Evening Star Newspaper, July 17, 1921, Page 43

: MACKALL TELLS OF MARYLAND SIGN POSTS State Police Aid to Road Regulations. Great Progress in System Being T HE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €., JULY 17, 1921—PART 3. S Q;'dl Ma de. In a recent address before the Automobile Club of Maryland, Chair- man J. N. Mackall of the state. roads ceommission explained the new methods of posting the highways of Maryland. This work Is now nearing completion, and will inure to the immediate benefit of the tourist. Mr. Mackall's aeddress fol- lows: “For many years Maryland has been properly considered one of the Ddest, if not the best, roaded state in the Union. Its roads have been well constructed: wide enough for traffic then existing, and widened as traffic demanded; and maintained in perfect condition ‘at all times. Last winter the removal of snow from the arterial highways was started, thus making these roads available for through traffic at all times, and so, as far as road maintenance was concerned, there was little to be desired. Maryland's Progress. “With the organization of the state olice last winter, Maryland is rapidly ecoming one of the leading states in the Union for road regulation, but 8till our roads are not rendering the maximum service because they have not been marked so that the traveler can go wherever he wants without the aid of lamps and numerous stops to acquire information or misinforma- tion, depending upon the person he interviews. “In view of having the roads render & maximum service to the public, the state roads commission has looked into the question af marking the state highways, and they found that this can be done at a very reasonable price. Arrangements are complete and the contract let for the marking of the line from the Delaware bor- der at the east, through Elkton, Belair, Baltimore, Frederick, Hager town and Cumberland to the Penn- sylvania line at the west. This mark- ing will be done by using metal-faced, ‘wood-back signs mounted on wood posts set in concrete, and will give TROUBLES OF ONE WHO GROUND VALVES AND REMOVED CARBON Next Time He'll Go Ends the Difficult: Tells of Tribulations. ¢ BY A. N. AMATEUR. 1 got the idea from the “book of in- structions.” Removing the carbon and grinding the valves, it sald, “is & simple operation if undertaken ‘with patience.” Rex sald that he had removed the carbon from his car, but that while he hadn’t ground the val- ves, it was easy. Bill who is some- thing of a nut on mechanics, sald he had done both, there was nothing to it. So I decided to try. y “Shorty,” an honest person who maintaind a garage and repair shop financed by myself and one or_two others, was a little hurt when I told him of my decision, He had made a special bid for the job, said he would do it for nothing just for the satis- faction of hearing the motor run without emulating a drum corps every time It passed within two blocks of a slight incline. But Rex, Bill and the book all said it was easy. ‘Whw not put one over on “Shorty Strikes Final Bolt. Given a monkey wrench and a pair of pliers the average man can make good headway unscrewing nuts and bolts. 1 was congratulating my on the simplicity of the task involved in removing the so-called “head” of the motor when I struck the final bolt, Mr. Motorist (as the automobile writers love to address the automo- bile burdened public at large), have You ever come across a bolt 8o wedg- ed between wires and other mechan- {sm that you wonder how it ever got there? 1 found such a ome in that last bolt. I approached it gently at first trying stealthy attacks from the north, east, west, and south. I tried crawing over the top of the car and jumping down on that bolt. I rushed it from all directions at once, I fought it. Then, in dire disgust, I threw the wrench at it. Then repented, remem. bering the necessary patience; stood on my head, and gave it a gentle twist. It moved. I lifted the top off in triumph. lifted the push-rods off with it. I placed the top on a box, got down under the car and recover- ed the rods from the lowest recesses of the pan. Seraping Carbon. There's a peculiarly attractive thing about scraping carbon out of one's own car. The carbon comes off easily, and with every scrape there's the sat- isfaction of parting with an old enemy. And the same with grinding AUTO GLASS FOR_WINDSHIELDS OR_BODIES. Installed While You Wait. Taranto & Wasman 1017 !!