Evening Star Newspaper, October 23, 1927, Page 66

OTORING BY WILLIAM ULLMAI Steernig wheels frequently h: the assembly line. FTER being pushed through the rear wheels for more than 30 years, the motor car is about to undergo a meta- morphosis that will leave it being pulled by the front pair. That, at Jeast, is the opinion of many auto- motive engineers who foresee front- wheel drive as the next radical change in automobile design. A subject of engineering study for years, and talked about and tested in a few cases, {ront-wheel drive now | seems about to become an actuality | because the motor car designer is in | a dilemma. He wants to build a less | expensive car, a more efficient car, one that is safer, more comfortable and graceful. He cannot do it with | rear-wheel drive beyond certain lim- its: so he is looking to the possi- bilitics offered by turning the engine around in its frame and using its ave nuts added after they've left this to safety is not difficult to com- prehend. E 3 One of the points in connection with this unfamiliar design, about which curiosity is natural, is that of steering. It would seem that an axle which was called upon to fulfill the function of driving the car_would be more difficult to_steér.. This is not the case according to race car designers and drivers. Steering is even simpler and less of an energy consumer in {ront drive, they de- clare. This is true even where a separate axle for steering is not used. . ok k¥ Front drive has not yet been tried in the United States, save in racing cars. Europe has seen it adopted with success in several notable in- stances—by Voran and Rumpler in Germany, Italia in Italy and Parville power through the front wheels. | The potentialities of front-drive | in these vital respects have been in-| dicated in racing cars embodying this principle. Again the speedway has served as a proving ground. * ok ok % First among the advantages indi- | cated in this manner is that front-| drive will be less wasteful of engine | power, making possible the use of | smaller nrotors. Smaller motors cost | less to build, because they require ! less iron and steel. They use less| gasoline and oil, which means that| operation costs are reduced as well | as_construction costs. Front-wheel drive will be les wasteful of power because it will| be a close-coupled mechanism; usmgz the engine’s output at its source. | The transmission, a very short pro- | peller shaft and the differential will | be a few inches apart instead of be- ing stretched out the whole length of the car. as in the conventional design. Where power travels so short a distance it has less chance to get lost.. At present transmission and differential are from three to six feet apart. Six or seven inches will suffice in front-wheel drive, accord- ing to engineering authorities. A small engine and a six or seven inch propeller shaft will mean the elimination of a great deal of excess weight. Tire wear_ will be cor- respondingly less. Here is another item of reduced expense that is sig- nificant, Just how much smaller the engine will be when front-wheel drive comes into its own is a matter of specula- tion. Some idea may be gathered from the fact that the little straight- eight, 91%;-cubic-inch motors used in racing cars embodying this type of drive have been highly successful. The bore of such engines is only 2 11-16 inches, and certainly their performance, allowing for different conditions, compares most favorably with passenge® car motors of much larger cylinder size and larger stroke. It scarcely is to be expected that so tiny an engine be used in passenger cars, but it is not to be doubted that reductions in size are possible. % xR Greater comfort,. every motorist knows, is one of the goals toward which the car er constantly directs his energies. Front-wheel drive is declared to hold especially bright promise in this respect. Com- fort definitely is involved in the ratio of sprung to unsprung weight in a motor car, and present design gives unsprung weight an uncomfortably larger margin than is desirable. For_msunce. the present rear axle carries the heavy differential gears, the axle shafts, the propeller shaft and the brake mechanism, as well as the wheels and_tires, all unsprung weight. If driving the car were to be made the function of the front axle, this weight would be removed. Then, the rear axle would carry as unsprung weight only the wheels, tires and brakes. This might seem to be a process of making the rear of the car com- fortah]e at the expense of the front, to which these units would be trans- ferred. This is not the case, how- ever, for in the relocation of pro- peller shaft and differential they are certain to be carried on springs. Incidentally, the removal of these units would permit the achievement of one goal toward which the engi- neer has striven for years; namely, the lowem!g of the body. At pres- ent, even in those cars which have adopted hypoid and worm gearng for this purpose, the propeller shaft still presents a definite limitation in respect to reduction of road clear- ance and the achievement of that low, rakish appearance that is so desirable. In front drive, no limitation to lowering the body remains except that interposed by the character of the highway itself. * % x % , Safety is one of the most appeal- ing features of front