Evening Star Newspaper, June 3, 1923, Page 64

&), fCapi Awakened to Need Of Up-to-Date Traffic Laws Arrangements Made for Shrine Conven- tion Develop Value in Congested Section, Motorists Declare. BY THEODORE P. NOYES. Whatever benéfits may accrue tol the city of Washington through the coming of the Shrine convention, there is one, which is even now belng felt, that must be listed high in the good . work accomplished. It is the awake- ning of sentiment in the National Capital towards the establishment of up-to-date traffic laws and the use of one-way streets In the downtown congested section. Washington is no longer a country town. It can no longer survive on antiquated traffic regulations. It must take suggestions from the larger cities, where traflic problems have been met and conquered. It cannot go along in its own unheeding way. The coming of the Shriners has brought about a decided change In sentiment. One-way streets are indispensible to the frictionless regulation of trafc in a large city. Most of the present one-way streets should be left just as they are after the Shriners depart. Source of Wonder fn City. It has been a source of wonder to the mortorists of the District who have seen traffic operation in other comparable cities, ®hy Washington has been the last to “wake up” to the fact streets are necessary The response to the new plan here has been all that could be desired. Mortorists find it much easier to drive, even with the congestion caused by the convention. ~ Nothing but praise is heard on all sides. Everything is now ready for the permanent establishment of these streets, in. downtown Washington. They have all been put into effect at the same time working no hard- ship og any particular class of mer- . ¥he mortorists are learning how them, and, in the opinion of to go back to the former anti- uvian method would be a short- sighted policy. Of course there has been some con- fusion in “getting acquainted” on the part of the autoist and policemen alike. Some car owners persist in the single-file idea up a wide one- way street. Some policemen scem to have the same thought and make all motorists pass on one side. No “Wrong Sidt” on One-Way Street. In this connection a motorist was stopped the other day by a policeman and given a lecture about trying to pass on the “wrong” side. There Is no “wrong” side on & one.way strect Motorists are allowed to drive up one side as well as she other. just so they are going in the right direction. As_District residents will remem- ber, the one-way-street plan was tried out before, but only on one particular street. It is natural that the mer- chants on that thoroughfare should discriminated aganist it these new that one-way every one ould reali: of One-Way Streets the National Capital must “com} from behind" in matters of traffic. Washington, among others of i | traffic infirmities, headlight law. Committees have been appointed, have turned in their rec- ommendations and been turned down by the authorities. Exhaustive tests have been conducted on various types | of lenses with the hope that some- thing could be accomplished. Cor mittees have met and squabbla | members of various committees have had varied views, and the Commis- sioners still different ones. So the matter rests. . Other Needs Enumerated. There are-other matters which need attention In the District. Some of them—the erection of signs directing trafic and the marking of streets— { have already been effected, but there | are still others that if put into effect would do wonders for travel. Boston some years ago put a white canvas harness o its policemen's’ shoulders to make them easlly dis- tinguishable at night. The plan was ia boon to motorists and pedestrians alike. The writer on returning to Washington called attention to the scheme, but it was evidently thought | unworthy of trial. although the cost i of this harness could not have been more than a few cents. Two weeks later the city of Balti- more equipped its policemen in a similar manner and motorists of that city have been rejoicing ever since. This is one of the small things. One-way streets is one of the bi ! one Both should be given clrafui attention. Washington must mend its traffic ways and take its place with other cities of the United States which have worked out intelligent go- lutions of thelir traffic ills. TRUCK AIDS PUPILS. Senator Points to Improvement in Rural Schools. Arthur Capper, United States sena- tor and farm Dperiodical publisher, | sees better education and improved| living conditions for the farmer through use of the motor car and motor truck. If you were a farmer, lthe senator writes in Advertising| | Fortnightly, “rour ingenuity would! | devise a ‘consolidated school plan’ comprising a fine big school house! | with many rooms, a motor truck to has no adequate|’ | gather the children for miles around land a comfortable home to house sev- | eral teachers. | “And that is exactly what is hap-| pening to rural education. It is hap- | {pening slowly, but it is happening | surely. Nowadays distance is m@as-| {ured by minutes rather than b | miles. Closer