Evening star. [volume], November 01, 1936, Page F-6, Image 64

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
HIGHWAY LIGHTING TEST WATCHED BY TRAFFIC HEADS
18-Mile “Path of Gold”
Is Marked in New York
Heavy Reduction in Nighttime Accidents Is
Promised—Experiment May Lead to
Other Installations by States.
By G. Adams Howard.
WHAT may be the forerunner of one of the greatest national steps
to effectively reduce night highway fatalities and accidents is
seen in the completion of a new highly illuminated road in upper
New York State.
This 18-mile-long “path of gold” is on Route 7, running from Sche
nectady through the village of Duanesburg, in the heart of a fertile farming
area. At present it is the world’s longest stretch of illuminated highway. It
marks the last word in lighting and is science's latest challenge to highway
deaths at night.
*1 igiiv luuuviui^ so uivi Lojuig t njvtuij I <
and it is well to assume that this pro
tection to walkers and drivers alike
will be copied in many other sections
of the country in the near future.
It has been convincingly proven that
Improper highway and street lighting
has caused accidents to mount. Lo
cally it has been shown that due to
darkening 'he streets of the National
Capital by turning off various street
lights has had its tragic effect. This
was caused by the District officials
having insufficient appropriations.
This was equally true on the Mount
Vernon Memorial Highway, where all
lights were turned off for what many
term false economy.
A recent survey of the route by New
York State and county officials pre
dicts that motor vehicle accidents on
the lighted route which connects Sche
nectady with Duanesburg can be ex
pected to drop to at least 35 per cent
of the former annual toll, while com
parative figures from lighted routes in
other parts of the country indicate
that reductions as high as 90 per cent
would not exceed previous experiences.
Night-time motor vehicle deaths last
year, it was pointed out, comprised
21,400 deaths during the hours of dark
ness, with 14,600 deaths during day
light hours, although three-fourths of
the total traffic occurs during the day
and one-fourth at night. The serious
ness of this problem recently led the
American Road Builders’ Association
to appoint a large and representative
committee of experts to delve into the
question of highway illumination.
'T'HE 18-mile stretch, which was for
■*" mally opened to traffic (Septem
ber 18) by New York Highway Com
missioner Arthur W. Brandt, has been
transformed from a dark, hazardous
route into a ribbon of golden light
through the installation of 391 sodium
vapor lamps of 10,000 lumens each, de
veloped by engineers of the General
Electric Co. It links Schenectady with
Binghamton and is an important
artery of motor traffic in upstate New
York. Tapping a rich farming and
dairy country, the highway constitutes
• chief means of trucking farm prod
ucts to the centers of large popula
tion. It is known to people of this area
as the "Path of Gold."
RaUroad crossings, road intersec
tions, hill crests and other road haz
ards are plainly visible by night under
the new lighting system. At the open
ing of the illuminated highway, trucks
and passenger vehicles emerging from
farmers' drives stopped on the road
shoulder and were clearly seen as far
as 1,000 feet away.
The toll of pedestrian deaths, it was
stated, should faU to an unprecedented
minimum, since persons walking on
the shoulders of the highway at night
can easily be distinguished by ap
proaching motorists, even though an
automobile with glaring headlights
may be coming in the opposite direc
tion. Under the sodium vapor lamps,
which diffuse a soft golden light along
the entire 18-mile length of the high
way, the glare of automobile head
lights is greatly minimized and, in
some cases, observers were emphatic
in declaring it was completely elim
inated.
Without overhead lighting, highway
officials explained, the motorist at
night sees the roadway and objects
on the road largely by reflected light,
whereas under the sodium vapor lamps
the pavement and objects thereon are
seen by a combination of direct re
flection and silhouette. Many years
of study were required to solve this
problem of nighttime visibility, experi
ments for which were conducted by
illuminating engineers and traffic ex
perts on the celebrated "model high
way” in Cleveland, Ohio.
'ASA result of these experiments the
^ motorist’s visibility at night has
been greatly increased, estimated as
between 700 and 1,200 feet. Under
automobile headlights, without over
head lighting, according to the Massa
chusetts Highway Accident Survey, the
average visibility distance was esti
mated as only 200 feet, although this
distance, it was stated, is reduced to an
average of 125 feet, with a minimum of
28 feet, in the presence of an ap
proaching car with headlights fully on,
causing glare. The reduotion or com
plete elimination of this “glare,” which
is such an annoyance to motorists and
is the direct cause of many major
accidents, constitutes an Important
safety feature of the new sodium
vapor installations.