drive, and that it permits a_lower body, of course, is a factor in_this safety. Such a step means a lower center of grav- ity and a reduced center of mass, which would give the car an ability to hang to the road and would rep- resent an amazing improvement over even what already has been done in this respect. Front drive automatically knocks out one of the worst foes of the motorist—the skid. It is inherently free from this tendency. In addi- tion, it permits the employment of the transmission brake in its fullest expression, thereby assuring an equalization of braking force that is absolute at all times. The value of in_France. Bk In principle, front drive is essen- tially sound. Every type of vehicle, except the automobile, is pulled in- stead of pushed. Animals always | draw the conveyances or implements for which they provide power. Lo- comotives perform their tasks in front of the cars they pull Air- planes, universally, are pullers, whereas, in the carly types, planes were pushers. The principle of pull- ing has more advocates than the other, The dilemma in which motor car designers find themselves may cause them to adopt this principle next year, or at the latest, in 1929, unless the prophets have gone far astray: * X % ¥ Federal aid for the country’s high- way system dates from July 11, 1916, when President Wilson \signed the Federal aid road act. That marked the beginning of the present system. One hundred years before, how- ever, the Government had been active in the construction of roads. Many of the principal li of the West amd Middle West originally were laid |* out as military roads connecting the forts which dotted the wild frontier country of those days. In 1811 the Government began the construction of the great National Pike, which was to_extend from Cumberland, Md, to St. Louis, Mo. This highway was to serve for military purposes and also as one of the principal ar- teries for the settlement of the great Northwest Territory. The improvement of this road was carried on more or less actively until 1840. It was built and surfaced of stone practically the entire distance from Cumberland to the western In- diana line. At that time, however, the belief spredd that the newly de- veloped railroads would entirely dis- place highways, and because of this the National Pike from the Indiana line was not surfaced with stone, but merely graded, in the belief that eventually it would serve as a rail- road bed. The thought that the railroad would entirely displace highways as a means of communication between the far-flung settlements that were springing up in the 'vast Western part of the country at that time was very strong. The last Government appropriation for the National Pike was made in 1838, and from then until 1893 the Federal Government took no part whatever in rcad con- struction or maintenance. X %k K In connection with lacquers re- member that pyroxylin, which is the basis of these auto finishes, is a son of guncotton and a brother to a number of high explosives. If ybu happen to be looking over the inter- esting isystem of spraying on this highly inflammable substance, don't, under any circumstances, light a cigarette. Of course, most of these establishments post a “No Smoking” sign, but. too many motorists have come to ignore these familiar words. Furthermore, many workers in lac- quering plants do not appreciate the hazards involved. The complete wreckage of one body-making plant through the sparking of a mercury vapor lamp in a spray booth hap- pened at a time when the company was producing about 500 bodies a day. A series of explosions of in- creasing intensity followed. the first and rather mild one. Then the fire. Don't smoke anywhere near the smell of lacquer solvents and diluents. * % ¥ Now that air cleaners, oil filters, gasoline strainers, crankcase ventila- tion, vibration dampeners and ther- mostats in the cooling system are ac- cepted features of modern design, motordom looks forward to the gen- eral acceptance of a number of other necessities. These include such use- ful devices as electric primers, ther- mostatic carburetor adjustment, self- adjusting clutch plates, vaporizers and the like. Features such as automatic chassis lubrication, ball-bearing shackles, four-speed transmissions and other desirable improvements are retarded in their general adoption merely be- cause of their cost. But they are coming. Ask those who are using them. *x ok ok Having safely passed the period of fear of a saturation point the auto- mobile industry is racing on firmly convinced that the day will come when there will be a car for every person in the country, and then some. Many persons are keeping their old cars and buying new omes. In time there may develop the “antique” automobile, with many persons proud rather than ashamed of the cars that are of a former period, though they will have new cars as well, The Old Mechanic Says: Now, I'm goin’ to tell one on myself, I've got a weakness that costs car owners a pretty penny, and per! . if I confessed it there would be less trou- bie all ‘round. Like most other repairmen, I've gone a long time without realizin’ my failin’. It never came to me quite clearly until the ofher day when 1 was doin’ some work dn a Blank six and bappened to refer to it as an Eager eight. It was an Eager eight that I worked on just before tackling