Evening star. [volume], January 31, 1932, Page 22, Image 116

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
MOTORIST OF 30 YEARS AGO
FOUND LIFE MOST INTERESTING
Irritated Vermont Woman Threw Potatoes
at Horseless Buggy—Frightened Calf
Pulled Down Woodpile.
Milady’s Motoring
BY FREDERICK C. Rl’SSEIX.
the World's
BEST SALES
TALK
Special Dispatch to The Star.
BOSTON, January 30,—A “horseless
carriage” was so unpopular a means of
transportation to one Vermont woman
in 1902. that the tossed potatoes at it.
And a calf, tied to a woodpile there, was
so frightened at the approach of one of
th? crude ‘ gasoline buggies" of those
times that it pranced wildly and pulled
down the woodpile.
Sydney T. Knott. Boston lawyer,
whose infant memories began with the
automobile, so testifies. He and his
father. Louis E. Knott, have, between
them, held automobile plate number 9
continou: ly since tlie State Highway
Commission fir t granted it to them in
1903.
Sport No. 9.
And for four y ars before the State
fir i assigned automobile numbers, the
Kn >tt family sported plate 9 on its cars.
They still hold today the receipts given
them by H. L. Ogden, of the Boston
Park Department, for $1 for an oper
ator's permit, and for $1 for a permit
for the automobile.
Tins latter permits assigned to them
originally the number plate 9. In those
pioneer days, autom bilists were simply
assigned a number, and made their own
plates. The Knott family plate was
made of leather, with a silver-plated
figure 9 attached. They were informed
by park department authorities then
that plate 9 was the first to be assigned
to a private automobile, the first eight
numbers being assigned for public
automobiles.
More than this honor, however, the
Knott family still treasures a formal
document issued to them in 1898 by
Supt of Streets M. Driscoll, of Brook
line which gave them carte blanche to
pass through the public highway of that
sedate town in their automobile.
* family had a Duryea car, and then, suc
cessively, a Locomobile and a Stanley
steamer, all of which actually were
driven from the back seat—whence to
day comes so much superfluous advice
as to how- to operate modern cars. Syd
ney remembers that, as a child, he used
to have to be strapped by the waist into
the front seat of the Stanley steamer,
while his father behind him, operated
the car by tiller.
The 1902 potato-throwing incident
occurred, when the father drove the
| family to Clarendon Springs, Vt., to
visit his brother there. When the
f«n or Knott alighted and knocked at
a f*'mhoits« door to Inquire his way
ot\^ night, & woman answered, and,
] spotting fit" unwelcome automobile,
pelted it with potatoes until Knott
drove away.
Fear of Children.
Sydney recollects, too the fear of
children against touching the tires of
the machine. The little ones felt the
rubber tires must be so hot as to burn
i their fingers.
He also remembers that some water
for their boiler was once given them in
a country village, but the water was so
, foul it later caused engine trouble.
This tied the famly up In a lonely back
woods road for several hours of repair
work -no joke in those days, when
every automobilist had to be his own
mechanician.
The senior Knott served for several
years as secretary of the Massachusetts
Automobile Club, which held annual
: outings for five years beginning with
the turn of the century'.
Starting out from Boston, the motor
cade of 30 or 40 cars would be filled
with men, women and children, wear
ing dusters, veils and goggles—essentials
j to automobile riding in those dusty days
before the good roads movement got
well under way.
Sydney Knott himself started driving
an automobile in 1906 at the tender age
; of 11. before the State imposed an age
minimum for drivers. In all these years
of driving he never has had an acci
1 dent and never has been arrested for
speeding or other violation of the au
tomobile laws, and his father before
him had as flawless a record—some
thing for the more careless operators
today to think about.
Rare Document.
Supt. Driscoll's letter, in his own
handwriting, dated September 7, 1898,
is indeed a rare document. Perhaps
its chilly tone expresses practically j
the universal attitude toward the be
ginnings of the industry.
His letter, addressed to the senior
Knott, follows: "Yours of yesterday j
asking for a permit to run a motor
carriage through our streets is at hand, i
"We do net issue permits for such a
purpose, and can see no reason for so
doing. If you use such a carriage, you
do so entierly at your own risk. The
men of my department will not inter
fere with you at all, and the chief of
police says that his men take no notice
of such things, unless the ordinary rules
o! the road are violated.”
