gallon, each car owner will contribute
approximately $19.45 under this levy
alone. At the same time, at the average
rate of 12 miles to the gallon, this de
gree of fuel use means an average travel
of 6,792 miles for each motor vehicle
this year. That also will establish a
new and significant record.”
- ■ •
Reckless Youth.
Drivers between the ages of 18 and 24
last year figured in more than 30 per
cent of the motor vehicle accidents in
which persons were killed and in about
one-fourth of the mishaps resulting in
injuries, according to the District of Co
i lumbia division of the American Auto
mobile Association. *
DOWN THE ROAD—Life’s Little Tragedies. —By FRANK BECK
Exhibiting Companies Make
Announcement of 12
New Lines.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
DETROIT, January 9.—Coincident
with the opening of the thirty-second
annual National Automobile Show, in
New York (2 p.m. Saturday), exhibiting
companies have let loose announce
ments of no less than 12 new lines of
cars for 1932.
This is the last-minute group of new
stuff, which has been held back until
now. In it the "surprises,” or most of
them, have been lumped.
Line-up in Brief.
In brief, they line up like this:
Packard has brought out a new light
straight eight and has modernized twin
six design, thereby supplementing its
present straight eight models with two
new Jobs.
An eight-cylinder Pontiac supple
ments the Pontiac six from the Oak
land Motor Car Co.’s factory.
Auburn is adding a 12-cylinder model.
Chrysler, Dodge and De Soto models
now utilize the floating power principle
leveloped for six and eight cylinder
operation from the Plymouth four.
Hudson-Essex models appear in dis
tinctive new form in which style pre
iominates.
Hupmobile has two sixes and five
sights, the feature of which is a chassis
stabilizer of original design.
These are the newest high spots to
show up in the great parade of advanoes
tha' pressure has brought from the
engineering fraternity. In addition,
have come a new Oldsmobile eight and
an improved Lincoln eight which will
vie with the others for attention.
Free Wheeling Variations.
Aside from the new power plants
with chassis and body improvements,
the craze is for free-wheeling and there
are almost as many varied forms of
it as there are makers, the differences
being in the way it is controlled. In
certain makes, there is no lever to
press, knob to pull or button to put
the foot on. The free-wheeling comes
into play as a part of regular shifting
by means of hooking the over-running
clutch unit to the accelerator, to which
vacuum clutch control is linked.
Another school of engineering prac
tice favors vacuum control with a but
ton on the floorboard for foot pressure.
In some other cars, the operation is a
"push-pull” rod from the dash, and in
others again the button.is in the end
of the gearshift lever. On one point
the engineers are in agreement and that
(Continued on F'ourth Page.)
i. ■ ■ ... .
INCREASING OPPOSITION FOUND
ON FEDERAL AUTO SALES TAX
Thomas P. Henry, President of American
Automobile Association, Holds Levy
Discriminatory and Indefensible.
Car owners everywhere are mani
festing increasing resentment over the
proposal submitted to Congress by the
United States Treasury Department
urging the levy of a sales tax on motor
vehicles, according to reports reaching
the national headquarters of the Amer
ican Automible Association from widely
separated sections of the country.
"It has become apparent that the
selection of the automobile for a Gov
ernment sales tax is regarded by the
users generally as discriminatory and
indefensible,” Thomas P. Henry of De
troit. Mich., president of the national
motoring body, declared.
First Business of Congress.
Mr. Henry asserted that hand in
hand with this opposition, there is
voiced a strong demand that Congress
make it its first business to see what
can be done to cut down governmental
expenditures as a means of balancing
the national budget.
"The people by and large.” he said,
“are far from convinced that consid
erable retrenchment in the cost of
government is not possible, and are
clearly expecting the new Congress to
make this its primary concern.”
Referring to the attitude of the
users to an automobile sales tax, Mr.
Henry said in part:
“The car owners feel they are al
ready paying exorbitant taxes to the
various State, local and municipal
agencies, taxes that in 1931, in the
face of declining registrations, amount
ed in the aggregate to more than a
billion dollars, the equivalent of 20 per
cent of the valuation of motor vehicle
property in the United States.
Expediency Questioned.