the Blank. All right for me to make a mistake in the name, but it got me thinkin’ of the times I've made the error of think- in’ of a present ear in terms of the one | worked on hefove. Call it “serv- ice hangover,” if you like. I don't know if there's any technical name for it or not, but this sort of thing exists :o a large extent and everybody pays or it T gl o0 MRl P 2y tin’ the mechanic’s mind on the make of car being attended to. The owner should repeat the name frequently in talking about the trouble and should aim to make the mechanic forgetful of all the other cars he has been han- 4lin’ throughout the day. Different cars require different tim- ing, different un?u clearances, dif- ferent front-wheel alignment. I've been so engrossed in a former job that I thought there was something wrong with the distributor of the next car I tackled just because it didn’t look the the first one. With the ts of the first car still in my mind, I'm here to admit that I've put troubles into customers’ cars while they were payin' me to help them. A mechanic has got to be in the mood for a car in order to give it proper attention. He can’t be thinkin' of the cars he repaired just before. It's common sense for the car own- 9419 sjser 1pe mechapls LIBlARl e SUNDAY BALTIMORE Hashing Raven region is especially Check Advocated .On Spare Tire Air To Insure Value ‘When testing the air pressure in the tires many motorists are con- tent to call the job well done when they have gone around the four wheels. They apparently are sat- isfled that the spare has sufficient pressure at all times. Too often they are wrong, and when they come to change tires find that they have two flats in- stead of one on their hands. The spare may not be working, but it is well to keep a check on its readi- ness to work when the emergency calls it Into service. . MOTORIST IS URGED TO PLAN FOR WINTER Mvuu;e Preparation for Hardest Season on Car Held Vital by A. A. A Expert. Motorists who begin now to con- sider the effects of Winter's rigorous conditions on their cars will have taken the longest step toward the prevention of these effects, according to Denton Peterson, in charge of the emergency road service of the Dis- trict of Columbia Division, American Automobile Association, who points out that many calls for service that come to the club have their start in the put-it-off attitude of the car owner. “It the motorist begins to realize right now that he will need a battery that is in the best condition, that Winter makes its demand for special grades of oil and grease, that a change in gasoline may be advisable and that an anti-freeze is necessary and gives real study to the special requirements, he will not have trouble this Winter,” says Mr. Peterson. “Winter troubles come from slovenli- ness in car care. It is dimly in the car owner's conscieusness that cer- tain things should be done, but they do not come into the forefront of one’s mind until the first bitter cold day has got in its disastrous effects. “Now s the time to consider what anti-freeze one will use, to learn from the proper source just what grade of oil and grease is best for the tem- peratures in the area in which one lives, to find out whether the gen- erator is set to supply the g current that the battery needs, and generally to learn the condition of the car. Analysis of the emergency service records of this club reveals that thousands of motorists do not seek this information until they have found themselves stalled, possibly with serjous damage to the car. “It is too early, of course, to act in all these matters, but it is not too early to get ready to act correctly when the time comes.” BILLBOARDS DOOMED ALONG KANSAS ROADS Highway Commission Bans All Signs Except Markers for Routes. Billboard and other advertising signs along the Kansas highways must come down by the first of next year. That order has been issued by :{n Kansas State Highway Commis- lon. by The ccmmissjon’s order grows out n act adopted by the Kansas last Winter to the effect ns of any kind 11 be permitted along the highways except officially authorized ‘standard road markers, Both convenience and safety in travel as well the ap- pearance of the highways were fac. tors in the legislation, A special provision of the act a ban on biliboards within 1,000 feet of a highway Intersection or rail Official Service DELCO—KLAXON—REMY Authorised by United Motors Service CREEL BROS. , % 'STAR. WAS The Sunday Stars Motor TOURS Sherwood BoynDARY, = TIiTiNGS ESTAB. /9/8. @ Cedarcroft. Vi (fa/gv e CHARLES ST Clar BALTIMORE Etfrcort <y o, kaville oy OColesville A Burat Mills BALTIMORE cITY KNOW OPERATION OF EACH UNIT . IN YOUR CAR TO ESCAPE BILLS Devices Like Starter and Carburetor Should Be Understood By the Constant Although there are 22,000,000 motor cars registered in the United States, and while it is a fact that they have received a large measure of attention on every hand, it remains true that an amazing proportion of owners is unacquainted with some of the sim- plest facts in connection with work- ings of a piece of automotive equip- ment. In the great onrush of the automo- bile to popularity some basic consi erations seem to have been overlook- ed. As the automobile has widened its market it has created thousands of purchasers to whom the mechanism of an automobile is a closed book. They operate the controls, but do not under- stand what they are operating and how the co-ordination is brought about. Novice May Profit.’ To the veteran, then, this article may seem a trifle elemental, yet it probably is true that many who con- sider their knowledge of automotive fundamentals complete may find it very well worth while to go over their muitiplication table once more. To the novice the Information contained hevein should prove of value in clear- ing away some of the' mystery which seems to enshroud mechanism of the modern automobile. Under the hood there is a unique power plant. It will not start of its own accord, In modern cars an elec- tric motor starts the engine shaft re- volving. Pressing the starter button automatically brings into engagement the “ gears that enable the starter motor to transfer its energy to the flywheel of the engine shaft. It is MARYLAND AUTO TAGS TO BE READY NOV. 28 Tax Payments to Be Required Be- fore Plates Will Be Issued Under New Law. Maryland automobile tags for 1928 will be ready for distribution on No- vember 28, it is announced. Only those who have paid their taxes and have received receipts from tI tax department will be eligible to se. cure the tags, under the Maryland ruling now in effect. Three hundred thousand application blanks have been mailed to tax of- ficials in the State by the office of under a law enacted by the last legis- lature, must examine the tax roll and certify whether each automobile own- er has paid taxes due on the vehicle, The system has heen in effect in Bal. timore for several years, and the mo- tor commissioner has refused to issue license tags there unless the city certifies on the blanks that llxell were paid. The tags for next year will be white figures on a light blue back- ground. i . 0il Spray Shows Leak. Car owners who suspect a compre slon leak at one of the spark plugs can determine the accuracy nf their suspicions by squirting oil around the plug joint. It bubbles appear, the gasket is leaking. The test is an old one, but it remains the most effective for this particular ailment. AUTO REPAIRING ALL MAKES Gardner, Flint and Hudson SERVICE A SPECIALTY T.J. CAMFIELD 1615 O St. N.W. North 9767 Tires and Accessories Motorist. plain that if the driver keeps his foot on the starter pedal after the engine starts the starter motor and its gears may be damaged. en. when in motion a gasoline en- gine requires speed for power. The hardest job for the engine is to get the car started from rest. Further- more, the engine can't be raced and then joined to the shaft that conveys the power to the rear wheels without straining the clutch, which does the Joining. The manufacturer, there- fore, provides a set of gears that gives the engine a mechanical advantage— that is. by going into low gear the en- gine can run fast, though the car will move very slowly when the clutch is engaged. The engine is enabled to move the stubborn car because it moves it so slowly. Starter Is Important. Knowing this much about what's under the hood, it isn't necessary to ask a mechanic why the engine stalls when trying ta start it in high gear, and one is not easily misled into thinking there is nothing wrong if the engine stalls when starting off in low. If it stalls In low, and clutchjng is done gently while the engine is given a little gas, the indications are the engine Is not running properly. The carburetor is probably adjusted for 80 lean a mixture that the engine is starving for fuel. There is quite a story in the choker button, which one pulls out when starting the engine. This control merely shuts off the air to the car- buretor_so_that _the engine sucks in (Continued on Seventh Page.) WOMAN APPLICANTS PASS COLOR TESTS No One Fails to Distinguish Red, Yellow and Green in Mary- land Examinations. Out of more than 10,000 Maryland woman motorists who have had their eyesight tested before being given a license, not one has been found color- blind, and in the two years in which the eye test prescribed for automo- bile license applicants has been in effect every woman applicant has eor- ‘This delightful jaunt through the Green Spring Valley, famed for its entrancing verdure, and the Loch Raven district, which contributes to Baltimore City's wnleer =npply.h\vlll lppm‘xlm-le isn mll:: nfr the Washington motorist from the time he leaves until he is back in the National Capital. The Loch beautiful, strongly suggesting the lakes and verdant settings of bonnie Scotland. The route selected for going and coming through Baltimore avoids the more congested streets. The Bailtimore voulevard and the Ellicott City-Ashton road offer alternate approaches to the city. Hint to Motorists Caught in Traffic On a Busy Street To get across the boulevard dur- ing the hour of heavy travel fre- quently is a difficult driving feat. Since traffic on the more important thoroughfare has the right of way at all umes, considerable speed is necessary if one is to cross with- out disrupting the main trafic stream. It may be helpful in this predicament to remember that the average car will pick up faster in second speed.