Evening Star Newspaper, December 19, 1926, Page 83

HEADLIGHTS AGLOW T0 MARK FUNERALS Eldridge Accepts Mortician’s Plan fer Designation of Processions. Washington henceforth y will find funeral aesig nated hurning of headlights, | as a result of approval given this plan | by Traffic M. 0. Eldridge Following of a letter Waiter A Joseph Gawler's | £ons, Washington morticlans. Traffic | Director Eldridge made it known that the plan therein suggested—burning headlights of cars included in a fun eral procession to indicate other traffic that it has the right of way was regarded hy him as a constructive | one, and that motoriclans were at liherty to try it out motarists processions by the Director receipt from sawler, of to | ground,” John Smith No. Ordinarily neighbor, but the other a seamed fo be changing in character The racket was . terrible. It seems | that he had sounded his horn to warn | a child playing on the driveway and | the horn kept right on blowing of its own volition “Why don’t yon running out to offer assistance. “I've unscrewed the horn button cap.” he shouted above the din, “but still the confounded thing keeps blow- ing.” 1t's grounded shrieked bhack “Grounded? 1 should think if vou grounded the horn it would stop blow ing altogether, just as your lights go out if there’s a short circuit to a Smith answered It was necessary to remind Smith that the horn button is placed in the ground circuit of the horn, which is Toot! very qulet ernoon he 171=—=Toot! Smith s stop i 1 asked, 1 somewhere,” Under th ffic regulations, funeral | processions have the right of way over | all vehicles Article 2, section 2, para-| graph “C." read Funeral proces wions shall at all times have right of way over other vehicles,” while flrvk‘le © 8. mection 4. paragraph “P." says { person shall ride or drive any animal, vehicle or street ear across the line of & funeral procession. No Distinguishing Mark Tn his letter Director Eldridze, Mr. Gawler pointed out that “This rule has been in effect as far back as we can remember, but there is not, nor has there ever heen, any means by which a funeral procession i recognized. This is especially true| under present conditions, when. in| slow moving traffic, a funeral proces slon is hardly distinguishable frc any other liné of cars. The modern | limousine casket coach is unlike the | old style carved hearse, and the pas.| #enger cars which make up many cor teges are furnished by friends of the deceased and may be of any style or | color; therefore such a procession is| not easily recognized as one having | right of way.” A few yvears Washington were authorized by the traffic department to use stickers on | the windshfeis to indicate the natu of the procession, but the plan was| discontinued because a majority of eperators of privately-owned cars ob. Jected to attaching them. Plan Used Elsewhere. Evidence that the burning of head Hghts has been used successfully in ®other cities was shown to Director Eldridge by Mr. Gawler as follows: “We submit for vour attention let fors from the inspector of traffic of Pittsburgh, and secretary safety bu- | reau of Minneapolis, replying to our inquiry regarding the practice of | purning the headlights of automobiles in funeral processions. It is our opinion that this method is a splendid molution to a serious problem, in that #t affords an absolute designation of | & funeral procession, and is one which ©an be adopted with the regular equip- ment of all automobiles and obviates the uncertainty of compliance that exists when it is necessary to attach some sort of insignia.’ Tt has been suggested to Eldridge that the amended as follows: “Amplify paragraph C of section 2, article 2, by adding after the wor *procession,’ in line 8, the word ‘pro- vided funeral processions are made recognizable by all the motor vehicles in ‘sald processions displaving head- lights of a type approved by the di- rector.” CAR IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE DISCUSSED Bociety of Automotive Engineers Looks Forward to Mystery Session at Meeting. | { ol morticians of Director regulations be Mystery surrounding one of the ses- #lone of the annual meeting of the So. clety of Automotive Engineers tohe held in Detroit January 25 to 28 is c:n\'ok!ng keen interest among mém rs of the society. Information as to