_' York Ave. N.W. Authorized Service Stations Bradburn Bat'y & EL Service 616 Pa. Ave. SE. Modern Auto Supply Co. 917 H St Traylor-Ettinger Bat’y Service 1417 Irving St. N.W. The John A. Wineberger Co., Inc. 3700 Ga. Ave. N.W. Smith’s Bat'y & El Service 2119 18th St. . Smithdeal Bat'y & EL Service 1919 Pa. Ave. Nw. E. J. Penning, 1740 14th St NW. “The Still Better Willarid” many years of service. will be twenty by thirty inche: three-inch white letters om a black background. They will earry the name of the road—for fmstance—Na- tional plke—distance to and from im- portant points, and all principal con- nections. Sufficient signs will be used to clearly indicate the desired points, S0 that travelers may feel assured, if the signs are observed, they cannot g0 wrong. Maps ‘Wood. Tn addition to these direction and distance signs, there will be at the limits of each of the large towns a ten-by-ten- foot map, painted on wood. This map will show the main routes through the town in white, and the secondary routes in gray, the names of the streets and well established landmarks, so that a person can decide the route he wishes to take and follow it without difficulty. The color scheme of these maps will be the same as the smaller signs—black background, white letters—and will be located and so oriented as to read In the direction of travel, so that in every case if the signboard were laid on the ground It would be pointing in the di- rection of travel. On the map in red will be a star and the following wording: “You are now at this point.’ This start on the map will correspond identl- cally to the location of the map on the ground. “At ke top of each mountain a board, similar in size to the maps, will be plac- ed, telling the motorist the miles down the mountain, warning him of curves and giving him short instruction as to how to drive down the mountain to avoid an accident or damage to the car. “At all points where the state road crosses from one state to another, large signs, similar to the maps, will be erected, on which will ba displayed the salient features of the Maryland motor vehicle law, both with reference to passenger vehicles and trucks. This will immediately inf~rm all visitors at the moment they reach.the state line and cross into Maryland just exactly how to comply with the laws of this state.” The work of marking the- National pike has just begun and will be co pleted In thirty working days. to “Shorty's..“ Who es for Six Dollars. valves. I only consumed three hours In grinding the valves. They ground beautifully, They were smooth and keen on the edge as a razor blade when I completed the task. They fit wonderfully, gome of them having an_inclination ‘to get lost and drop down beneath the valve seat (what- ever the valve seat is). I bathed the inner parts of the motor with clean-smelling kerosene and began putting things back to- gether. " A valued member of my fam- ily stood by and gave diRections as I poised myself astride the motor and gently dropped the top back into place. There are a number of push- rods which (the book says) must go back through multitudinous holes in the top. This gave me so much trouble I was on the point of throw- ing the push rods away, when I thought better of it. T only spent an hour or so getting the top back on and ready to screw into place. Forgot the Gasget. I inadvertantly forgot the sget. Mr. Motorist probably unda:;ltafnds what a gasget is. The uninitiated will have to remain in ignorance. I can’t explain what it is. I lifted the top back off and put it on again, U T New Warehouse Dealers, Take Notice Phone M. 6900. other hour consumed. | washer left over and I turned the ‘Ralph de Palma, America’ spending a few weeka in France, was successes on the old Manhattan Beach speed king on the automol taken back to the days of his early ack, in Brooklyn, when at Nanterre, France, he was allowed to play with the eighteen-year-old Dion Bouton car, the o the p: im which he won with the gasget in place. Only an- I renewed the attack with vim and every other nut went beautifully into place. I followed the bare directions in the book and screwed everything as tight as it would screw. My hands, by this-time, were raw and bleeding at the knuckles. I had a family of blisters in each palm. 1 looked as if I had been scraping out the carbon with my ndse. My hands and clothing were a dull, greasy black. But T had the darn thing together again with only one key and stepped on the starter. There was a disconcerting .explo- slon somewhere to the rear in the neighborhood of the muffler. Fol- lowed a wheeze. a grumble, some- thing that sounded like machine-gun firing_with a pause between every ten shots. Then a grinding and racket such as that motor never be- fore essayed. Monkey Wrench Misaing. Could I have left the monkey wrench in one of the cylinders? I couldn’'t find it anywhere. But I remembered screwing up the bolts with it so that theory was ground- less. Maybe I had put the thing on hind-end-foremost or upside down. But it had a famillar appearance. turned the key and stopped the beast- 1y noise and investigated. Might as well have tried to climb the Wash- ington monument as to find out. what was wrong. Everything looked all Everything felt nice and tight. 