The senior Knott was among the first
to hate a superior garage for his au
tomobile, so tnat he could make use of
it in open Winter weather.
First Garage.
He caused the rear cellar bulkheads
of the family residence to be removed,
and an incline dug into the cellar floor
level. Swinging doors protected the
family steam-automobile trom freezing
through the Winter months. Although
this earliest indoor gar
ag - exists in the residence, where Mrs.
Ki: it. herself an early auto enthusiast,
•till lives.
Sydney Knott remembers that the
Dusters and Goggles.
Mention of those dusters and goggles,
so essential to automobiling in early
days, made Sydney remember that
among family heirlooms at his Barn- 1
stable Summer home are a couple of
slender wicker baskets.
Their fiat sides were attached in up
right position to the bodies of the fam
ily's earliest automobiles, and within
their semi-circular bulg". those riding
in the car deposited their umbrellas or
parasols when they were not in use
as protection against the rain, wind or
dust.
(Copyright. 1932. bv the North American
Newspaper Alliance. Inc )
-•
7.947,000 Miles of Road.
There are 7,947,000 miles of high
ways in the world, according to the
District of Columbia division of the
American Automobile Association.
RIDE REGULATION NEW STUDY
FOR ALL AUTOMOBILE DRIVERS
Ride regulation—generally conceded
to be the most significant mechanical
improvement of the current motoring
season—may or may not win a niche
in the hall of fame of engineering de
velopments, In the opinion of those
who are watching the situation care
fully, it all depends on how the public
co-operates.
The motorist has been given a new
control to toy with. Will he use it
properiy or will he fumble?
Engineers look upon the new method
of controlling the adjustment of shock
absorbers from the driving compart
ment as an opportunity for a distinct
acivance in riding comfort and control.
It is pictured as essential to the in
creasing variation in car performance
and as playing an important role in
safety. To temper their enthusiasm
there is, nevertheless, a well founded
fear that the public will misuse or
r.eglect the new control and that mo
tordom may be forced back into the
Old rut or to automatic control.
When taking delivery of a car
equipped with ride regulation, if is con
ludeHth advisable to study the various
applications of the system. While
salesmen are perhaps not fully aware
of all points concerning ride control,
they can spare the motorist many pos
sible pitfalls and can aid him in know
ing when and how to select the control
best suited to any one of a number of
conditions. These conditions may be
roughly classed as road, load, speed,
tire inflation, temperature, weight ap
portionment, traction, spring flexibility
and seat cushion flexibility.
An essential point in controlling the
adjustment of the shock absorbers is to
anticipate conditions. It is a conveni
ence to be able to adjust the car for
whatever situation develops, but for
maximum results and for safety, antici
pation is preferable. This calls for ac
curate knowledge of the how and why
of riding characteristics.
The story is told of one motorist who
had been testing a car over a rough
road at slow' speed, using the softest
adjustment for this purpose. Immedi
ately following this he started up a
long, well paved grade. Going into a
sharp turn at high speed, he nearly
upset the car because of the inability
of the shock absorbers to prevent the
car from swaying.
Following the Trend
of Completely
EQUIPPED AND
LUXURIOUSLY appointed
Interiors - wuy Not
install some of the
ABOVE FITTINGS7 /
Motor Course That Traces Florida Coast
Map of route
extending from
Jacktonrille to
Miami and tcenet
which aicait
motoritlt along
trail
SAy- r DIDN'T LIKE THAT CRACK
you made about "ride-control"'
I CAN DRIVE A5 WELL AS YOU !!"
POLICEMAN LOOKS
AT SPEED VIOLATIONS
Matter of Interest Described in
Traffic Officers' Train
ing Manual.
How the motor cycle officer looks
at speed volations of the motorist Is
interestingly revealed in a back-stage
glimpse of traffic regulation afforded by
Traffic Officers’ Training Manual, which
is being used as a standard work in
an increasing number of cities.
Two views exist in regard to speed
regulation, the book states. One in
volves the prima facie speed law, hav
ing a legal limit but permitting the
motorist to exceed the limit if he can
prove he is doing so safely. The oth
er depends upon the clear space ahead
of the speeding car. In any event, says
the author. Clarence P. Taylor, the
officer trailing a car must be sure he
is keeping the same rate of speed, and
should allow the motorist five miles
an hour in excess of the legal limit, to
allow for error and speedometer ex
aggeration. Speedometers almost in
variably show a speed higher than the
actual fact.