what is to be presented for discus- sion will be kept secret until the ses- sion opens. ‘Among the more interesting known addresses that are to be presented dur- ing the 10 sessions of the four-day meeting is one on a new type of trans mission for use in passenger cars. This address iz based on research work that indicates a saving of 20 per cent in gasoline consumption at cus- tomary driving speeds by the use of this transmission, which is geared di- rect to the engine shaft on fourth| speed. Shifting from third to fourth and vice versa, at speeds as high as 50 miles an hour, and shifting with- out disengaging the clutch are claimed to be easily possible Growing interest in the designing and production of small. light auto- mobiles makes particularly timely an address on the English types of light | car, which is to be ziven by a promi nent Englich automotive engineer Other subjects with which engi neers, car users and the general pub- lic are concerned are noisy and more efficient brakes, front wheel shimmy, avoldance of engine knock or detona tlon, more efficient and longer lived engines, improved steering and qulet er car operation. All of these and many others will be dealt with in the varoius technical sessions in about 30 addresses. . Try Jacking Up Rear of Car. When propeller mission it is necessary to drop the shaft just behind the tra as o be able to pull out the latter, it i= not always possible to make the removal without also dis. | connecting the propeller shaft at the | rear as well. To avoid all this extra work, try jacking up the rear of the car. This alters the relations be tween the joints and often supplies the needed leeway for removal AS EBONITE Strings oaSiick } Soithds;w AroundtheGears It's a wonderful lubri- cant for the transmission | as well as the rear axle l gears. Beware of Substitutes. Just say "EBONITE” Be Sure Yoo Get 1t 20 Cents a Shot ONE_FILLING WITH EBONITE Wi AST 2,500 MILES Prnm the Checkerboard only, and in five-pound’ cans At All Good Dealers ISSIONS ¢REAR AXLES BAYE n:ou OiL WORKS “No|! tstopped. | All the troubles { horns running | enough. just the reverse of the other electri devices of the car. One sjde horn motor is wired to the ammeter while the other is attached to the frame of the car, but with the button to make or hreak the current along the line. The advantage of this ar rangement is that only one wire is needed in the steering gear post since the metal post itself can act as a re turn wire. Stopping Noise Simple. When T showed Smith the sitnation he simply disconnected the ground wire to the horn motor and the noise Of course he could have achieved the same result by discon necting the other lead. but 1 wanted him to study the ground connection that go to setting of their own accord | happen along this ground wire con nection: The explanation is ‘simple If the insulation becomes worn at any point and the wire touches metal the chances are 10 to 1 that the current will find a direct path back to the battery and thus complete & circuit. We found, upon wirlng, just such a ‘short.’ [t prompt Iy was remedied by wrapping tape {around the bare spot. And while we were on the subject I took the oppor- tunity to remind Smith that whenever there is a short circuit along the other lead —the one running to the am- examining the | meter (thence to the other side of the | battery) the horn simply goes dead Now that that's fived,” Smith sked, “I wonder if you can show me how to adjust the horn for a louder tone. 1 don't like the sound of it these days “The best adjustment yoy can -make is to keep the horn motor clean and adequately lubricated.” 1 told him “It's a case of cleaning and oiling in most instances: not of mechanical ad- justment. The tone of your horn is largely a matter of how fast the arma- ture can revolve. It also has much to do with the safety of the horn.” “What_do vou mean hy safety the horn?" he asked. Horn Must Work Fast. “A "horn that doesn't reach its maximum speed instantly is ineffi- clent,” I explained. “To be a genuine safety factor, a horn nowadays must not need any appreciable time in get- ting up speed. It must do its best in. stantly if it is to attract attention and serve as an adequate warning signal to busy and careless Individuals. “Once a month inspect the horn hy removing the cover plate. Wipe