In estimating the degree of protec
tion as well as the economic savings
that it is felt will be effected by light
ing the Schenectady - Duanesburg
route, a reference was made by Sche
nectady County highway authorities to
conditions obtained on other lighted
thoroughfares. Adequate lighting of
eections of the Schenectady-Troy and
Schenectady-Albany roads, it was
pointed out, has brought about a 36.7
per cent decrease in nighttime high
way accidents over a four-year period,
while the illumination of San Fran
cisco’s Bay Shore Boulevard has re
duced nighttime accidents 54 per cent,
the Mount Vemon-Washington High
way 50 per cent and the Saw Mill
River and Hutchinson River Parkways,
in Westchester County, N. Y„ 37 per
cent. In the city of Detroit, however,
proper street illumination during a
three years’ survey by city officials
decreased accidents 93.5 per cent.
Consideration was also given to re
ports published by the Travelers’ In
surance Co. that 58 per cent of the
total fatalities on American roads and
highways take place in rural areas,
33.8 per cent of which fatalities are
believed to occur during the hours of
darkness.
Balancing the figures against local
conditions, Capt. Arthur W. Brandt,
New York State highway commie*
sioner, accepted 35 per cent as a con
servative guarantee of the extent to
•which deaths on the schenectady
Duanesburg road could be prevented
by adequate illumination.
'A MONG the numerous road hazards
**■ that have been disclosed to night
time drivers and greatly minimized by
the lighting is an unguarded railroad
crossing not far from Schenectady.
This crossing, located at the crest of a
rise in the highway, is not easily per
ceived at night by motorists traveling
east. Under the sodium' vapor lamps,
however, the hazard is visible far
enough away to enable motorists to
stop within a good margin of safety
and wait for the trains to pass.
Another hazard disclosed is the in
tersection of Route 7, at Duanesburg,
with Route 20, a main road to Albany.
Visibility is very poor at this point
due to the presence of business struc
tures along the intersecting points of
the two routes. Pedestrian traffic,
particularly, is endangered. Although
county traffic authorities have kept
no record of motor vehicle deaths and
injuries at this juncture prior to the
time the lights were installed. State
highway officials are agreed that the
hazards to life and property have since
been greatly minimized.
That the night illumination of our
heavily traveled highways is bound to
become an increasingly important
problem in the future was predicted re
cently by Charles M. Upham, engi
neer-director of the American Road
Builders’ Association. Mr. Upham said
that the association, which has 4,600
members, has given the subject of
highway illumination a very important
part in its highway safety campaign,
which seeks to remove hazards from
our highways.
A number of the leading highway
engineers have predicted that the pres
ent movement will result in illum
inated highways extending from coast
to coast, making highways as safe to
travel on by night as by day and
relieving the highways of a consider
able amount of daytime traffic, which
will accomplish the Journey at night
when the traffic is less.
If you’ve never motored
along Skyline Drive your ini
tial journey will be easier and ,
more pleasant if you clip this
map, prepared for The Sunday
Star by the American Auto
mobile Association. To reach
the drive you have your
choice of four pleasant trips:
No. 1, the shortest, takes you
by way of Middleburg to Front
Royal, SO miles from Wash
ington, thence over the drive
to Panorama and back to
Washington via Warrenton.
Another grand trip, 234
miles all told, involves fol
lowing the Lee Highway, No.
211, through Falls Church,
past Warrenton to Panorama,
then south over the drive to
Swift Run Gap and finally
back to the District via Madi
son, Culpeper and Warrenton.
Third trip, a trifle longer,
is as follows: Go to Front
Royal via Leesburg, then head
for Swift Run Gap and return
same as in trip 1.
Fourth trip permits you,
now that the Harpers Ferry
Bridge is open to highway
travel, to reach the drive by
way of Maryland, West Vir
ginia and Virginia. Take
route 240 through Bethesda
and Rockville, and when Fred
erick to reached, take 340
through Harpers Ferry and
then past Charles Town, W.
Va.; Berryville, Va.,and Boyce,
where route 3 should be picked
up and taken to Front Royal,
where the drives followed.
r -!— —
Night Highway Safety Aided by Science
The world’s longest stretch of illuminated highway recently opened in upper New York State.
This 18-mile long roadway is now called the ‘‘Path of Gold" The American Road Builders’ Asso
ciation aided in the construction, which they bel ieve will be the forerunner of illuminated high
ways from coast to coast. The above picture shows a brightly lighted tunnel turn. It was pho
tographed by a 10-second time exposure on 8x10 negative giving striking evidence of the bril
liance of illumination in this new development. —Photo Hamilton Wright.