- Shift to high after crossing. . NEW ORLEANS BRIDGE TO BE OPENED SOON $5,500,000 Structure Seen as At- traction for Tourists Dur- ing Winter. Motorists from Washington and oth- er Northern centers, planning a South- ern tour during the Winter, will be interested to -learn that the opening of the $5.500,000 Pontchartrain Bridge at New Orleans is scheduled for not later than February 1. According to an announcement, efforts are bel made to throw open the structu January 8, anniversary of the ‘Battls of New Orleans. * The total length. of the bridge. i 4 chicular toll causew. It spans Lake Pont- v its bullders the longest bridge in the world. The Pontchartrain Bridge will be a crossroads for two important trans- continental trunk routes, one east and west and other other north and south, the former being the Old Spanish Trail from Jacksonville to San Diego and the latter the new Colonial high. way to link New York and D Orleans, The “logging” of the Colonial high- way was started September 17, United States population in 1900 wa ; 89,000,000, automobile registration 8,000; in 1926 population was 115 000, motor vehicle registration :‘oc{ly named the colors used in lhe} lent. Not that the eyesight of the women | 18 better than that of the men, the ex- | aminers assert, for it is not. Woman applicants fail more frequently than men because of defective evesight | other than color-blindness, ‘it was sald. Approximately 5 per cent of the men | who apply for the licenses are de | ceived by ‘the colors they are request- ed to name, it was estimated. J No trick is employed in the colors shown to the applicant. Usually, if | the colors red, green and yellow are named as rapidly as they are focused, the applicant is passed without diffi- cult ) l Dalco Oil Lubrication For Transmissions and Differentials Not High Priced 5,000 Miles Per Filling Prevents rear end “humming” No Thinning Out in Warm Weather Low Cost- Ridting Comfort The abundance of clean heat delivered by these cast alum- is hardly to be with their small size cost. » except Cadillac- LaSalle o Packard ARMENTROUT’S 1710 ]“h St. and 10th and !‘n 1t your denlse ean't supply you, wecenl a substitute, he can et I Dalco Lukricants, Inc. etory 4th and Channing Sts. N.E. B North 10055 HOLLAND VEHICULAR TUNNEL HELD GREAT BOON TO.TRAFFIC , One of the greatest feats of modern times, the Holland Vehicular Tunnel, running under the Hudson River from Manhattan to Jer- sey City, is to be thrown open to the public November 13. No more will motorists going to or coming from New | York ba forced to wait in line at the entrances of the 15,ferries which now connect the metropolis with the Jer- sey side of the river. Instead, they will keep right on, and in less time than it takes to walk from the back of the White House grounds to the hase of the Washington Monument, they will find themselves in the heart of Manhattan. Approximately 15,000,000 automo- biles and trucks every year will dive Into the twin tubes of the Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River and travel the 9,250 feet from shore to shore in six minutes or less.’ Motor- ists from Washington and nearby sec- tions going to New York will find the tunnel a great convenience, both in the matter of saving time, as well as making the journey more pleasant. through the elimination of the nerve- Hudson. $18,000,000 in Expense Fund. In opder to accomplish this marvel been spent, ording to Waldemar Kaemeffert, writing in the New York Times. This money was appropriated by the States of New York and New Jerse Seven years have elapsed | since work on the tunnel was begun, and of the thiree men who have super- vised the work two have died. The name of the first, the man un- der whom actual work was hegun and who carried it almost to completion, Clifford M. Holland, is hewn over the stone entrance portals of the two tubes, a last memorial to the genius who directed the work from 1919 to 1924. In the latter year, overcome by | the long hours he spent at his desk | and under the compressed air in the itllnnul itself, he succumbed. | . Holland was but 36 years old at the time he was placed in charge of the vork, but he long had been connected | City. e graduated from Harvard in 1906 and by 1914 was in direct charge {of the construction of eight tunnels under the East River at New York. Milton H. Freeman, construction en- gineer, working with Iolland on the tunnel, succeeded the latter when he died in 1924, but lived only a few months after his appointment. ‘Ole Singstad, chosen by Holland as de- signing engineer, was then placed in icharge of the work and it was com- | plated under his direction. Skill and Courage Required. Few motorists, with the exception of those versed in the difficulty of great engineering problems, will real- ize, as they pass through the tunnmel, the endless skill and courage required to carry on the battle against the ele- ments as it was waged underneath the | Hudson River for some six years. To |the majority the tunnel will be a |means which enables them to get to or from Manhattan Island in a more convenient ‘manner than by ferry. When the Washington motorist for the first time enters the southern tube, passing from New Jersey to New York, he will see what appears to be an endless white-tiled cavern, brightly illuminated. At the left is a raised | sidewalk, intended chiefly for the traf- | fic police. Two endless lines of traffic— one, the speedier, composed of passen- ger cars, the other comprising heavily laden trucks—will be passing through the tunnel, bound for New York City. In the