1 couldn't face Shorty. T decided to burn the car. It would give me untold satisfaction to see the red flames Mcking about that carbon- cleaned engine. But I thought bet- ter of that, too, and sent my younger ! brother with it to the nearest] garage. He disappeared in a cloud of | smoke, from which came a sound of death and destruction. Motor Again Purred. He returned in an hour or so. The motor was purring sweetly. It seemed there are bolts which should be tight and bolts which should be loose. One of the valves, the mechanic said, was stuck open, another stuck shut, another fastened in a half-way, un- decided_sort of position. No. 1 pis- ton had been firing when No. 2 by all rights should have been, and vice-versa. with the resulting situa- tion, already described. I found, on detalling my experi- ences to a friend, that I should have shellacked the gasget, Ssomething which never occurred to me. No one will ever see It though, and the lack of varnish should not matter. On my way past Shorty's den the following day I noticed his sign: - in our View of one of the floors on which cars are stored. Merchants Transfer & Storage Co,i '920.922 E St. N.W. We ’ firnt_vietorie: t, owned by M. Ducrot of Nanterre. Automobile Storage Centrally Located Absolutely Fireproof The car is a one-lung rellc of “Carbon and Valves Removed Ground—$6." Shorty gets the job next time if that motor is ungrateful enough to get carbonized again. 1 wouldn’t un- screw another bolt on it for several times Shorty’'s measly six bucks. TIRE THIEVES BUSIEST WHEN PRICES ARE LOWEST Report Shows 99 Per Cent of “Spares” Stolen Are Brand-New. Manufacturer’s Suggestion. “With tire prices at the lowest level in history, and with the season at hand for vacation, spare rims are be- ing rapidly equipped with tires, in many cases several spares being car- ried.”” says a general letter sent to its branches by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, “and it is at this time that tire thievés are most at this by com- municating to tire dealers, who. in turn, will suggest it to car owners, a plan whereby tire thlevery can be practically, if not wholly. eliminated. There is no expense involved, but, on the contrary, money and trouble saved. “It is, simply, that when ‘spares’ are purchased they should be put in use at once—if only for a short time- —and only tires that have been in use carried as ‘spare: According to_offic active. u can deal a deathblo: s of the com- pany a survey of the situation brought to light the remarkable fact that nearly 99 per cent of all tires stolen were brand-new. The approximate 1 per cent remaining being used tires in cases where, evidently, the thief didn’t stop to see what kind of tire the case contained. Otherwise not a single used tire was stolen. START WORK ON HIGHWAY. PLAINFIELD, IlL.—Construction has been started upon ten miles of the Lincoln highway in Will eounty, from the Cook county line west. Th2 work is being done by the county and state. When completed, it will give Will county twenty-five miles of contlanuous concrete Lincoln highway. In Joliet one mile of paving upon the Lincoln highway is being laid at this time, carrying the route through the corporate limits. —_— Plaster of Paris derives its name from the fact that it was originally obtained from Montmartre, a suburb of Paris. e Reasonable Rates Move Anything : !llll!lllllll“lIumfl“!ll“l!llllnfiml LINCOLN HIGHWAY HUGE INVESTMENT By J. Newton Gunm, President The Lincoln Highway Association. As an indication of the development of public sentiment for better roads in the United States, the success of the Lincoln highway endeavor Is in- spiring. Consider for a moment that the expenditures made to date upon this thoroughfare represent in im- provement the equivalent of approxi- mately $10,000 per mile upon the en- tire road from New York city to the Golden Gate. Of course, the money expended and the results accomplish- ed have not been thus equitably dis- tributed. Certain sections of this great thoroughfare have received the highest type of improvement, particu- larly in the east, costing many times 4 is in evidence in every part of the country. Twenty-seven highway or- ganizations, promoting