Skyline Drive Grows in Length and N$
_ * A_
Its Greater Available Area
Reduces Traffic Evils
for Tourists.
By James Nevin Miller.
OW that October’s swan song
is all but sung, there are more
incentives than ever before
for a motor journey along
Skyline Drive. Days are cooler and
more exhilarating. Scenery, thanks
to Mother Nature's age-old habit of
donning her Fall cloak of vari-colored
leaves, is lovelier, unquestionably, than
at any other time of the year. Re
cent heavy rains have settled the dust
of the broad highway.
As for traffic conditions along the
magnificent boulevard that rides the
crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains—
while there is still a steady flow of
cars from almost every State in the
Union, the congestion has been re
lieved considerably. And for a very
good reason. As most Washington
motorists know already, Skyland Drive
as it exists today is 66 miles long, has
its start at the village of Front Royal
and terminates at Swift Run Gap.
Prior to October 1, however, the
boulevard, so far as the motoring pub
lic was concerned, stopped at Fish
ers Gap, more commonly known as
Panorama. The new 3C-mile stretch
of roadway between Panorama and
Front Royal has been available to
motorists for only a trifle over three
weeks.
Result? Traffic in the surrounding
region has been loosened up almost
everywhere and this applies to the
nearby State roads as well as to the
drive itself. Heretofore, visitors have
had to drive into the park either at
Panorama or at Swift Run Gap. To
day there’s a third entrance, the new
one at Front Royal, which now can
be reached by any of three main
roads; U. S. Route 50, via Middle
burg; State Route 7, via Leesburg and
by way of Maryland, West Virginia
and Virginia via the newly-opened
bridge at Harpers Ferry.
/"QUERIES concerning Skyline Drive,
^ despite the advent of late Oc
tober, continue to pour into the offices
of the American Automobile Associa
tion and the National Park Service,
which supervises the maintenance of
the famous boulevard. This is easily
understandable, when It is realized
that a goodly portion of Washington’s
population is semi-transient or float
ing. Newcomers are arriving here at
all times by the hundreds, the ma
jority, of course, to engage in Govern
ment occupktions.
One of their most urgent questions
is this: Where are the best places
for week end motor trips? Skyline
Drive is best known to them, and they
want to travel there before visiting
the other scenic points within a few
hours’ motoring distance of the Capi
tal.
Shall we, then, dedicate today’s trip,
which incidentally is the Anal one in
this year's series, to new residents of
the District? All right, let’s go. Folks
who’ve never been to Skyline want
to know, first of all, what to expect
in the way of scenery.
Well, the drive is in the heart of
the Blue Ridge and is now a part of
the Shenandoah National Park, com
prising 176,429 acres in one of the
loveliest regions of the mid-South. It
will be recalled that the newest mem
ber of the family of national parks
was formally dedicated by the Prest
detn on July 3, 1936.
Illl- _____1__ 2
lire uiauj vvv*
and secluded spots along the drive
provide ample opportunity for closer
acquaintance with the charms of the
landscape and for relaxation. The
enthralled visitor views innumerable
panoramas of forested mountains,
sloping hillsides and cultivated val
leys. Today these scenic wonders
have become a great mass of rich
color, with browns, reds and yellows
splashing the woodlands in every
direction.
We6t of the drive may be seen that
portion of the Shenandoah Valley ly
ing between the Blue Ridge and Mas
sanutten Mountain, the latter divid
ing the valley for a distance of 50
miles. Beyond the Massanutten lies
the remainder ot the valley, with the
crest of the Alleghany Mountains
seen In. the distance. East of the
drive are the foothills of the Blue
Ridge and the extensive Piedmont
Plain.
Y°UR initial journey to Skyline
will be easier and pleasanter U
you clip the map on this page, pre
pared for The Sunday Star by the
American Automobile Association.
However, the map concerns itself only
with the region around the drive it
self. Take your choice of these four
pleasant trips: No. 1, by far the
shortest, takes you by way of Middle
burg to Front Royal (80 miles from
Washington), thence over the Skyline
Drive to Panorama and finally back
to Washington way ot Warren ton.
' Total distance Is only about 180 miles.
Another grand trip, some 234 miles
all told. Involves following the Lee
Highway, No. 211, through Palls
Church, past Warren ton to Panorama,
then south over the drive to Swift Run
Gap, and finally back to the District
via Madison, Culpeper and Warren
ton.
A slight variation of this trip, and
perhaps a few miles longer, is No. 3.