and closer come the| farms to the citles. Larger and| larger grow the rural trading centers as gasoline propels the farm family further and faster. Gasoline begets | good roads. Good roads widen the! oclal and business radius. They | broaden the mental horizo; Time-Payment Plan NOW THAT THE NUMBER OF OPEN ° CARS USED IN WINTER IS RAPIDLY DIMINISHING, IT MAKES A LONG WAIT BETWEEN VICTIMS EUROPEAN AUTO DESIGN | ATTRACTS AMERICANS | Inquiried Picked Up in Salesroom | Raise Questions of Su- periority. That European automoblle deslgn is beginning to attract the attention' of the Amerfcan car owner is ev denced by the sort of inquiries which many dealers are picking up in their salesrooms. With the United States producing automobiles manufactured In the world one would expect native car| owners to forget that Europe still leads in the matter of design and that they would not see the advantage of tollowing closely the automotive| trends across the Atlantic. | In representing the Templar, which | | the American car o is built along combination European and American lines, Capt. Harry W. Horton catches many of these in- quiries, which, he says, show that s broad- minded enough to know what t| European manufacturer lacks in effi- ciency and management he makes up for in his eagerness to perfect the mobile mechanically. ‘One autoist,” sald Capt. Horton, “referred to the inefficient production methods in English plants, wherein two men will often be found on an operation which can be done three times as rapidly by one American workman, but added that he thought the newer American plan of striking | approximately 85 per cent of the|a halfway point between these two extremes in production an important stride in the development of better cars at prices within the reach of the average man. Buropean manu- facturers have labored under such extremely adverse conditions that their progress is all the more re. markable. They h: “Corricht. 1923, by Merropelicon NeSupares Service of. Yet there is a lesson for the American car owner in the willing- ness of the Europeans to coasider American cars in spite of the fact that the cost to them is double the cost to motorists over here. The open-mindedness of the European mo- torist and his keen interest in new design stimulates the manufacture of better and more efficient cars and he reaps the benefits.” SPURT IN LICENSES. Special Dispateh to The Star. “BALTIMORE, June 2.—With seven months more of 1923, the office of the commissioner of motor vehicles ha already {ssued nearly as many auto. mobile licenses for 1923 as it tssued for the entire yoar of 1922 t 156.198 he end of next week, it Is predicted that this total will be increased by approxi- mately 20,000, The gross receipts from sales of the varfous licensves issued by the auto- mobile commissioner until May 1 of this year total $2.525,771.35. For the entire twelve months of last year the! total was $2,824,843.91. KENTUCKY TRIPLES AUTOS. Kentucky has increased its regi tration of cars and trucks more than threefold in five years. In 1917 the total was 47.420, and in 1922 it reached a new record for the state of 154,021. RECORD AUTO EXPORTS. In March 20,690 motor vehicles were exported from the United States and | American branches in Canada. The highest previous monthly record was in LXAT)" 1920, when shipments amounted 6 19,77 v - SEAT OFTEN CAUSES ACCIDENTS Need of “Safety First” passengers Shown by Number of Mishaps Traced to " Guests in Autos. 0. @ BY WILLIAM ULLMAN. ‘That passengers aré Indirectly re- i sponsible for many automobile acci- dents is a point not generaily recog- nized by the driver who endeavors to contribute his share to the safeguard- ing of motor travel. Because passengers are In close contact with the driver there is a definite tendency to distract his at- tention. The engineer of a locomo- tive Is located where he can give complete attention to the work of operating the train. What the pas- affects the final result: Automobile passengers are to blame for much of the trouble drivers get into. Investigating serious accidents it was found that in a majority of cases the drivers were accompanled sengers do or say or think in no way | i the case { “Look ou ngers. w’l’;‘a all'tlv ly smail number of In- stances where lone drivers are in- volved In serious accidents seems to support the theory that there is too much driving being done from the back seat In one fatality the primary cause was a conversation between the wom an who was driving and grer passen- ger—another woman. The€y had been laughing, and thus overlooking the more important point of driving. Witnesses expressed the opinion that had the driver been alone the acci- dent would not have occurred. Handicap Motoring Progress. These joy rides, which so frequently act as a handicap to the proper prog- ress of motoring as a safe form of | transportation, are almost invariably the result of what may be recognized as “passenger control.” The driver starts out with a fair conception of his responsibilities, but before he has gone far his passengers force Eim into an irresponsible mood. They | !lead