“They seriously question the ex
pediency of the Federal Government
invading an overtaxed field. Further
more, they feel that the proposal to
tax this vital instrument of business
and transportation, while scores of other
taxable commodities are kept off the
‘selective list,’ is highly discriminatory.
The automobile war excise tax was ac
cepted by the users without demur, but
only because this levy was more or less
uniformly applied to all forms of trans
portation.
“Any sales tax that is to be productive
and avoid the creation of bitterness
must be either a low-tax rate on a
large variety of commodities, or a high
rate tax on luxuries. Since the auto
mobile cannot be placed In the latter
class, and since the Treasury Depart
ment is not prepared to recommend the
former, the automobile and the industry
producing It are placed in a thoroughly
anomalous position.
“The proposed tax has been referred
to as a manufacturer’s tax. Here is a
distinction without a difference. The
tax would inevitably be passed on to
the consumer. One of the Treasury
sponsors of the sales tax on automobiles
recently referred to it as ‘trivial.’ I
question if hundreds of thousands of
farmers and of the poorer classes of
car-owning citizens who would be called
upon to pay from $25 to $50 more for
new low-priced cars would agree with
this designation.
Effect of Levy.
“The effect that such a levy would
have on the recovery of the automobile
industry, on the maintenance of pro
duction schedules, employment and
prices affords widespread and serious
concern. At the moment there are on
the streets and highways millions of
worn-out vehicles that are a menace
to public safety. Congress, among other
things, cannot afford to overlook the
effect a Federal tax would have on ur
gently needed replacements.
“There is universal recognition of the
importance of balancing our national
budget. Industry and individuals may
have to make sacrifices. With all this
in mind, the Government has a double
obligation, first, to retrench to the last
penny on expenditures, and second, if
new taxes are needed, to levy these on
a basis that will not be discriminatory.”
AUTO THIEVES ACTIVE
865 More Cars Stolen in Baltimore
Last Year.
8pecla! Dispatch to The 8tar.
BALTIMORE, January 9.—Automo
bile thieves in Baltimore were more
active and a little smarter in 1931 than
those who operated in 1930, it was
shown in the report of the Police De
partment.
In the year just ended, 3,789 cars
were stolen. Of these 3,561 were re
covered, leaving 228 still missing.
During the previous year 2,924 were
stolen and 2,856 were recovered, leaving
a balance of 63 in favor of the thieves.
Most of the machines found, after
having been reported stolen, were out
of gas or afflicted with flat tires or
some minor mechanical defect, indicat
ing, police say, that most of them were
taken by joy riders.
I
Variegated Subjects to Come
Up at Detroit Meeting
Tomorrow.
Recent practical developments in the
design and construction of reinforced
concrete pavements and bases are
being studied by a committee of the
American Road Builders’ Association.
Results of the investigation will be
presented at the Twenty-ninth Annual
Convention and Road Show in De
troit, January 11-15. The committee
work is in charge of C. E. Poster, chief
engineer, Michigan State Highway De
partment, Lansing, Mich., as chairman.
Steel reinforcement, when properly
designed and placed in concrete pave
ments and bases, increases their use
ful life and reduces their maintenance
cost, according to most recent research
conclusions.
More Engineers Engaged.
Each year more engineers engaged
in constructing and maintaining large
mileages of concrete in severe climates
are turning to reinforcement as an aid
in combating the usual effects of
moisture and temperature changes.
Simple designs and practical meth
ods of constructing reinforced pave
ments and bases are discussed in this
report.
Other members of the committee are:
R. D. Bradbury, director, Wire Re
inforcement Institute, Washington; H.
F. Clemmer, engineer of tests and ma
terials, Engineer Department, District
of Columbia, Washington; A. T. Gold
beck, director, Bureau of Engineering,
National Crushed Stone Association,
Washington; D. B. Levi, construction
engineer. Missouri State Highway De
partment, Jefferson City, Mo.; E. E.
Parker, city engineer, Madison, Wis.;
P. M. Tebbs, assistant chief engineer,
Pennsylvania Department of Highways,
Harrisburg, Pa.
List of Studies.
A manual, outlining county planning
procedure, standard legislative enabling
acts and aerial photographs also are
studies to be reported by a committee
of the county highway officials’ di
vision. E. A. Griffith, chief engineer
of roads. Allegheny County, Pittsburgh,
is chairman of the committee.
