Evening Star Newspaper, June 7, 1925, Page 60

DENEDBY MATHER ‘Federal Director Tells of Ac- commodations at Na- tional Preserves. Investigation of the national parks by the Senate public lands committee ishould be welcomed by all motor “tourists who propose to visit the great national playgrounds, in the opinion iof Stephen T. Mather, director of the :National Park Service. The treat % iment accorded visitors to these parks. lespecially as to food and shelter, is of prime importance, and it is with an ea of improving these features that the investigation was proposed “For some time,” said Mr. Mather. “there have been rumors to the effect ithat the national parks are in the hands of concessionaires, and were mot being operated for the benefit ithe public. An investigation of the entire matte: the Senate public ands committee is exactly what has wvanted for a long time, and is to clear up such rumors, nchallenged, may result in rding Western travel fore in the history of the k system were the na more popular with the an people. Ten vears ago the visitors numbered less than 250,000 The 1924 season saw more than 1.600, 000 visitors, of which approximately 70 per ce bured the parks in their ‘private automobiles and availed them melves of the free public camp grounds developed at large expense by the Government of excessive fees beir he private operators disproved by the fact is the.demand for ac rommodat in most of them the department has required the operators 20 expand greatly their facilities each year "All classes of visitors are welcome s. For those who demand *hotel accommodations and rooms with ‘bath, these are available, and for those who want to live more cheaply the prices charged at the permanent camps are within the reach of the ordinary man’s pocketbook. Visitors bringing their own camping equip- ment are taken care of in the public automobile camps, no charge being made to th “While automobile fees are charged in the majority of parks for the use of the park roads. the purpose of the fee is sometimes misunderstood, be ause the average citi is not fa jar with the financial policy of Congress. All revenues derived by the collection of fees and franchise charges are paid into the United States d an a rendered count to thorough inquiry by a responsi ble legislative body with hearings open to the public is certain to attract wide attention. Too little is known of the magnificent park system maintained by the Government and of the vnlim jted opportunities it affords for out door recreation at a minimum outlay pf expense such as can be obtained at Ro other place in the world THE OLD MECHANTI AYS: T've a confession to make which ought to be of some help to a lot of car owners who have to place their confidence in chaps like me, who are supposed to know how an automobile just_somethin’ I've discovered so don't blame me.for keepin' a secret. It hasn't done me any more good than it has my customers It's simply this: Whenever I've given a lot of thought to a problem and have finally figured it out I get the notion that every new job that comes my way needs the same rem edy. In other words. I get a run on one line of repairin’. and the thing 1 know I'm tryin’ to repair a half dozen different troubles with the zame remedy I know that a lot of us fellows have this habit. because every now and again two or three car owners will come to me from some one mechanie, each with a different complaint, yet with the news that so-and-so pre- scribed the same remedy for each. The notion takes root in the mechanic’s head and it's a hard job to get him tu look for some other I went all wrong i job_the other day because I insisted upon lookin' for the trouble in one of the front wheels. Owner had been com plainin’ about a peculiar noise in the cha He thought it had somethin’ to with a spring bolt or a body bolt, and would 1 under mnormal conditions. But I had just gone through the job of solvin' a similar problem and had discovered the cause of the trouble in a front wheel. That was a funny place to find that kind of trouble—so funny, in fact, that ry time I'm asked to locate a chassis noise I begin examinin' the front wheels. Every job is differen bles have the same cause. Just re mind me of it if I start fixin' yvour car along the previous job's lines. Few trou- MOVING A DEAD CAR. Hard Task Can Be Made Simple by Time. Have you ever had oc to move the car when its engine is not in working order? It isn’t always an casy job. if vou are alome. Just re move the spark plugs, place the car In low gear, make sure that the Ignition is off, and crank the engine »v hand. The car will move with com ively little effort. If your battery good condition it will do no harm the self-starter for the job, assuming that it might not be en tirely safe to move the car hand without being close to the emergency rake Usual sion As EBONITE “Strings" to 8 Sfltlt; St WindsZZ=> Around the Gears ’ TOTORIST Watch and Know what is being put in your rear axle as a lubricant. The rear axles carry the whole driv- ing load of your car. EBONITE was purposely made for this purpose, and has been generally indorsed by Automotive Engineers as the best and most satisfac- tory gear lubricant. At dealers in_five-pound cane.