off the commutator of the motor with a clean cloth and if, by any chance there seems to he an unusual amount of grit or ofl smudge, hold a piece of fine sandpaper against it for a second Stearns- Knight. the usnal in the realm must combine the 1601 14th St. BY FREDERICK (. John Smith is a character whom every motorist thould welcome. i« not selfish: rather he is a motoring martyr, a chap willing and glad to have exploited. in an interesting way, the other 20.000.000 or more members of the motor clan. of the | of | Announced barely three months ago, this cat has already registered The feanres you have doubrless built into your dream car are here. Two of Seearns craftsmen hewe masterpieces in the nine new models. Unique distinctions of coachwork and firrings areoffered. And, since troe fmxmry practical with the besutiful, the marvelons motor is forever DEALFRS Write The F. B. Stearns Company, mmmmmmmm GEORGE C. RICE N.W. THE SUNDAY STAR.. WASHINGTON. B G l"‘ 1926—PART DFZ('E.\II"»ER and His Car RU He his experiences for the henefit of two while some one touches the horn button and starts the commuta- tor revolving." Smith had removed the cover [ talked, which gave me an oppor | tunity to point to the air gaps between the segments of the commutator. “Sometimes these air gaps get dirty |and if you find them in that condition (hind is | scrape ‘out the dirt with a_small piece | in' parking # car [of wood. Never use a metal tool for this cleaning ““Also clean the brushes of the horn and see that they ride the commutator comfortably. The better the contact at these points the faster the horn will | pick up when vou touch the button and the better will be its tone, pro | vided you have it adjusted for a good {tone to start with. At the factory they adjast the horn for a good warn | ing sound. but this assumes that the owner will keep the horn clean an { oiled If the adjustment 1s not changed. Lubricating Hom Easy. “There are only two places to oil the horn motor. These are at each |end of its shatt. They are indicated on some horns by small felt washers, which serve also to hold enough oll to provide a sort of wick cant feed.” Smith was just on the point reaching for the oil ean when 1 can tioned him agafnst using engine ofl on | | electric motor bearings. Only a fine light ofl will do for these parts Cleaning and oiling Smith's horn improved the tone, but did not gi quite the note of distinction he de sired. The next step, then, turn the adjusting screw in the rear Jof the motor. ‘Turning to the raises the tone, left lowers it. On old-style horns the adjustment is directly on the end of the shaft. On Smith’s modern type of horn the adjusting screw can be turned with a dime The final caution was to refrain from turning up the adjustment too tight. The armature of the motor al ways should he free enough so that it can be turned easily. Many horns fail to work because they are too tight (Copyright, 1028, 2 Next 172 Low. LOW-GRADE 0ILS FOUND COSTLY TO AUTO PARTS| $25.000.000 Damage Yearly Esti- mated in New York. Fair Trade League Says. week, D Tearning in 0. dollars’ worth are heing _de- each year in New York by the substitution of inferior, low-grade lubricating oils for the | standard quality lubricants ordered by the car owner, the Kmerican Trade league reforts after a city wide investigation of the situation New York as the largest single market was selected for the league's inquiry to determine the extent of the evil. Tt is the belief of investigators from the general character of the evi- dence collected that a similar con dition exists all over the country. The owners of the 480.000-0dd pas ger cars and motor trucks in ‘New York purchase on the average about £.200.000 gallons of lubricating oll vearl Twenty-five million of automobile parts stroved needlessly - Government experts have designed a devica to measure tha light given off by an electric light bulb. Fair | PARKI while | ’\mmx from the pi:vement, | other of | the time the enztne delicate | new i |axle. was to|to the frame right | descend while turning to the | gear, | three inches from the ground | the driver shifted the move 1ite NG 1S EASY -~ WITHNEW DEVICE Expert S Autos to Move Into Tight Places. An an ineh he to he nesded pped with a Baltimore en inch and aid e in front all that i< device hy gineer. On a crowdsd street Baltimore recently passershy were amazed to see a five-passenger car sop suddeniy move sidewize and slip smoothly and astly Intd a parking space less than two inches longar than the car ftself To accomplish this the driver. hav ng halted his car, threw out chitech and movel a small Ca L With the s=hift the automohile he, invented in lever n wheels hwere a full Then lever onee more |4 fow seconds the and wise the vehicle hezan toward the curh, ears. Close without touching, hetween the ¢ the | but driver type of lubri.