Evening Star Newspaper, February 13, 1921, Page 53

" BELIEVES MOTOR TRUCKS ARE ECONOMIC NECESSITY H. C. Bailey Says Legislation Enacted Is \ Restricting the Best Interests of the Country. apment of nt-day sing Beffeving that motor i an economic ne- our pi i el 3 locomotive having cessity, and that legislation enmacted|qrive wheels that weigh more to restrict the industry is not work- |the entire first steam engine? ing to the best interests of the coun- | Steam railroad interests final try, H. C. Bailey of Mt. Vernon, N. Y., has written to The Star giving his views of motor trucks and road wear. “From time to time” writes Mr. Bailey, “I have read with int« rious news items and comment ient points across the earth's Star concerning the very important | pid the early opposition to the horse «question of motor trucks and their rela- | [oss carriage upon our turnpik can at best be but temporary. vent the present horseless age Tt seems that there is a marked | And cam the tendency on the part of legislatures | y pre ley? The fl s thing of commerce th shrinks the map of the world. its development ce us scarcity of lan at become not only in and around Washington, 'is yet in ‘knee trousers. be checked but in ether parts of the country as men who cannot read the clear well, to feel that large capacity motor | jundwriting upon the wall that a new their size, ar seem virtue of to the roads. The: 1o feel that they are serving t interests of the country by placi restricions on the size of motor trans- port units. “It occurred to me that ple fail to realize that motor t portation is now a re nomic_necessity—that there inite increasing amount of material that must be shipped by truck and cannot be diverted to other agents. The roads of today have already f: ed in their effort to support pri traffic. What will be the situation ten years hence if men in responsible po- sitions continue to look wupon the|day with their present equipment. problem through smoked glasses? | q¢ Any one at all familiar with the his- tory of commerce knows that laws favoring short-sighted restrictions n at best be but temporary. “Did the absence of mammoth piers and deep channels prevent the devel- opment of the ocean greyvhound of commerce? Did the absence of some- hing better than iron strips nailed to + trucks, b: destructiv. | epoch has dawned i Present “Unlike other his | ventions, the present gas riilroad amed of. It able branch lin short hau isolated sections Vanderbilt, Hill or mever even hoped for. that has ever introduction of the steam engine. You Can Obtain REAL BARGAINS in Auto Accessories at Our CLEARANCE SALE ‘Which Will Continue Throughout the Month of FEBRUARY Articles Listed Below Are But a Few of the Many We Are Offering at a SAVING TO YOU Regular Price Sale Price FORD Channel Bar Bumpers. ...$10.00 $5.00 Spark Plugs...cccceaa..co.... 100 .65 Spotlights . . 5.00 2.50 Foot Pumps . 3.00 2.00 Grease Guns.....ccccceeceeee. 125 .85 Tire Locks and Chains......... 1.50 1.00 Tire Locks and Chains......... 1.00 65 Macbeth Lens .....ccccceecee.. 525 3.75 Jacks, light weight....... 1.25 90 Combination Pliers....... .50 25 Parking Lamps, oil ....... .25 1.75 Towing Chains .......... 5.00 3.50 Auxiliary Windshields. . .. 2550 18.50 Wiping Waste, cartons......... .30 20 Seat Covers, Ford Touring. ..... 1500 12.00 Robes, All Wool—250/, Discount Off List Federal Auto Supply Co. " 477 Pa. Ave. N.W. Phone Main 3445 Anchor Glass Inclosed Tops R cecee Zenith Carburetors Failure of Insulation is Not Excepted in the Philadelphia Two-Year Guarantee HE separators or insulators are an essential part ' of a storage battery. Properly constructed they should last as long as any other part of the battery. Under the Philadelphia Two-Year Guarantee, failure of @’ insulation is a basis for adjustment just - > (" the same as the failure of any other part. 743 But Philadelphia insulation does ot fail{or three reasons: 1. Philadelphia battery plates are long lived, but the pat::.tcd x‘:uunou. of z‘:-rta'«-lwcd hard wood, are sufficiently strong to outlast the plates. 