Officers are cautioned to watch for
cars going so slowly as to block traffic,
and to draw them off to one sid". The
proper approach to a man stopped for
speeding is for the officer to say. 'I
am very sorry, but you were driving
45 miles an hour and I shall have to
give you a summons."
The book was edited by Dr. Miller
McClintock. director of the Albert Rus
sel Erskme Bureau for Street Traffic
Research, in Harvard University, of
which the author is a sometime fellow.
•
Auto Retail Sales.
Twenty per cent of all retail sales
are automotive products.
When hubby asks his lambkin if she's
not in a draft and completely comfort
able probably he wants to change seats
with her.
The signs distinctly warned against
driving over 15 miles an hour, but she
came into the park at 30 and held to
that speed, honking the twin horns like
a fireman on a three-alarm blaze. An
elderly pedestrian pointed a finger of
scorn as she whizzed by and I found
myself jumping back to the grass. |
Three minutes later she came tearing
back, having picked up little Oswald, |
who can’t be trusted to come home from
school of his own accord ’’with all these
reckless drivers.’’
There's good news for women in the
fact that with the new starters you are
not likely to forget to switch off the
ignition at night, since the engine
would keep on running, but let’s temper
this with the fact that you can run
down a good battery by forgetting to
switch off the car’s hot-water heater.
Incidentally, if you like the idea, and
if you do not have need for heat while
the car is parked you can have your
service man wire the fan of the heater
so that it can be switched on only while !
the ignition is on. This prevents the
fan from operating when the engine is
not running.
But daddy Dear , you said you
WANTED ME TO HAVE NICE THINGS,
(SNIP-SNIP-) AND I JUST LOVE THAT
PRETTY LAVENDER CABRIOLET !
r And after seeing the swanky new
cars at the Auto show your 1930
MODEL LOOKTS^^. ^
In reaching conclusions about the de
sirability of mechanical improvements
women are handicapped by a limited
experience with things automotive.
There was, for instance, the recent case
of the woman who decided against a
car with free wheeling because her hus
band said that modern clutches are so
easy to operate he could not see where
there would be any point in eliminating
need for using the clutch when shift
ing. If only she had been able to think
back a comparatively few' years to the
days when men were saying that it was
just as easy to use the hand crank as
to bother with a self-starter!
How old should a woman be to drive
a car? At what age should she be i
asked to let James do the driving?
You may say it all depends, and it
probably does. But one of the insur- j
ance companies which issues a special i
accident policy for wife or daughter sets
the age limits from 18 to 59. If the
limits are too conservative I'll vote in
favor of an extension at the upper end.
One of the best and safest women I
have ever driven behind is well over the
60 mark.
In a spirit of fun some one has
penned a new proverb of the road de
claring -the later the night, the
greater the speed." It is true. Traffic
lights are either set at caution or
snapped out altogether. Collisions are
invited by the very thought that thev
are not so likely to happen. Each
driver feels that he is alone on the
road and need not worry about the
other fellow. It is a dangerous business
at best. Better remind the men folk
who plan to be out late, and sp=ak
about it when one or the other of vou
is driving the car home from the eve
ning bridge party.
If any one has pushed your car.
The Salesman Who C/o/ms to
he a Psychology Expert
Sd. GET THIS LADY--IT'S HOT,
then I says to the Senator, ^
Listen Pal,this Dissip-8
can Go faster in Reverse .
than that Birdcage Etc.,Etc.'
OJ. - - — .. - - iv'
J-TBerrYmaA I
AUTO MADE SAFER
BY SPEED CAPABILITY
That a Car Can Make 100 Miles
Per Hour Is Not the
Point.
—
"The fact that a car Is capable of
running 100 miles per hour does not
mean that it will necessarily be called
upon to attain that speed in the hands
of the owner." says Col. E. S. Gorrell.
president of the Stutz Motor Car Co.
of America.
Speed, reasons Col. Gorrell, Is not
a quality by itself. It is the product
of power and stamina, and of these two
requisites, stamina is by far the rarer.
To the man who drives fast or the
man who drives slowly, high speed
capabilities mean ruggedness, stamina
and dependability.
A car capable of doing 100 miles per
hour laughs at 60 or 70. It delivers
a touring speed of 65 miles hour after
hour, without complaint, without strain,
without effort.