First head directly for Front Royal
via Leesburg, then Journey the 66
miles along the drive to Swift Run
Gap and return to Washington by way
I of Warrenton and then past Falls
Church over the Lee Highway.
Proposed trip No. 4 permits you.
now that the Harpers Ferry Bridge is
open to highway travel for the first
time since the Spring floods, to travel
to the drive by way of Maryland. West
Virginia and Virginia. First follow
Sixteenth street or Wisconsin avenue
and along Route 240. through Bethes
da and Rockville. Then, when Fred
erick is reached, take 340 down
through Harpers Ferry, go next
through Charles Town (West Vir
ginia), Berryville (Virginia) and Byce,
where Route 3 should be picked up
and taken to Fort Royal, where the
drive is followed. Distance traveled
thus far is about 104 miles. Any of
the return routes mentioned can then
be taken back to the District. Or. if
you prefer, you can come back from
Swift Run Gap by turning to the west
(through the valley) past Elkton and
down the main Shenandoah Valley
(Route 11) to Winchester, thence
back to Washington either by U. S. 50
or via Harpers Perry,
yyHEN you reach the drive be on
the lookout for the numerous
historic landmarks. It was from the
vicinity of Swift Run Gap in 1716
that Gov. Alexander Spottswood of
Virginia, with a number of enthusias
tic followers, surveyed the domain,
untrodden until then by white men.
George Washington, during the
French and Indian War, passed over
this terrain. Old military roads still
exist, which resounded during the
days of '61 to the galloping hoofbeats
of those intrepid Cavalry riders, Phil
Sheridan of the Union Army and
Jubal Early, with his boys in gray.
Within the Park borders, a couple
of miles off route 231, near Criglers
ville, is the camp established by
former President Hoover, near the
headwaters of the Rapidan, 3,500 feet
above sea level. This camp will con
tinue to be maintained as a place of
relaxation for the Chief Executive
and members of his cabinet, its quick
accessibility to the National Capital
admirably commending It for week
end visits.
This section of the Blue Ridge is
known throughout the world for the
beauty of the trees and wild flowers
which grow on its slopes in great
profusion. The variety of trees is
endless. There are pines, hemlocks,
cedars, hickories, birches, beeches,
sycamores, locusts, maples and oaks
of* nearly every kind.
This region, furthermore, has long
been a favorite haunt of bird lovers.
Forty species have been noted in a
brief walk around Skyland.
Every motorist should note care
fully the rules to be observed during
his visit to the Shenandoah National
—t- . A
“It Is unlawful to disturb flowers,
shrubs or trees, to mar or deface
signs or buildings. Those wishing to
picnic should use areas established
at Sexton Knoll, South River and
Elkwallow Oap. (See map.)
“Speed limit is 35 miles an hour.
Observe and obey traffic signs. Do
not park on roadway; use parking
areas.
“Do not throw paper, lunch refuse
or other trash on road or elsewhere.
Place them in provided receptacles
which are located in all parking and
picnic areas.
“Fires should be built in desig
nated picnic areas and camp grounds.
Extinguish fires completely before
leaving. Do not throw burning
matches on the ground. And, finally,
be sure to observe Virginia State
fishing laws, and remember that
hunting is prohibited.”
T'ODAY, approximately 66 miles, or
A a. trifle more than the northern
two-thirds of the Sky land drive, is
In use. Eventually It will extend
along the summit of the Blue Ridge
for 90 miles. There still remain
around 30 miles under construction.
When the Blue Ridge Parkway,
now under construction, is completed,
another 500 miles of scenic beauty
will be available to motorists, and
the two great wonderlands of the
Appalachian chain will be completed.
In other words, this highway will
connect with the southern edge of
Skyline Drive, will go through Vir
ginia and North Carolina and con
nect with a road through the Great
Smoky Mountain National Parkway
in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Along the drive are three large pic
nic areas. One is At Elkwallow, 7
miles north of Panorama; another ie
1
at Sexton Shelter, 5 miles south of
Panorama, and the third is at South
River, 5 miles north of Swift Run
Gap. Probably two additional picnic
areas will have been completed by
the middle of next Summer. One
will be at Dickeys Ride. 4 miles south
of Front Royal; the other at Grav
elly Springs Gap, about 19 miles
south of Front Royal.
Today there’s no regular tourist
camp. However, a temporary park
ing area has been provided for folks
who bring their own camping equip
ment. This is situated at Hawksville
Gap. about 14 miles north of Pano
rama. Park authorities plan to build
a permanent public camping ground
next season at Big Meadows, about
19 miles south of Panorama.