2. The rigidity of the Diamond Grid relieves them from pressure and strain. =)~ 1] With the PHILCO Slot THE “CORD TIRE” BATIERY SEATON GARAG 06 Rhode Inland Ave. N.W., Washington, D. C. ROY F. CARTY, 1605 14th St. N.W., Washington, D. C. . TAKOMA AUTO SUPFPLY STATION, 18 Cedar ‘Takoma Park, D. C, AUTO BATTERY SERVICE, 1006 13th St. N.W. Washington, D. C. ESSENO AUTO SUPPLY OO0, $h aad H Sta. N.W., Washingtea, D. G trucks are | wooden stringers prevent the devel- -ton v of than Did vent the securing of ‘rights of way' for the much needed interurban trol- £ a Will of the conven- urface? velopment of the effi- cient present-day motor truck, which as the most powerful ally to been eliminating the un- and main line and bringing freight from in a manner that Harriman had “If the present railroad systems were relieved of terminal congestion and the unprofitable short hauls they could take care of the demands of to- is gratifying to note that com- structive minds are coming to see the modern motor truck as a solution in the form of an evolution that will be felt by every family throughout the country—as great an evolution and having as far-reaching an effect upon the life of each individual as did the “It is known by the people that al- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, OTORS and - most 50 per cent of America's perish- able farm products are absolutely lost becaus¢ of inadequate transport facilities. Do these 110,000,000 people of the United States still hold that the axiom “The greatest good to the greatest number” is sound? Are they finally going to vote to restrict the motor truck’s economic development or to restrict uneconomic road build- ing? he inadequate present-day over- land motor haulage companies oper- ating upon railroad schedules have al- ready brought many marked changes. “There are close to seventy-five con- cerns operating trucks on sixteen regular routes passing through New York city. “In Southern California since the beginning of the war intercity motor truck transports have increased at least 400 per cent. Cities Alive With Companies. “Seattle, Spokane, Portiand and Ta- coma, in ‘the extreme northwest, are alive with motor truck transport com- panies. Likewise, the states of Ne- vada, Arizona, Utah and Colorado are €quipped even to ore-carrying fleets. The South today frankly acknowl- edges its great economic handicap in having to use light-capacity trucks Or no trucks, due to bad roads. Tre- mendous tonnage of farm products and manufactured goods gathered through this medium directly from the farm and factory has been a great assistance to the railroads already, but the motor truck will daily have to handle thousands of tons more in state before there is any per- ceptible relief. “Has the small-capacity truck held this intercity and suburban field against the economies of the larg pacity truck for this purpose? Not any more than the old type 15-ton box car and the 60-ton engine has held out against the 50-ton car with its accompanying 150-ton locomotive. “The inexorable law of commercial economics takes care of such matters in its effort to pay dividends to the very legislative stockholders who per- sistently refuse to build a substan- tial base for the truck that lays the solden egg. “The day will come, regardless of opposition, when the states which held out for restrictive truck legislation will awaken to find that their ward step leaves their states behind those which faced the Situa- tion squarely and promptly adopted progressive measures. “The gas engine, with its wonder- fully compact power plant, suddenly places the world in an entirely new era, and the sooner every individual steps up to the window and looks toward the horizon with a clear vis- ion, just that much sooner will we all get down to work and prepare to meet the irresistible force plainly visible. Must Stop Demanding. “We have got to stop demanding the greatest possible stretch of roadway for each dollar expended and insist upon less mileage with the best of subgrades obtainable. And the gov- ernment must back and control each progressive step if it is going to be done intelligently and economically. *~Roads of today are a different prob- lem than those of yesterday, and no man can foretell the definite require- ments of the roads of tomorrow. “The prophecy is well founded that within the next ten years the motor truck will be a direct auxiliary to the main railroad lines throughout the country and that the railroads will not only refuse to build further branches, but will have abandoned those not showing a profit. “In place of these branch lines, mo- tor trucks will act as direct feeders, gathering vast tonnage systematically and literally converting every farm- er's and manufacturer's gate into a freight loading station. “The railroad will then be m a po- sition to put ail its finances and ener- gies into the problem of handling the tremendous volume of freight del ered daily from these thousands of far-ranging trucks. “Sooner or later many apparently complex national issues, policies and platforms will be built around the highways and the motor trucks, and the sooner every voter be¢ames fa- miliar with the basic economic prin- ciples of