Planning is intimately .connected
with finance and should be considered
first because, whether funds are large
or small, planning is necessary for
economical expenditure. The planning
manual will show the development of
a complete county highway system
through its successive stages based on
comprehensive studies.
Such defails as surveys and maps,
local materials, traffic, credit conditions,
(Continued on Fourth Page.)
-------1
Auto Show Prize Puzzle Contest
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PUZZLE NO. 1.
Some of the letters have not yet been put In place on the big electric sign
at the left of the picture. At first glance It looks as though an H and a T are
needed to make the sign spell THEATER. But a closer examination will snow
that other letters are actually needed and that the proper addition of needed
letters will spell the name of a make of automobile.
Name of Car.
Above are the first and second puz
zles now being conducted by the Wash
ington Automotive Trade Association
in co-operation with The Star. Solve
them and fill in the correct name of
the automobile in the line provided
un“*r fhe drawing. Keep them
until the other 23 appear. When you
nave satisfied yourself that you have
the correct answers mail them in all
together with a reason, not to exceed
25 words, "Why the automooue enow
should be held annually In Washing
ton,” to the Washington Automotive
Trade Association, suite 1002 Chandler
Building, 1427 I street.
No reply received after 10 a m., Tues
day, February 2, will be considered.
Members of The Star and the Wash
ington Automotive Trade Association
and their families will not be eligible
to enter the contest. t
PUZZLE NO. 2.
This room contains a number of unusual signs. One of them is of particular
Interest, because the letters in its words can be rearranged to form the name
of a make of automobile. Which is the anagram sign? Can you pick it out
and name the car—using all the letters in the sign?
Name of Car .
Kememoer me nrst prize is $50 and
six tickets to the show. Altogether $100
in cash will be awarded and 100 tickets.
You may be the lucky one. The judges
are Fred L. Haller and Joe B. Trew,
president and vice president, respec
tively, of the Washington Automotive
Trade Association, and G. Adams How
ard, automobile editor of The Star.
Following is the list of cars to be
in the show. Two of the list are the
correct answers to the puzzles above:
Auburn
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Chrysler
Cord
DeSoto
Dodge
Essex
Ford
Franklin
Graham
Hudson
Hupmobilc
LaSalle
IJncoln
Marmon
Nash
Oldsmobils
Packard
Pierce-Arrow
Plymouth
Pontiac
Studebaker
Willy*
UNITED STATES BEING MADE
OVER FOR MOTOR TOURISTS
Many New Problems in Safety Follow Re
vamping of Routes Unrecognizable
by Travelers of Today.
It’s a new world for the American
motor tourist.
New roads are making over America
in a way that leaves no room for ques
tioning the fact that it is necessary to
see America all the time in order to
see it as it develops. Western mo
torists who toured New England 13
years ago would hardly recall many of
the routes today. New Yorkers jour
neying to California, the South or the
Northwest would be able to recognize
many previously visited places only by
name.
Scenes Shifting.
Roadbuilding has become scene
shifting. The country actually looks
different because of improved high
ways, and particularly because of the
routes taken by these newer roads.
Motorists not only see the country from
different angles, but also find that the
roads themselves have made over much
of the topography.
In another few years there will be
new scenes resulting from the present
developments in highway landscaping.
Places which now are littered with
cast-off road materials will shortly
blossom out as impromptu parks with
flowering laurel and evergreens. Un
sightly embankments which now ob
struct the view are being cut down and
will open up new vistas for the scene
thirsty tourist. America is putting on
a new dress.
Hard-boiled tourists who find no en
joyment in the esthetic features of the
new scene are surprised to find that
merely having driven somewhere pre
viously does not mean that they know
the route or would find any part of it
familiar. The changes affect running
time, car performance, safety and many
other factors In touring.
Parts of the journey which formerly
were hazardous now become straight
away. New hazards have taken their
place, usually at points where they are
least expected. There is a law of com
pensation in safety as in anything
else, and the tourist who doesn’t ob
serve it is apt to collide unnecessarily
with trouble.
A Changed Country.