Is there any place where the vls
: itor may enjoy an overnight stop
over along the drive? Only one. and
that's at Sky land. 10 miles south
of Panorama. It has accommodations
for about 80 people, is Government
owned, but operated under concession.
The set-up consists of a number of
rustic, one-story cottages, most of
them large enough to care for four
persons. Cottages are rustic, with an
oak ceiling inside and bark on the
outside. Each building 1s provided
with a bath room, fireplace and liv
ing room. Smallest cottages have two
bed rooms. Other cottages have three
jo four rooms and there’s one large
cottage which has eight bed rooms
and two baths.
The charge is $4.50 a day, American
plan. That is to say, for board and
room per person. Hot water is avail
able.
Park authorities are hopeful of go
ing ahead with the construction, in
the near future, of a large camp In
the vicinity of Big Meadows, 19 miles
south of Panorama. But it’s very
doubtful whether this wiU be finished
in time to accommodate next Sum
mer’s visitors. Under present plans
it will be somewhat larger than the
present set-up at Skyland. with a
dining room able to seat 125 to 150
people.
itural Beauty
«■ -
Famous Boulevard Offers
Variety of Routes, Well
Supervised.
INCLUDING the one at Skyland,
which accommodates about 80 peo
ple at one time, there are only three
eating places along the drive. The one ;
at Panorama Is the most sumptuous. !
In the main dining room you may get !
service, and there’s also a place to ,
obtain sandwiches and soft drinks. j
At Panorama you have your choice
of buying a regular meal or else
lighter refreshments, whereas at Swift
Run Gap there's a place of more lim
ited capacity where you may pur
chase meals, sandwiches or soft drinks.
All these establishments are operated
under temporary permit on the con
cession basis.
Drinking water is available at two
spots along the drive, both between
Panorama and Skyland. All the
water in the park is from springs.
Concrete tanks have been built under
ground to keep it cool at all times.
At Skyland. construction work is
expected to be completed aoon. under
I the W. P. A., of modern water and
sewage-dlspo6al systems. It's expected
i that the old cabins at Skyland and
the new ones in contemplation at
Great Meadows will be connected
with these systems and that the wa
ter will be so cold that guests will be
virtually drinking ice water. Already
In use in the park is a 50,000-gallon
concrete reservoir, now buried In the
ground, which serves as a gravity
supply for Skyland Lodge. The water
; is pumped up from Furnace Springs.
There will be at least four or five !
new and ultra-modern comfort sta- I
tions along the drive by next Sum
mer. Three of them will be installed
In the picnic greas. Also in prospect
are two or three gasoline stations, to
be provided with lavatory facilities.
! These will be Government-controlled,
1 but operated on the concession basis. I
--!
Automotive Briefs
David s. Hendrick, president of
David S. Hendrick, Inc., recently ap
pointed Nash-Lafayette distributor for
the Washington territory, announces
the appointments of Robert F. Crump,
R. R. Edwards, Jack Hill and R. A.
Woolf to his salesforce. Eddie Hulcher
has been made service manager and
James R. Trainor is in charge of the
parts department.
Lee D. Butler, president of Lee D.
Butler, Inc., announces the appoint
ment of his organization as distribu
tors in Washington, D. C., and a large
part of Maryland and Virginia for the
new Pierce-Arrow-built trailer called
the '•Travelodge.” The first public
showing of this modern trailer is now
being held at the Studebaker-Pierce
Arrow show rooms, 1138 Connecticut
avenue.
All Chevrolet dealers, sales managers
and retail salesmen in this territory
attended the 1937 annual pre-showing
and luncheon held in Baltimore, Md„
last Friday. The meeting was con
ducted by Glen R. Weeks, Baltimore
zone manager of the Chevrolet Motor
Co., and other factory officials. After
viewing motion pictures and going
over merchandise plans, the entire
group had lunch at the Lord Balti
more Hotel. A complete line of the
new 1937 Chevrolet was shown later
in the afternoon at the Chevrolet
warehouse at 920 East Fort avenue.
W. P. Barnhart has been appointed
sales manager in charge of Pierce
Arrow retail sales for Lee D. Butler,
Inc., Pierce-Arrow distributors, ac
cording to Lee Butler, president of this
distributorship. Barnhart has been
connected with the Automotive in
dustry, both wholesale and retail, for
many years and is well known to the
public and trade in Washington.
Pierce-Arrow sales and show rooms
are maintained at 1138 Connecticut
avenue.