commercial advancement just that much sooner will we realize the long-wished-for agricultural and commercial stability.” B WOULD HAVE ROADS MADE OF OLD TIRES Manufacturers Asked Never to Sell Discarded Casings to Rebuilders. Utllizing worn-out automobile tires as an aid to good road building is a new contribution to this vital sub- ject, according to John Kearns, one of the deans of the tire industry, chairman of the tire division of the Rubber Association of America. “In the world of manufacture scrap heaps have become 1aboo,” says Mr. Kearns. Nothing is wasted. Gold filings are salvaged from gold work- ers' clothes by suction. The modern factory guards its waste as a miser treasures his pennies. New uses are discovered hourly for the residue of mulngucu:)rc. “I have been handling rubber, meld- ing rubber and fabricating it for a £00d many years, but I have never yet had any one tell me just what be- comes of the one million and a half tons of old vulcanized rubber scrap, the yearly remains of deceased auto mobile tires. Nobody has ever found any real use for it. This ever-inoreas- ing surplus of deid rubber will con nue to pile up as long a - tinue to wear out tires, - Do OPI® €OW “At a meeting of the tire division of the Rubber Association it was :e?:om~ mended that the tire manafacturers discontinue their present practice of selling to rebuilders scrap casings which have been returned to the fas. tory for readjustment, and that they fo mutilate and destroy them as to make them unavailable fo called ‘rebullt tires.” e “I am of the opinion that old se: rubber could be profitably used In (ha making of subgrades for highways. Roughly ground old rubber, about the size of a cubic inch, laid down. to o thickness of four or five inches, conld be used as an excellent base for highe way building. The surfacing could be of either macadam or concrete. Rec cent investikation of road subgrades indicate th: per cent of road fail- ures are due to faulty foundation and not to the wearing surfa “A subgrade of rubber scrap would i not be expensive. It would, I believe, ’af(nrd great cushioning power to the road, to absorh the heaviest blows and | would not resist the expansion of the | road surfacing due to frost. It is the resistance of the roadbed, as at pres- ent constructed, 1o surface expansion which is responsible for cracka. A rubber -;lbsr-n:. wzvuld give the neo- essary play when frost is distending the road. “Rubber slabs have been used for many years in road making abroad. Any one who has ever visited Berlim will remember etretches of such roads in that city. When I was in Mel- bourne, Australia, I remember experi- menting, with success, with this form of road construction. But this is an expensive job. ap almost prohibitive one, and would never answer for high- ‘way building. “The failure of ‘gyp’ tires to give service to the purchaser should rele- gate such worn-out casings to a time- ly grave. Bury them.under a highway for good tires to roll ove ——— i‘ho mountains af the moon are mech bigEterthaDeuy Wweelave OB the ecactly . e nam—as sl g duty it would be to look at the ques- tion from a national rather than & sectional viewpoint, although their selection from varying geographical centers and co-operation with state highway departments would insure the latter against neglect of local conditions. “Again, instead of the possibility of a change in policy such as is always possible where the administration changes each four years, we would have a continuing policy, as these men would be appointed in rotating years, thus keeping at the head men con- URGES FEDERAL HIGHWAY BOARD E. S. Jordan Says Road Ques- tion Merits Separate Func- tion of Its Own. That the highway question is so im- portant that it should b made a sepa- rate function of the government rath- er than left in charge of a bureau of a department, was the opinion ex- pressed recently by Edward S. Jordan of the highways committee of the Na- tional Automobile Chamber of Com- merce. “In the past few months I have talked to scores of meetings and thousands of individuals in many cities of the country,” said Mr. Jor- dan, “and everywhere I find men tak- ing a keen interest in highway prob- lems. “After a careful survey, T feel that the best way to really focus the at- tention of the public on this great problem is through the creation of a federal highway commission, which should take over the work of the present bureau of public roads, and I y that without the slightest criti- cism of the men in charge now who are doing all that they can under the limitations of the present law. “If a commission of five men, let us say, could be