|Pressing on the clutch pedal, brou | the sidewise to an end. kept running mplished, savs | the Janu Popular Science Month 1y ugh the use of an ingenfous parking device, The device car ried four small, <olid-tired wheels concealed heneath the chassis of the car close tn the vertical plane of ench They are set at right angles journey This feat was ace t These small wheels are made to through the use of a worm ted with the transmission ted by the engine of the When the small wheels touch the pavement the worm g P N tinues to work, exerting powerful downward pressure, with the result of lifting the car bodily. When the weight of the c ported by the auxiliary of the special gearlever opera mechanism which causes the car sidewise on the small wheels, his, too, is accomplished by means f the car's motive power and with out the driver having to leave his seat. The sideward motion may b continued Indefinitely —across the street or for the full length of boulevard After being halied the car may be lowered agaln or left “in the air. | Removal of the vehicle from the re | stricted parkini pace is merely matter of reversing the process. Other advantages of the device, sides its application to parking, pointed out by the Inventor. Because It_ehables the driver, in his seat. to the car clear of the ground, it does away with the hand jack in changing tires. Stmilarly, the added clearance simplifies the task of mak Ing repairs underneath the car conn; and oper a <. Many Autos in Detroit. Michigan has between 1,180,000 and 1,200,000 Automobiles, approximately one-third of which are owned in the Detroit district AUTO WHEELS | AND DEM. RIMS RUNDLETT RIM & WHEEL CO. 1336 14th St. N.W. The new STEARNS-KNIGHT Unprecedented Performance The gift purchase Seearns 28 2 step 2head of of fine motor cars. ions their Distributor Youll never regret 'O make the Holideys memorable, let fimily makes the soqusintsnce of the mew free from all carbon and valve trombles. Mu&efimww —the seme type as ndamdmdmy—(:bndoumd?ms Stearn s-Kn'i Salons—on the new Astor, the new Double-Six Daimler, the new the new Minerva 30, the new Levassor 6—the logical powet plant fora car of troe hoxury. The mew Stearns-Knight is & gift par dmeyou'll never enjoyment the whole family participates. Msy we arrange s demonstration this week? Prices sange from $3250 to $3750, f.0.b. factory, tax extra. ks g in whoee Cleveland, North 5273 ghe Invention Enables‘ ind within | to'move side. | two | hstone, | All | is sup- ! wheels a shift | ag SIXCYLINDER CARS ADVANCE IN FAVOR Fours, Which Had Greater Vogue Than Any Other, Are Now Losing Ground. In the race to the many new and compleat troubles that come with our automobilgs and 1he wild way use om seems to.he an inclination v ot folks around k some of the simple things 1 call neglacted to dope out solutions ih remedies of 1} troubles. Just Wazes th i< had felier he could n his eir manner of its orig vid His paint of means, but it's lost nal finish <pot he v P s ear after the rain hut when the tmmediately he how the \ m in rain any enongh have |2 good ways deal in Vv orain polishes t which is good apore don't warries ahout 1 told him t ind reminded him t 2t always pt blue spots in th at were the general color scheme {in the days when all cara were paint od and none were hcauered AUTOISTS ARE URGED TO GET TAGS EARLY American Automobile AssncinfinniM Foureviinder whie had a greater vogne tnan any {type In the history of the automotive Findustry ing ground fields of Individual v cars and motor coaches Reagons for the inerease in the number of cylinders, which at various times in automotive history has ranged from 1 to 12, and the chanke in the position of the cyviinders from horizontal ta vertical, recently were j explained length by Henry M Crane. assistant