‘und at service statlons from the EBONITE checker. board pump only. Buy with your mind made up. Demand EBONITE. | Take no substitute. " EBONITE (1T's SHREDDED OIL) FOR TRANSMISSIONS AND REAR AXLES first | THE SUNDAY STAR, [THE SUNDAY MOTORIST When you're out and under, a wrench in the hand beats two in the tool kit. ° What's Your Vote? Where is the best road in America? Every day some motorist tells some one that he has just been over the finest road in the country. But there are more than 350,000 miles of paved highways in the United States, and who is to -judge which particular stretch is the best? From a scenic standpoint it is not so difficult to make a_seiection. Per. haps the Columbia River highway would take first prize. From a purely transportation standpoint most mo- torists who are in a hurry would prob- ably vote in favor of the cross-=s ate o stretch from near Camden, N. J. to Atlantic City. But as for the best piece of road, structurally, that is a_difficult one New England motorists were some- what surprised recently, however. by the declaration of Connecticut High- way Commissioner John A. Macdon- ald to the effect that a cement-con- crete highway between Plainville and New Britain, Conn., is, in his opinion, the best road in the United States “If that road does not last 25 vears, he told members of the Connecticut Farmers' Assoclation, “it will prove that no road can be built which will last that long.” The road is said to have cost between $38.000 and $39.000 2 mile to build, though it involved no unusual engineering york Apparently it is adifficult matter to tell a good road by rolling over it. While this particular New England stretch offers nothing to complain about. it makes no more impression on the average driver than a lot of once equally smooth roads which are now shot to pieces Prophets at It Again. How far ahead do the automotive prophets actually see? The opinion is growing that they ire not seeing very far bevond their in a number of instances. A number of them, for instance, have an anced the doom of the fours and es, and have even predicted that the straight twelves must shortly su- persede the straight eights. This is all very interesting. many practical- minded persons are admitting, but with concrete roads comin into vogue and hills gradually disappear- ing what is wrong with a return to the slower speed engine with fewer vlinders The Hotchkiss drive is the latest thing to be slated for the discard by automotive prophets. They say that when the drive is taken through the ngs in this way there is less sta- bility’ when driving at high speeds through sand or gravel. But where will moto s find sand and gravel roads 10-years from now? Hotchkiss drive is also condemned because the springs are said to be carrying too many jobs at once, vet there are all manner of devices now on the market to protct the spring: ind the time is coming when an hon est-to-goodn rough road may be a novelty. Predictions are most interesting, | car owners admit, but just at present i looks though the automotive prophets are forgetting that the world {moves just as rapidly as the auto- | mobile noses Watch Starter Cable. The starter cable, making the con nection between the battery and the starter switch, is usually the most carelessly laid wiring on the average automobile. Because of its heavy in- sulation the idea seems to be that it makes very little difference what course it takes. Hence it often rubs against a floor board until the wiring is exposed. causing a short circuit that puts everything out of business. | Every owner ought to look over this wire for such worn spots as may be developing | Locating Power Loss. Finding a not an easy matter in any case, but it can be simplified considerably by test- {ing the car in the following w Note whether the car rolls easily in the garage in order to learn whether the brakes are dragging. See whether it coasts easily on the downgrade and level. This will often reveal n drag in tFe’ differential or transmission due to using too heavy grease. If the brakes drag, the bands will be hot Test for compression (by cranking by hand with ignition off) while motor is cold as well as while hot. If one or two cylinders are weak, note whether valves close tightly before as suming t the rings or