appointed by the Presi- dent, with the advice and consent of the Senate, several results would be obtained at onme stroke. In the first place highways would be given their proper place as the most important single domestic phase of the govern- hent's work. Not only 'would the rec- ognition be a proper one, but it would serve to stimulate interest of stu- dents in college, to whom we must look for our future corps of trained men to handle the vast expendltures now available and to be made in the future “Sec ;mnny informed as to the work at and. Any men selected should be big, mentally. They should be selected because of their knowledge of the subject rather than from a political standpoint, and in order to present a rounded viewpoint they should in- clude enginecring, industrial and agricultural minds, although not nec- essarily men engaged in those occu- pations at the moment. Basis for Sound Policy. “The selection made, thege Imen could then sit down and xith state officials could shape a national policy your automobile. \ = — KS Sold ndly. we would have a body of v departments would insure FEBRUARY 13, T®R1—PART 3. ' which would take into account na- tional as well as state needs. Their report to Congress would naturally give us the basis for the soundest possible national policy, and one which would insure the soundest pos- sible expenditure of national funds. “As for the carrying on of the actual construction, it is my belief that the work should always have been under- taken by state departments under government supervision, where state departments have the power and abil- ity to do so. The present regional districts should be retained. and every effort made to avoid duplication and overlapping, since any upbuilding of national comstruction forces where state organizations are effective would defeat the very purposes in mind. Few Limitation: “When appointed, the ideal method which could be set down by Congress, in my judgment. would be & statement Beware of rear end trouble For the rear end is known as the “Backbone of Your Car.” The transmission and differential gears constitute the backbone of These gears must perform in some instances a serv- ice more severe than that which falls upon any other part of the car. These gears carry the whole driving load. To withstand the strain the gears must be correctly lubricated. ¥ EBONITE Puts a smooth, slippery film of lubricant | over and around your gears, and keeps out friction and noise. an_entire season. leaving the commission as free as possible to arrive at its final recom- mendatign, the only limitatjon being that the members should be required to consider national needs. “Present experience points to a con- One filling will last in five and twenty-five pound cans by ;ivarzges. gasoline stations and accessory ers. Call for it by name—EBONITE. BAYERSON OIL WORKS Manufacturers Pennsylvania Petroleum Products Erie, P Motor Oils, Greases centration of national funds on a selected national system, which should be built and maintained at govern- ment expense. thus releasing state and county funds, but this again would be a matter for careful dec fon. in order that the best possible BATTERY on and Starter Igni road policy might be evolves SERVICE All makes of I-H,»nu' ‘: charged. repaired and rebu A LOW-BOW. Ipiton, ctarier and_geoerates Transe repairs. Tires, tubes and ace From the Bosten ript. ries She (poetical)—1 suppose you are fa- miliar with Longfellow’s “Bridg He—No, is the game much different Federal Battery from the ordinary one? _ Service, Inc. 1314 9th St. N.W. Phone North 9340 2800 Sherman Ave. (Cor. Girard) Phone Columbia 5137 Special TIRES 30x3'2 Snap them up! CHAS. E. MILLER, Inc. Formerly Miller Bros.' Auto Supply House. 812 14th St. 4 Doors North of H St. WE WELD ANYTHING Scored Cylinders Repaired, No Heating, No Regrinding Auto Frames Straightened All Auto, Machine Parts, Boilers. Etc, Welded ALL WORK GUARANTEED DAY WELDING COMPANY 43 Sumner Court N.W., Bet. 16th and 17th, L and M Sts. . Phone Franklin 4362 ’ / } In developing the Packard Single-Six, our aim was a car of moderate size embodying traditional Packard quality. We priced it when completed at $3640, f. o. b. Detroit, knowing that it was an exceptional value at that figure. By anticipating this year’s manufacturing economies, we have since reduced this price to $2975. Built alongside the Packard Twin-Six and by the same ex- . perienced organization, this car affords anew measure of value and of economical service. PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY THE LUTTRELL COMPANY 1160 Connecticut Avenue Ask the ;ma'n who owns one NN A . DETROIT