Any one starting on a tour these day»
should bear in mind the changed coun
try over which he will travel. Previous
conceptions of the route should be
ruled out and the trip taken as if it
had never been tried before. This point
was illustrated in the case of a motorist
who had not traveled to a New Jersey
resort in a number of years. He recalled,
however, that the route was straight
as an arrow and when he found that
the new road was as smooth as a table
top he opened up and felt quite at
home. He nearly took a bad spill at
a certain point where the new road
curved to detour a town. The old road
had kept straight.
There is a new route in the Pocono
Mountains of Pennsylvania where it is
possible to drive 70 miles per hour for
short stretches with safety, assuming
the driver is competent and that his car
is built for this sort of travel. It isn't
many years ago that early motorists
were going through this same country
thinking they were speeding at any
thing over 25. Because of the higher
speeds which these newer, inherently
safer roads invite, there are introduced
new hazards for those who do not aim
to keep abreast of the changes.
On the Pennsylvania highway re
ferred to, for Instance, a slight bend in
the road brings the motorist to a point
where he must slow down to make a
sharp left turn through a short tunnel.
The invitation to drive fast just before
this point is something of a trap for
those who are not alive to the Im
portance of watching their step-on-lt.
Warnings Lacking.
The rapidity with which the newer
roads have been put down has made it
difficult for highway and motor vehicle
officials to mark all of the new danger
points. Some of the most dangerous
places look the safest, and It is only
after exhaustive study that safety ex
perts are able to determine where to
place warnings.
A noticeable absence of warning
signs along some of the newer roads
indicates that officials are reluctant to
run any risk of posting false alarms
by way of warnings. When a sign is
erected it must mark a point which
by experience or by Intelligent observa
tion has been determined to require
special caution.
New roads which reduced the grades
over a series of mountains were found
to encourage drivers to abandon the
former plan of going into a lower gear
when descending. The result was that
on the second successive descent most
cars ended up by having their brakes
bum. The warning to use lower gears
was then posted at the start of the
first decline and repeated at the sec
ond. Those who failed to observe the
warning on the first hill often obeyed
on the second decline, which was time
enough to spare trouble.
Because many of the newer roads
are inherently safer, owners often make
the mistake of doing too much gaping,
not realizing that they are traveling
considerably faster than formerly. Every
ao guying iiwtcr, vvnn uie result
that there Is less time to think one’s
way out of a predicament. A new
America for the motorist requires new
standards of safety.
Throughout the country there are
thousands of new filling stations and
roadside stands where drivers are apt
to stop suddenly. There are new curves
and many new places where horning is
necessary. Improved routes are heavi
ly traveled by busses and trucks. They
also have a way of attracting pedes
trians.
Effect of New Routes.
New routes have changed the dis
tance between points to an extent
where the tourist who travels on a
schedule needs to make numerous re
visions. It took a half hour to drive
10 miles over an old route from the
heart of an Eastern city to a country
club, and 10 minutes over a new three
mile cutoff to return.
Because of such time-saving fea
tures it is now possible to take in
many of the side trips which formerly
had to be forfeited. It is also pos
sible to increase the schedule for the
day, the week end or vacation so that
more of tourland can be covered. To
day’s tourist not only sees a different
America but more of it.
The building of new bridges, vehicu
lar tunnels, viaducts, ramps and ex
press highways has converted many an
eyesore into a pleasing sight, very much
as a skyscraper makes magic of a
vacant lot. Road materials have been
able to cover up Mother Nature’s blem
ishes.
You’ll see a different America this
year. See for yourself.
(Copyright, 1832, the Russell Service.)
Milady’s Motoring
BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL.
Usually the driver who does the mosl
stepping does the most sidestepping il
something happens.
To my mind one of the most unfor
tunate individuals in motordum is the
woman who has gone half way along
the road to driving ability and then
quit. She has become legion.
Talk to the average woman todaj
and you discover that she has at least
made an effort to learn to drive. "I
was doing fairly well when—” is the
usual story. Too often the interference
is a sort of inferiority complex. When
you have never tried to do a thing you
nurse a belief that you might somehow
or other become proficient if you tried
When you actually try, and discovei
that you have been slightly mistaken
every one who drives suddenly seems
so proficient.