The stressed piece of machinery Is
a dangerous piece of machinery. Su
perior performance capabilities in an
automobile constitute an effective fac
tor of safety.
- -•-—
One-fourth of all automobiles are 1
used by farmers in connection with
farm activities, according to George E.
Keneipp, manager of the District of
Columbia division of the American
Automooile Association.
NEW
8 I
A new, 90 horsepower, 123-inch wheelbase Eight, styled for the modern trewd,
engineered for modern conditions and priced to meet 1932 standards of value#
1 DEEP BANJO FRAME ... An entirely new
' and stronger type of frame, lowering both
frame ond body without affecting rood clearance,
increasing riding ease and reducing frame-weave
ond side-sway.
OUTBOARD SPRINGS ... An equally new
^ type of spring mounting, giving a spring
spread 8 inches wider in front and 6 inches
wider at rear—further reducing side-sway one’
increasing stability.
O SILENCED CHASSIS AND BODY . . . New
quj^tness, obtained by rubber mounting of
engine and springs, new resonator type exhaust
silencer, carburetor silencer, and the use of
rubber dough ond sound-deodening material
throughout the body.
OIL TEMPERATURE CONTROL ... Engine
designed to automatically control oil tem
perature within the limits necessary for maxietum
life and efficiency.
5 DASH REGULATED SHOCK ABSORBERS ...
A new convenient button on the dash controls
shock absorber action, stiffening or softening ride
to suit any load or road.
C DASH CONTROLLED FREE WHEELING ... A
^ new improved Free Wheeling control button,
making possible instont shifting from free Wheel
ing to conventionol drive or back again. Use of
the reverse gear does not affect [-ree Wheeling.
7 SUPER-HYDRAULIC BRAKES WITH NEW
CENTRIFUSE DRUMS . . . Rigid shoe, self
equalizing brakes with fixed diameter ribbed
steel drums, having centrifugalty cast braking
surfaces, provide much longer lining life and
increased efficiency.
ft SYNCHRO-SILENT GEAR SHIFT , . . A new
” transmission, in which both gear shifting and
driving are silent in second and third speeds.
This silence is obtained by the use of gear
synchronizers and helical gears.
SPECIAL "BLUE STREAK" ENGINE WITH ALUMINUM HEAD wm»
either in a crowded garage or out on
the street, be sure to have the head
lights tested as there is a good possi
bility that the lamps will be found out
of focus. A car never should be moved
by pushing on the lamps or the radia
tor, but in an emergency this point is
often overlooked.
No, it isn’t because they use the
choke too much that women have more
trouble with carbonized motors than
men. It’s just the more limited field
ir. which the average woman operates
her car. The motor of the family car
will load up with carbon much more
rapidly than one that is pushed hard
on the open road. Short runs, fre
quent recrankings and much parking
invites a valve and carbon job more
quickly than anything else.
One of the meanest tricks a male
member of the family can do is to
start the car and put it out on the
driveway for your use when you are
ready to go off for the day. This looks
like the height of chivalry, but you
don't know the half of it.
If an engine is stopped before It is
well warmed up, there is considerable
ccndensation of gas vapor in the
cylinders. This causes dilution of the
oil in the engine and invites sticky
valves. Then if the car stands too
long the poor battery has a double dose
of difficult cranking.
It’s just one of those simple things,
but if you haven't discovered it. now is
the time to take note. Just this: You
can tell if the stoplight signal Is work
ing by the way the ammeter pointer
will flicker toward discharge whenever
you press the brake pedal.
•
INGENUITY SHARPENED
DURING DEPRESSIONS
Times of Bad Business Are Periods
of Mechanical and Industrial
Progress.
The ingenuity of men is sharpened
in times of so-called business depres
sion, with the result that much im
provement occurs in the processes of
manufacture and better products are
made available to the public, thinks
Paul W. Litchfield, president of the
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
Speaking in connection with the an
nouncement of dates for automobile
shows throughout the country, Litch
field saw, in the progress made by au
tomobile makers in 1932, an improve
ment in the work of craftsmen, me
chanics and those upon whose taste
depends the lines of new model motor
cars.
"I think it may well be true,” said
Litchfield, "that in periods of so-celled
business depression the ingenuity of
men is sharpened so that, in restro
spect. we can see that our periods of
bad business have actually been pe
riods of the best mechanical scientific
and industrial progress.'1