cylinders are worn If you suspect the pistons, rings or source of power loss is be more potent? Your investigatio the 1925 Advanced S welcomed. coming back for more. 1423-27 L St |average train. An Abridged Magazine for Car Owners EDITED BY WILLIAM ULLMAN cylinders are being worn, make a care ful test of the oil consumption, but be sure that you,are not fooled by ofl dilution—that is, if gas mileage is tlow and oil consumption low the chances are that the gas is leaking past the rings. The condition of the spark plugs will be an aid to deciding whether the engine is pumping oil. See how fast the car will go. Maybe it is timed-too fast, in which case it will lack power on the hard pull. Penny Theft Protection. Why worry about having vour car stolen when you can chew for a few minutes on a stick of gum from a 5-cent package and then press it over the pinhole in the gasoline tank cap when you leave the machine for any extended time? When the pinhole is blocked off, the vacuum system is stopped and the car will go no farther than the contents of the gasoline well of the carburetor and the vacuum tank. Most thieves will give up the minute the engine stalls. There are too many fine-running motors avail- able to waste time on a doubtful prop- osition. Post the Grade Ratings. One of the improvements in high- way routing and road mapping in the near future be the posting of ratings for grades and hills. “Five per cent grade ahead” the highway department signs would read. Or per- haps the road map, or tour book, would indicate the grade with a suit: able numeral. Many drivers either strain ‘their motors or waste a lot of gas on needless acceleration simply because they are incapable of judging the actual grade of a hill by the ap- pearance of the road The facts in such cases would greatly simplify matters. may Stop Excessive Stopping. It is said to cost $4.05 to stop an “Stopping thus comes for the railroad com- by economizing on the number of stops the item of decelra- tion expense does not figure cons ously in the annual statements. typical trip shows one express train as making but seven stops during its run. The cost of stopping an automo- bile is not more than a quarter of a cent per indulgence, or perhaps a fraction of a cent if the car is on a slight downgrade where little gasoline is consumed in starting it again. but the motorist sacrifices such natural advantages by stopping excessively On one trip of 1.000 miles one driver stopped on an average of 10 times per mile. Stopping cost him about $10. Back to 0il Again. After evervbody discarded their oil cups for chassis lubrication and adopt- ed high pressure greasing systems it began to look as if the matter of chassis lubrication was settled once and for all. But now comes the central lubrication system on two standard makes, and oil is the lubricant. Many owners swear by oil, but only yielded to grease because oil Jubrication must be fairly continuous. The automatic system solves this. What's the Answer? 1. What could cause a motor to flood with gas while it is running normally? 2. What are the nine factors that determine the efficiency of the brakes? 3. What prevents sediment in the bottom of the vacuum tank from running down into the carburetor? 4. Why are spark plugs in an L. head motor located over the valve pockets and not directly over the pis- tons? (Think these over during the week and look for the answers in this de partment next Sunday. You may be wTong!) rather panies, high but Lessons From Accidents. What often passes for presence of mind is usually a manifestation of practice and forethought. This is particularly well {llustrated in a re. cent accident where a machine and its occupants went over an embank- ment. The car turned over on its side, and while none of the occupants was seriously injured, it required about five minutes for them to climb out of the machine. In the meantime the possi bility of a gasoline fire was materially lessened by reason of the driver's promptness in switching off the en. You'll like the McReynolds brand of service, too. For sixty years satisfied custoqers have been Five-Passenger Sedan cool as a wooded dell $1,620.00, Delivered R. McReynolds & Son gine when he saw what was going to happen. He had been trained in the thought that a running engine in a wreck is an unnecessary hazard. Imagination and the Dictionary By using imagination and the dictionary to describe the Nash car it'would be possible to sfrillg superlatives onward across the page. described in such glowing terms to arouse the envy of poets. But, after all this, would not simple facts It could be of the facts concerning Nash will be cheerfully Owners will enthusiastically tell of real performance, lasting quality and low upkeep until you just