Thousands of women owe theii
ability to drive to the force of neces
sity. Particularly noteworthy are the
cases where illness has robbed the fam
ily car of its customary pilot. A young
woman owes her skill at the wheel to
pinch-hitting for her gouty dad. 1
know a timid middle-aged woman who,
with only one long forgotten lesson tc
her credit, found it necessary to take
the wheel when her father suffered a
heart attack while on a trip. She drove
to the nearest doctor, and all the way
home.
I have a letter from a reader of
these weekly remarks, asking why ker
osene isn’t approved as an anti-freeze.
She has been using this petroleum
product for several years, and, as noth
ing happened, naturally wonders why
authorities disapprove. The answer is
simple enough when you stop to real
ize that by heating kerosene it can be
used in place of gasoline for running
a tractor engine. Aside from the other
objection, kerosene is liable to explode
when overheated and vaporized in the
cooling system. This can easily have
disastrous results.
Keep this in mind as the safety
thought of a busy week: If you are
driving with chains on, observe the
same precautions as you would if with
out this protection. The tendency is
to place too much reliance on the
chains and to drive too fast for con
ditions.
While all of us feel like tearing up
parking tags, it isn’t good business to
yield to the temptation. A woman who
tried it found herself forcibly hauled
into court and paid all the law imposed.
If there is any tearing up to be done,
better intrust the job to the officer
himself. A courteous approach; an
honest explanation of why the car was
parked in violation of the regulations;
a smile and plain evidence of a willing
ness to do better next time—these are
the proper approach to freedom.
Speaking of getting out of difficulties
reminds me to add the suggestion that
if the engine stalls in traffic and won’t
start, you can pull over to the curb on
the power of the battery. This is done
by placing the car in its lowest gear and
by holding your foot firmly on the
starter button while the clutch pedal
is up. This is not healthy for starter
or battery, but in an emergency is en
tirely justified.
When is a spring not a spring may
seem like one of those brain teasers,
but not if you know your automobile,
as every woman should. In a number
of makes of cars the springs play a vital
role in starting and in stopping.
It is hard to visualize this when you
behold the complicated car itself.
Switch your interest to a baby carriage,
however, and things become simple
enough. Note as you push a carriage
that the forward thrust is transferred
through the springs to the wheels be
fore the latter actually start rolling.
This thrust is known as the "drive.”
You would say that the carriage is
"driven” through the springs.
The situation 1s slightly different in
an automobile because the power is
internal, but movement is imparted to
frame and body through the springs i«
all cars which involve the principle
known as Hotchkiss drive. This is the
reverse of the plan whereby the springs
merely furnish shock absorption and
where special torque rods, or braces,
take the "drive.”
If the above is clear, you can appre
ciate how the springs of cars without
braces also take the braking action.
When the wheels slow down the decel
eration has to be transferred to the car
body and frame through the springs.
Does friend husband object when you
] take the car out for a spm during the
! week? If he is a week end driver and
j is inclined to imprison the car, here
are a few arguments that should cause
hin. to be more generous with his prop
erty.
A standing car develops trouble.
Valves are likely to stick unless the
motor is operated regularly, especially
in Winter. Gasoline goes stale from
standing and the battery will discharge
even when not being used. Rubber de
teriorates from inactivity. In the
modern car this involves rubber engine
I mountings, shackles and a number of
other units besides tires.
Truly, when a moth flies out of the
car each week end, trouble flies in.
T'X PUBLrCATION ASKED
American Petroleum Institute
Seeks Way to End Evasion.
Special onspatch so The St«j
BALTIMORE, January 9 —An effort
will be made by the American Pe
troleum Institute representative in
Maryland to have the gasoline tax re
turns of oil companies published by the
office of the State controller.
Asserting that the publication of the
returns would be the greatest safeguard
against tax evasion, and unfair com
petition as a result of this, Peyton S.
Cochran, section chairman of the Amer
ican Petroleum Institute, said the or
ganization would foster a move for re
peal of the section of the law prohibit
ing the State controller from revealing
the figures. The repealer will be sought
at the 1933 session of the Legislature.
Experienced Drivers.
Nine out of ten persons killed in au
tomobile accidents in 1930 were the vic
tims of accidents in which the drivers
had more than a year's experience be
hind the wheel, according to the Dis
trict of Columbia division of the Amer
ican Automobile Association.
PJEMWSYLYAMIAl
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_ ’ART
SAYERS ON OIL WORKS
^olumbia5J28j