to the president « the CGeneral Motors Corporation, in | A paper delivered at a_meeting of the metropolitan section of the Society of Automotive Engineers engines, h other X af sense. v e to the 1 cive his car sunshine is <unshine those queer durk blue cars sixes hoth in the it & i k) took G Demands Quieter Operation. “In the early days the puhHe did not demand great power. hizh speed | auick acceleration and flexibility. and rough roads and the rush of wind in open cars made engine vibration and | noise scarcaly noticeable.”” Mr. Crane declared The four-cylider engine which is Inherently unbalanced and | vibrates considerably, was therefore | fairly satisfactory for a number of vears. During the last five vears however, the enormous mileage of | smooth highways that has heen huilt | | hax resulted in a demand for car | wpeeds of 50 to 70 miles an hour, and ! the rapid Increase in the use of closed bodies has ereated demand for quieter aperation, because the roof | targ: rear panels and win the vibration from the Official Impresses Motorists With Idea of Acting Soon. Good motoring the early procurement of tags. It is thoughtless ny wait citizemship demands | 1927 license | thi n'fhe part 1 the e stant gen- American Anto f getting P Clark o the the motorist minute hefore werts Char eral manage maobile Association After all, the owner vealizes that he musi get then er or later, and good judgment | tates that they be gotten hefore rush at the close of the vear. " one's automobile s small thing that it cei e how =0 many mot fail to do so until the last few days of the dying vear. Tt ts plain that prchase ags hefore the rush really means a waving, because as the time limit grows nearer it becomes increasingly difficult for the distributing office in | handle all the applications with fa | cflity. Consequently, there are thos: needless and irritating delays which mn\muu dread. he way to aveid these provoking delays is to get your tags early. The | tonger vou wait. the longer the de- lavs and the greater the likelthood of such delays. “The American Antomobile ciation long has contended thix respect motorists are among | thelr own worst enemies, and that | hecause of their own procrastination | his as ex in ma surely soon dic the Gel Ny i rists car side and dows amplify engine “With advance “in m, methods and Improveme ex there was little. to prevent rapid progress when the advantages of the | six-cylinder bezan to become appar ent. This is the simplest eagine in which mechanical vibration has been | practically eliminated, and the powe impulses overlap sufficiently to pro vide smooth operation at the lower speeds and meet the demand for a with a high degree of ability high gear Weight Is Reduced. “By increasing the numb inders from one, two or f | edht, more valve area per cubic inch piston displacement can he ob- tained. the velocity of the. mixture through the valves is reduced, the | valve spring pressure is greatly de creased, and the welght of the re ciprocating pistons and connecting rods is reduced, Hence the engine | speed can be raised because it is pos | [ sible to Al the smaller evlinder fully | Year-end tag-getting time has been | with the mixture, the forces are hetter | marked by ®ometimes unpleasant | balanced and somewhat higher com- | memories of wasted haif-hours. | | | ex Dt t in turing 15 | e in m in v to the su th i th - of eyl to six o1 fo an fo th di (T o Asso- that in pressior, can be used | “Let the motorist remember that “Assuming the same rear axle the earlier he procures his tags the and the same weight, the multicylin | sooner he has that small but inevit- der engine gives the same hill-climbing |able task off his mind, and the sooner | ability and a much higher maximun | he can forget about this phase of xhq- speed than the single-cylinder engine.” | whole thing for another yvea i | { | | | | Motor Washi month The Old Mechanic Says: and ment HANDLEY PLAN SZ0000.00 INTRAFFI SAFETY New York and New Jersey Qutlay in Next Seven Years Estimated. Another sthers matorists see ol w up through the » of the cylinder head. F Away oy 7K there Is something wrong i the engine fear oil mpin he owever, that the down tight 1l work that 1f the top there less compression to hold down the nd more of it pas. rings hing happens k of head ndin ad sty the notor th le In ' ere alr same e T $200.06 New t seven vears Ty New safety for will see near! the States of sey in the The pro this tremendous This ter “ usually happens has been removed for nd simply means that 14 head down on The ttens a that Kk of t which cal ludes spent Ye 'S Interes pull sket I ens the the li it tuds: kg tlay ns hey The ) for reads op studs Afford to averlook the sim If we do, then the sim rise up and $10.000,000 twin tunnel sys vehicles under the Hudson, al completed and to in We ean't remedios troubles soon be us completely. 