can’t help liking it. Col. 2619 14th & Park Rd. T VAV A A a¥aVava A - Service VA a¥avava" ENGINEERS DISCUSS INTERSTATE ROADS Highway Co-Ordination Various States Is Topic of Conference. in Co-ordination of highways through the various States, standardization of markers and danger signals and uni- formity in other road signs are some of the problems being discussed at regional conferences of highway engi. neers, the fourth of which will be held tomorrow at Atlanta. The Mid-West regional conference was held last week at Chicago, and previous meetings were at San Francisco and Kansas City Af a result of these conferences, held under the auspices of the Joint Board on Interstate Highway, important interstate roads will be co-ordinated and designated by uniform markers, and a system of uniform highway signs will be adopted.. The board will meet in Washington, following the completion of the regional ences and devise means for c into effect the recommendation WASHINGTON, confer- |for the larger fours. rrying |are geared very high are exceptions to of 'these rules D. JUNE 7. the various regional boards under a system to be known as United States Highways. Routes Overlap. Highway officlals long have felt that a remedy should be found for. the present confused situation with re- spect to interstate roads. Overlapping of routes is common, it is pointed out, one well known route 1,500 miles long overlapping other routes for 70 per cent of its length. The use of many names for portions of main highways is sald to be confusing to motor tour ists and a nuisance tc the localities bordering on them. The board also will decide upon standard shapes and colors for war: ing and directional signs. It has been tentatively decided to adopt a standard round sign for marking all railroad crossings, an octagonal sign to indi- cate danger or stop, a diamond-shaped sign for caution or slow, a square sign to indicate “look” or attention, and a rectangular form for directional or in- formational signs. RUN SLOWLY IN SECOND. Danger Is Seen in Pressing Car to Its Best. The average six or eight cylinder | car should not be made to run much more than 20 miles an hour in second gear, except on a hill when 25 may be safe enough. Fifteen for the a erage four is fast enough in second, except on hills when 20 is about right Some cars that 1925 PART -3, in second accordingly. The fact that many cars will run at 40, even faster, in second, is no reason for trying it. When you race in second the engine | runs very fast for a comparatively | small opening of the throttle. Com- pression is, therefore, lower than it would be for the same engine speed at high car speed. With compression low and the pistons pumping so_ fast the oil pump going at top speed and spark plugs missing now and again, | oil works past the rings and fouls the cylinders. NASH DISTRIBUTORS Wholesale and Retail Sales and Service 1709 L St. N.W. Wallace Motor Company BOSCH Ride in comfort—use Bosch Shock Absorbers. Ride in safety—use Bosch Windshield Wiper. Ride with security—use Bosch Spark Plugs. Then with a Prest-O-Lite Battery any trip in any car will be a pleasure. Have us insure you a pleasant ride. Potomac Battery Co. 1236 12th St. N.W. Phone Main 8134 Prest-O-Lite Batteries—Bosch—Delco—Remy—Eisemann DeJon—Dyneto—Chum E A—Bendix Klaxon Brrraarsnsasares Overland Breaks All Records for Closed Car Value with This Fine New Standard Sedan A _Marvel of Quality and Comfort- . . . 27 Horsepower! Here is a car that will instantly appeal to thousands of American families. Never before has a car been built of this size, this power, this com- fort, this beauty, this quality—at such a low price. A full five- passen wide doors—beautiful cloth stery—deep interior fittings—one-piece wind- shield— A 27 ho rsepower, rugged axles of Molybdenum steel —smooth-riding patented springs— big, safe 10-in ger Sedan—extra hol- i ickel- h , reliable engine— brakés— type much money! A chassis proved by millions of miles in the hands of over 250,000 owners— An Opverland with all the advan- tages, the qualities, the su, for which Overland is noted all over the world. You can’t even begin to appreciate the tremendous value of the new Overland Standard Sedan until you examine it—until you drive it. Small down payment—52 weeks to pay. Ask for our offer. All Steel Touring, $495; All Steel Coupe, $635; All Steel Sedan, $715; {. o. b. Toledo. Worlds Lowest Priced Cars 2with Sliding Gear Transmission Wardman Motor Car Company, Inc. 1108 Vermont Ave. Man 4340 Branch Salesroom; 1022 Conn. Av periorities Justice Motor FRANK N. JUSTICE, President 1515 14th St. N.W. “clutch—foot accelerator—as enjoy- able to drive as cars costing twice New Standard Sedan $655 Jo.b. Toledo 52 Weeks toPay Company Franklin 5174