him to belleve the sky's the | 1imit; and presently he is driving at] a pace they have set for him. ~He, becomes a slave to their wishes; and | { finally winds up in a collision, As every driver of an automobile ! is frequently a >passenger in & car| { driven by another it ought to be an easy matter for him to see both sides of the case. He should see that the cret of being a “safe passenger” is| keeping the driver reminded that ths matter of driving the car is of utmost importance. The secret of safe driving with a | car filled with passengers is in learn- g to drive as though one were alone and attending strictly to the business of keeping the car's course above re- proach. Conversation is perhaps the great- est single cause of automobile acci- dents where passengers are being carried. The driver gets too deep into & subject that interests him, only to sacrifice his attention upon the matter of dfvins. The I drivers nd passengers converse about matters which have no direct bearing upon the facts at hand the better it is for both partles. Some people feel that they must offer a surfeit of conversation in re- turn for a driver's courtesy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The party who talks “a blue streak” when invited for a_“lift” ought to be dropped out at'the next corner. Passengers who know nothing about the operation of a car are often a great source of danger, particularly if they are of a nervous temperament. A shout from a party on the back seat, or a muffled cry, will surely up- set the equilibrium of the driver un- less he happens to be very level headed. This was clearly demonstrated in a passenger who shouted just as a driver was mak- ing a complete turn on a city strest at night. The passenger saw the red tall light of a car parked on the op- posite side of the street and thought ™ the car was {n motion, coming in their direction. It was only a momentary delusion, and the alarmist recognized his mistake in an instant. But there 18 no telling what might have hap- pened had the driver not remained un- moved by the warning. Address Driver Calmly. Where a passenger is capable of giving the driver valuable warnings he should do 50 by all means, and the driver ought not to resent being warned when necessary. The passen- ger sees the road from a different ngle. His advice may be of con- stderable value. “There’s a car coming to our lef! stated in a matter of fact way has prevented more accidents than all the exclamations and gasps combined. So far as the driver is concerned he should feel—in traffic, at le that his passengers are in the “coaches” behind, and that his o concern should be to safeguard them If they feel obliged to pull the eme gency valve now and again he should be ready to accept their warning for what it is worth, #lways taking into consideration the fact that if he is paying strict attention to business the warning from the passenger is likely to be a false alarm. _No operator can afford to allow his passengers to drive his car. And passengers should remember that if the driver keeps his mind on businei he will take care of himself, thus adequately taking care of them. (Copyright, 1028.) - Show Him Up! It the man who passes you on a hill slows down when the level is reached again he was simply giving you a demonstration of the way his bus can climb hills. Give him & run for his money on the next hill. A lot of trouble on the road could be ab- viated if some of these chaps who think they've got the “world’s best” could be shown otherwi: f. o. b. factory Six-Cylinder Touring Five-Passenger Five Disc Wheels and Nash Self-Mounting Carrier $25 additional Dealers in Virginia ® Birvon Nash Motors Company, Clarendon, Va. ‘District Nash Motors Company, Roanoke, Va. Lyn Motors Company, Lynchi , Va. 3 Mathews Garage, Mathews, Va. Virginia Moters Company, Charlottesville, Va. 4 H. L. Lockhart, Covington, Va. White Auto Service Company, Richmond, Va. 5 . Myers Bros., Alexandria, Va. A. B. Alexander, Draper, Va. Durant & Son Motor Co., Culpeper, Va. The Nash S1x Touring , - Here’s Real Proof That It Excels! Here’s undeniable evidence that you get far And you get more and finer workmanship. more for your money in the Nash Six Touring is actually more labor put into the b than in any othercar of similar price. ing of the car. . : First, you get longer wheel base. The NashSix - You get more smoothness, more p and has from 2 to 9 inches more than others of like gmoother and more rapid n. \ cost. The tires are bigger on the Nash Six. So e ity e e i ',rm— the traveling is easier, and the tires wear ance in every feature of the car and every 5 here et more longer. It‘sanotherpointv‘ nt where you g phase of its operation. ; for your money. : Next, more car—more actual material Come in ‘and see our special week’s exhibition 2 is the of the Nash Six Touring with its many im- —and it’s the choicest steel, and wood, and mandrefinamu. Hurley Motor DISTRIBUTO! — 1522 14th St. N.W. Phone North 6462 Open Evenings and Sundays DI 4 1522 14th St. NW. Phone North 6462 Open Evenings and Sundays - Hurley Molor Co. fabric available. ot (1e8)