Announcement is made of the ap
pointment of Adams-Brooks, Inc., as
authorized Dodge and Plymouth
dealers at Silver Spring, Md. Eddie
Adams and Charlie Brooks are the
partners in this new dealership. Both
have been well known for many years
to the trade and public in Washing
ton. Adams as a dealer and official
of other dealerships and Brooks as an
official and wholesale man.
A. H. Grothjan, zone manager for
Pontiac in Washington, announces
the appointment of the Arcade Pon
tiac Co. as direct factory Pontiac
dealer at 1425 Irving street northwest.
Officers of this new dealership are
Jack 3. Blank, president; Martin
Dempf, general manager, and William
F. McMahon, assistant sales manager.
Members of the sales department in
clude Robert C. Johnson. T. M. Mudd,
--
S -
>[■ ■ %*
Driver...
Can You 9
Answer This •
(Cheek right space.)
1. Which type of pavement Is the
most slippery in wet weather?
a ( ) Concrete,
b ( ) Wood block,
c ( ) Asphalt,
d ( ) Macadam.
2. If you are a careful driver, what
is the probable cause of tire whistling
or squeaking when yob round curves?
a ( ) Excessive speed,
b ( ) Not enough air In tires,
c ( ) Peculiarity of tire tread,
d ( ) Peculiarity of road sur
face.
3. What type of traffic accident has
resulted in the greatest Increase in
fataillties over the past decade?
a ( ) Pedestrian-motor vehicle,
b ( ) Motor vehicle-motor ve
hicle.
e ( ) Motor vehicle-fixed ob
ject.
4. A Chicago study revealed that
60 per cent of all accidents between
two other motor vehicles occurred
when the cars were—
a ( ) Both going straight at
right angles.
b ( ) Both going straight in the
opposite direction,
c ( ) Both going straight in the
same direction.
5. In modem highway construction
most curves are "banked.” For what
primary reason?
a ( ) To Insure good drainage,
b ( ) TO make them “faster.”
c ( ) To Increase the safety
factor.
i Keeton. Both Jack Blank and Martin
Dempf are well-known to the public
and trade in Washington, having been
prominently associated with the auto
motive business here for many years.
Williams & Baker, Inc., authorized
Nash-Lafayette dealers, entertained
as their guests many members of the
Washington public at a free talking
moving picture show at their show
rooms. 1507 Fourteenth street north
west, last Friday night. The films
shown were Industrial and educa
tional and showed the actual processes
involved in the manufacture of mod
ern automobiles.
According to Max Dinkin. treasurer
of L. S. Jullien, Inc., automotive spe
cialty distributors, at 1438 P street
northwest, several hundred members
of the automotive trade attended the
special welding clinic held here last
week. This clinic was put on in co
operation with the Linde Air Products
Corp., and featured talking pictures,
demonstrations and lectures.
Fireside
(Continued Prom First Page.)
hotel room, to include three of the
Roosevelt children. Mrs. Roosevelt,
In a blue evening gown and white furs,
was the calmest woman in the hdtel
that night. She had not left their
home in East Sixty-fifth street until
an hour after the Governor had gone.
She had been too busy, serving per
sonally a crowd of guests invited for
a buffet supper that included the
scrambled eggs of Sunday-morning
White-House-breakfast fame. It was
a smiling group that departed some
time later, stopping to pose for pic
tures in the street before the hotel,
while photographers called out the
tutuie title, "Just one more, please, Mr.
President.”
On November 0, 1860, a Springfield
correspondent of the New York Times
quoted in The Star of that date, gives
us the picture of another fireside, be
fore which a very great man learned
that he had been chosen to head a
Nation tom with strife and bitterness.
Abraham Lincoln sat with some
friends before a roaring blaze In the
Cheny House, in Springfield, Hi., wait
ing for returns. He had spent vir
tually the entire day in the' little office
of the telegrapher, down the street,
and he heard each new dispatch with
"a marvelous equanimity.” The cor
respondent wrote to The Star:
"Mr. Lincoln has not yet given any
public intimation as to the policy of
his administration. I have every rea
son to believe that he will not depart
from the usual custom of newly
elected Presidents. In answer to all
inquiries as to what will be his course
he asks, Have you read my speeches?’
If the question is still pressed, he
quietly j^ands ant one at the pamph
AUTO SHOW I
PUZZLE CONTEST
THIS IS PUZZLE NO. li.
_ i r «
MULE Crect. ,
DARE Nymph.
LUOS Hurled.
ACHE Enlighten.
LADE Concept.
. t
INNERS Like a goose.
REVEL Expert.