interstate routes of travel, are now function- ing along the lings of procedure In- itiated by the Lincoln Highway Asso- ciation in various parts of the United States. Government supervision, con- struction and maintenance of national highways are in demand and are com- ing. The first to urge the necessity of greater federal interest in the de- velopment of interstate lines of high- way transportation, the Lincoin High- way Association now feels that public sentiment will soon force a business- like acceptance of the federal govern- this much per mile to complete. Other sections, particularly in the great states of the west, where long road mileages and sparse population are responsible for almost insurmount- able difficulties in the way of high- way improvement, have recelved rela- tively little in the way of actual monetary investment in their im- provement. It can be sald with na- tional pride, however, that some defi- nite action has been taken to bring about the betterment of practically every mile of Lincoln highway be- tween the two oceans. Object Lesson Road. As an object lesson road, the Lin- coln highway has well served and will continue to serve its purpose. An appreciation of the underlying sound- ness of the plan of its development If It Is Insurable, ‘WE Insure It. Don’t Ride on a “Wheel of Fortune” That's what you are doing in reality if you do not carry proper in- surance on your Auto- mobile. There’s a practical basis for determining WHICH features of rotection are required in each individual case —and it’s our business to give you expert opin- ion on this subject—so that you may be ade- quately protected. | Consultation involves no obligation whatever. Our Mr. Rouff will be glad to advise you— Main 4340 will reach his department. Our service is “personal service"— with all that means. A Present Models will Bs Contiuned Slecve Vaive Motor Improves With Use 1895 ment's obligation. It should not long be necessary to call upon private benevolence to bulid links in our na- tional arteries of commerce. But ten years back, the first and greatest efort was necessary to ob. tain the funds with which to under- take any given highway betterment. The country is now in the happy— but possibly precarious—position af having provided, in the main, ample funds for road construction. The situation Is precarious in that high- way construction on the scale for which we have provided today is without guiding precedent. The problem is new, enormous in propor- tions and of vital economic importance. Not only hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of millions, but liter- ally billions of dollars of the people’s money, will go into highway improve. ment in the next few years. More than one billion dollars is avallable for this purpose at this time. In this road bullding era we are now entering we face the possibility of the greatest public investment ever made by any people at any time. 1 emphasize the word “investment” ‘That it must be wisely conserved and guided to bring that substantial re- turn in national up-building and prog- ress, whicn is expected, is obvious. No cams! . No tappets! Sedan $3,950 Seek Value—performance ability and lasting qualities, combined with price. With so many essential points of superiority ’ in power, pick-up and roadability, Peerless prices are lowestamongall high qualityeights. . BECAUSE— they are based upon former low costs of buildings and machinery and present costs of labor and matcrials. Touring Car $2,990 Roadster $2,990 Coupé $3,680 Sedan-Limousine $4,210 PRICES F. O. B. CLEVELAND: Wer tex not incladed THE PEERLESS MOTOR CAR COMPANY, Cleveland, Ohio THE TREW MOTOR CO. Telephone Main 4173 14th St. at P one of These! No valves to grind! No valve springs! No adjustments! No worry! Simple vertical sleeves slide in cylinders quiefly and smoothly on a film of oil. Ports in the sleeve register at the proper time for the intake of gas and the exhaust of burnt products! The power increases with use. A lifetime motor in a car whose every detail increases your satisfaction;—in a cAassis of extraor- dinary strength and balance. ‘The gasoline economy is a source of gratification. There doesn’t exist a more satisfactory car. ‘No wonder new owners.by the thousands are buying Willys-Knight cars. 2 Touring, f. 0. b. Toleds - - was, $2195 - - wow, $1895 “Readster, £. 0. b. Toleds - - was, 2195 - - mew, 1895 Coupe, f. 0. b. Toledo - - was, 2845 - - wow, 2550 Sdan, f. 0. b. Toledo - - was, 2945 - - mow, 2750 HARPER-OVERLAND CO., Inc. 112830 Conn. Ave. Telephone Franklin Ak dbest Extremely Zay Payments 4307 WILLYS-KNIGHT