00D TUBES SAVE MUCH TIRE TROUBLE otoring Public Is Fast Becoming | Aware of Fact, Figures Show. T super A from New Staten Ialand. $15,000.000 . A high suspension br the Hudson at Fort Lee, $75,000.000 When Hudson vehieular tur nels are opened part of 192 present n at ferry points will be relieved e speeded up cor siderably At the however o exprese highwavs variety, eosting aheut 3 hridge Jersey to ige ncross the the first and ter ¢ po a concenty T of this tunnel Il have to cope witl ation of the dificulties that tered & the ferry points this, therefore, New Yorl lanning an elevated super highway running from the Manhattan \hie | trMinal ‘of the tunnel up the Hudsor 1¢ | coast to meet Riverside drive at enty-second street ruction of this 0, it is esti completed in three ars. 1t wonld speed up e from the downtown avea, but re. e na now hopelessls ested Tuhes are cheaper than tires and e motorist who realizes this simple uth can save himself conside e onev in the conrse of his motoring perience hy | nly zo0d tuhes cost ould road will mated. and from twe to not only halloon tires. According 1o one of the large tire anufacturers, iris fact ls hecoming ident to automobile owners as their rrow streets with balloon increases, When balloon tires uced not even the ized the importance flation.” he says Extensive iosts, however, nelusively that the halloon h more sensitive to variations In ion than the old high-pressure perience tire equip On the New Jersey side construction has begun on the partly e evard extending 13 miles 1o with part way the Palisa the hegin the route. This express high will eost ahout $40.000,000, already vated by lizahe accurate | F1i72 :" first in manufacturers of were tunnel prove tive is The first Guadalaja €ix busses to he used in Mexico, for city and sub- urban service have arrived and have been placed on two of the principal e was The loss re in the ually bring routes of the city e tire, but op o even o lite of the nd miles » those whe have had the most jence with hallg tires have und that it dees not pay to use old A deterforated tuhes in balloon tires v as the tubes the rubber allows e air to e readily, making it flicult 1o ain accurate infla- | MOTOR Co0. Conveniently Located on Fourteenth Street | 1333-37 14th St. Main 5780 f cven 16 pounds pres v-pressure tire did not about serfous harm to in the halloon type a 5 pounds may reduce tire by several thou pe main * Fordt ¥ SALES & SERVICE 3730 Georgia Ave. The Greatest Gain~ More Gallons of Lightning Fuel were sold ir ngton during the of November than any month in the history of this Famous Motor Fuel. There’re Reasons Why!— ~Lightning Costs Less—Because we deliver Lightning to the motorist direct from the refiners through our enormous chain of stations— owned and operated by us. FIRST SECOND—Because the motorists of Washing- ton have and are continuing to recognize its superiority. THIRD —Lightning has demonstrated its power and pep to the motorist of Washington for years. Remem- ber it's Washington’s Original " Motor Fuel. FIFTH FOURTH—Lightning makes old cars perform like new models—and adds in- creased performance and economy to the new model. —Lightning eliminates the greatest of motor worries, “Carbon,” and high compression motor knocks. This means another great saving to the car owner who is wise enough to constantly use Lightning Motor Fuel. —There are Sixty Stations conven- iently located in Washington, owned and operated by us, ready to serve vou, and our plant enlargement has just been comvleted. enablify us now to serve all of Washington. IXTH Now if you desire a‘peppier, more powerful motor car, drive direct to the station in your neighborhood and fill up with Lightning Motor Fuel. PENN OIL COMPANY, ROSSLYN, VA., “Originators of Lightning Motor Fuel”