Add a letter to each word shown in the left-hand column and rearrange
the letters to spell a word for which the definition is given. Insert the new
word below the definition and place the added letter in the last column oppo
site the new word. If the puzzle is solved correctly, the added letters will
spell the trade name of one*of the twenty (20) automobiles shown in the list
below, to be exhibited at the Seventeenth Annual Automobile Show of Wash
ington, D. C., from November 14 to November 21, 1936, inclusive, at the Calvert
Exhibit Hall, 2701 Calvert street, northwest, under the auspices of the Wash
ington Automotive Trade Association, which, with the co-operation of The
Star, is conducting this contest.
BUICK DODGE LINCOLN PLYMOUTH
CADILLAC FORD NASH PONTIAC
CHEVROLET HUDSON OLDSMOBILE STUDEBAKER
CHRYSLER LAFAYETTE PACKARD TERRAPLANE
DE SOTO LA SALLE PIERCE-ARROW ZEPHYR
The first puzzle appeared on October 22, 1936. A different one will
appear each day until November 10, 1936. The puzzles that have appeared
prior to this one may be studied from the files in the business office of
The Star.
Solve each puzzle, and not earlier than November 10. but not later than
midnight, November 11, send all of the solutions with a reason of not more
than twenty (20) words "As to Why an Automobile Show Should Be Held
in Washington, D. C.," to the Washington Automotive Trade Association, 1427
I street northwest, Washington, D. C.
It is not necessary to lend in the actual puzzles, but it is compulsory
that the entries show the new words. The new words will not be given out
or published, and no entries will be returned.
Officials of the Washington Automotive Trade Association, whose decisions
will be final, will act as judges, and, based on correctness, neatness and manner
in which the solutions are submitted, as well as the reason for holding an
Annual Automobile Show, will be awarded prizes totaling $100 and 100 tickets
to the Automobile Show, as follows: First prize, $50 and 12 tickets: second
prize. $25 and 8 tickets; third prize. $10 and 6 tickets; fourth prize, $5 and 4
tickets; 10 prizes of $1 each and 2 tickets and 25 prizes of 2 tickets each.
In case of ties duplicate prizes will be awarded.
Winners will be announced in the Automobile Show Section of the Sunday
Star on November 15, 1936. Questions should be addressed to Washington
Automotive Trade Association, 1427 I street northwest, Washington, D. C.
let publications of his speeches in the
late controversy with Mr. Douglas.
"Mr. Lincoln has been about town
all day and accessible to all who chose
to speak to him. He has occupied the
room of the Executive in the Capitol,
and has been freely congratulated by
his fellow-townsmen.
"Mr. Lincoln spent most of election
night in the telegraph office where he
heard returns and received private dis
patches with a most marvellous equa
nimity. Those who saw him at the
time say it would have been impossible
for a by-stander to tell that that lean,
tall, wiry, good-natured, easy-going
gentleman, so anxiously inquiring
about the success of the local candi
dates was the choice of the people for
the most important office in the Na
tion. Even during the election day
and night, Mr. Lincoln was about
town, attending to his business as
usual. Many of his Springfield ac
quaintances will long remember how
he sat In a social circle at the Cheny
House while the returns were coming
in and Indulged alike in pleasant chat
and his propensity for story telling."
gACK in the days of George Wash
ington the edge must have worn
off the first excitement of election by
the time the news was received in the
Washington household, for not until
two months after the ballots were cast
did George Washington learn that he
had been elected President of the
United States. Some years later, on
November 2.1856. The Star announced
in a four-line paragraph, without a
headline. "It is now generally conceded
that Buchanan has been elected.”
Today presents a very diflerent pic
ture. Eight hours, more or less, after
the polls have closed, the country
will know who is to be its "first family”
for the next four years. Over the air,
by means of public address systems,
from illuminated bulletin boards, at
the theaters or in community centers
by means of direct wires, by Coast
Defense searchlights, aeroplane beams
and over the naval wireless, the word
will be flashed to a waiting Nation.
And millions will keep the fireside
watch next Tuesday with that little
group about the hearth in the book
lined study at Hyde Park, and with
another family group in a living room
in Kansas, while the White House,
unmindful of future occupants, will
stand dark, deserted and indifferent,
within the shadows of its trees.
Air School
(Continued From Fourth Page.)
of life, however, one is accustomed to
the process of disillusionment.
. For example, one ventures into the
precincts of such an Institution with
the conviction that he will see the very
latest in aerial armament. It seems
entirely rational to look forward to
such an experience. In view of the fact
that the school teaches the last word
In aerial warfare. The equipment on
which this last word necessarily is
based is assumed as a matter of course.
It is a wrong assumption, however.
There are new planes of a few types
in the spacious hangars, and others
are understood to be on the way, but
the visitor frequently is impressed
with the sight of a plane that looks
like the .ancient albatross being used
in a tactical study that is as up-to-the
minute as tomorrow. One looks—and
remembers those rotogravure pictures
of huge fleets of foreign planes 1
rPHE military plane type nx*t sig
nally missing among the equip
ment at Maxwell is the one which
today’s military airman rates at the
top of the list and the one upon which
ao much of the school’s teaching em
phasis is laid. The plane In question
is the bomber.
Today’s bombing plane has come a
long way from the cumbersome, torpid
crate which evolved after the World
War.
It is the fiver’s favorite, regardless
of how reactlonarily tne layman may
still give his loyalty to the pursuit
ship which acquired such glamour
during the days of 1914-1018. The pur
suit ship, to be sure, has not been left
without a function in the evolution of
military aircraft, but, as compared
with the spetacular role it once played.
It seems destined now for an extremely
dull life.
lyen remembering the days of the
war, when be flew a pursuit ship In
what amounted to a private fight of
I
his own with an individual enemy, the
modern military airman has a difficult
time finding a place for the type in
the current set-up. It might have
been different had speend and size
continued to be the irreconcilables
they once were thought to be in air
craft design. They no longer are, as
ships which fill the commercial air
lanes show—and as the larger military
craft, carrying huge and deadly car
goes, show even more spectacularly.
; There is a profound implication of
aviation's maturity, a wholesome ma
i turity without a loss of virility, to be
derived from the experience of a visit
to Maxwell Field. Although some of
them are present at the school, as stu
dents or instructors, one would have
a difficult time picking out the World
i War flyer among the personnel.
Nor is this due entirely to any savage
I physical changes which time has
j wrought in the appearance of these
! men. The aviator seems to enjoy a
degree of immunity to the quick and
j drastic changes to which other men
are subject. To be sure, complexions
become more leathery and there is
nothing about flying that removes men
from the gray hair and baldness zones
of human experience, but it is not
changes of this kind that make the
war-time flyer difficult to recognize at
Maxwell.
He is more changed psychologically
than physically. He is a serious warrior
now, as if, having lost his physical
j kinship with the eagle, he is out to
acquire the wisdom attributed to the
I owl.
| The physical difference between the
j freshman flyer—and there always are
enough of them around Montgomery
| In miscellaneous non-student capac
ities to make the comparison—and the
captains and majors who comprise the
student body and faculty is far less
evident than the psychologic differ
ence. Even if one were not the same
age as some of the younger captains,
I or the few first lieutenants who shortly
j will attain that rank, one would prefer
; the advantage belonging to the, so
to-speak, graduate student. The
choice of Launcelot over Tristram, as
it w’ere.
The ace out of the old pack still
looks best if more than the surface is
considered, especially as the Tactical
j School remodels him.
-- .0 -
Ghosts
(■Continued from Second Page.)
graduating from school In Philadel
phia, built a new house in 1820 to do
her honor, elaborate and pretentious.
After her marriage and early death,
and the death of her mother, old John
went in heavily for entertaining. Each
year he gave a great dinner party,
which was the talk of the town and
of the Eastern seaboard, for his guests
included the entire body of Congress.
When old John died his funeral bier
was drawn by six white horses and
all the pomp and ceremony of the
day was included in the program to
do honor to his memory. But it was
the glory of the six white horses that
lingered in the minds of an awed
populace. And thereafter, each year
on the anniversary of his death, you
could hear the ghosts of these splen
did animals galloping about the old
mansion, their white sides heaving
and great tails flying in the wind . . .
but they were headless . . . “hav
ing burled their heads in the dust with
their master.”
A less robust ghost is connected
with an old house called the Maples,
built in 1796 on South Carolina ave-.
nue between Sixth and Eighth. Fran
cis Scott Key lived there In 1815 and
later Capt. A. A. Nicholson, whose
wife's small but determined ghost still
weeps in the old rooms. She was
jealous of a Carroll daughter living in
Duddington Manor nearby and com
• mltted suicide, but comes back, often
It Is said, to weep with hom-sick
ness for the «<£ day*.
■ ■ " »
Answers to Traffiquii.
1 (b); 2 (b); 3 (b); 4 (a): 5 (c).
I Authorized Distributors
Delco Batteries
(REEL BROTHER*
till I4~ $T,N.W.-•• DEc»t«« 4220 Jl
' ! t