wall, close to the sidewalk and at regular intervals, are niches where traffic policemen stand. and overhead are the signal lights, red and green. here is also a third light, one which is not lit, but which, if inquiries are made, will be found to be a light commanding the engine to be stopped. This light will flash only in case of emergency, such as when the suction pumps refuse to carry away the in- sidious carbon monoxide fumes. Tells “How It Was Done.” The answer to the question “How was it done?” reyeals a story of deep- est interest, not only| to the engineer- Ing profession, but to the layman as well. The method employed in boring the two tubes has be'n used time and again in Furope and America, and is { known as the shield method. A shield is a short steel cylinder 1aade up of | steel plates, the diameter of t:» eylin- der being slightly larger thar-that of the tunnel linivg. The north tube on the New. Jersey sids was borel with a skeld 31 feet in diameter. The entire south tube and the north tube on the trving wait at the ferries across the | of engineering skill, $48,000,000 have | | with tunnel construction in New York | Motoring Between Manhattan and Jersey City Will Be Strikingly Expedited by Hudson River Twin Tubes. engineering | New York side were bored with shields 30 feet 2 inches in dia.neter and 1% feet long. The finished tube has a diameter of 29 feet 6 inches, and each ¢ of the shields weighed 400 tons. Each shield was divided into 13 man. high compartments by means of ver- ical and horizontal partitions, and it was in these that the workmen, slanz- ly termed “sandhogs,” dug out the dirt, mud and rocks in the path of the shield. To keep the Hudson River out of the compartments the pressure of tons of water was opposed by an equal pressure of air within the shield. In- cessantly a struggle was waged, one in which the air always had to main- tain the upperhand, L.ut no more. Tao much air pressure could result in blowing workmen and all up through thie bottom of the river. Experience of Workérs. The men who worked in this high , air pressure, before entering the shield {for work, as well as when leaving the shield, had to go through a series of air compression chambers, first to make them used to the I her air pres- sure and then to bring them back to the normal air pressure again. This was done by means of air locks, which are connected in a series, Going through .a series of these locks, each of which has a higher air compression than the predecessor, the workmen gradually became ac- customed to the air pressure to which they were subjected in the shield. When they quit work they went through these chambers in reverse order, A much slower process, so that their blood would be reaccomrmodated, to_the outside air. While working under compressed air the blood becomes charged with gasses of the air, chiefly nitrogen, and had any workman stepped forth suddenly into normal atmospheric pressure his blood would literally have boiled. He would have endured all the agony of what doctors term “calsson " and which he calls the “bends.” So, each time, after working in the shield, the workman took 45 minutes or more to become what might be termed ‘‘decom- pressed.” Shield Forced Forward. When_all material within reach of the sandhogs had been excavated the shield was pushed forward into t mud and rock by means of 30 draulic screws. It took a thrust of 6,000 pounds per square inch to force the shield forward. Some da when going through silt, it went as fast as 25 feet per day, while on others it gnawed its way forward at a much slower pace. The erector, attached directly be. hind the shield and moving forward with it, picked up the heavy steel plates and held them in position. so that they could be riveted together, thus forming thé lining of the tunnel. Between the lining and the outer earth the spaces were filled with ce. ment and sand on the New York and New Jersey shores, while under the river itself the silt flowed in ang filled the spaces. Four shields in all were used, two on each tunnel, working from opposite shores. Those of the north tube met on October 29, 1924, and those of the south tube on December 7 of the same year. So minute had been the mea- surements and, the manner in which the shields ha® been guided that they were in perfect alignment. Work on Twin Tubes Begun. - With this work completed, the inte. rior arrangements of the twin tubes was undertaken and along with it was tackled one of the most serious problems of all, that of supplying the tubes with fresh air. No problem in ventilation of such,a gigantic magni- tude had ever presented itself to mod- ern engineers and in order to solve this, the scientific resources of thp United States Bureau of Mines, Yale University and the University of II- linois were drawn upon. The result has been that the Holland Tunnel. from the standpoint of fresh air sup- ply, has been declared to be as safe as any open-air boulevard. Heretofore, for ventilation purposes in tunnels, engineers had relied upon the natural draft which always is pre- sent in such a structure. This method in a short tunnel or in a tunnel where comparatively few automobiles pass, is adequate, but as a means of ventilat- ing the Holland Tunnel this method was, never even considered. The tunnel primarily was structed for automobile traffic, exhaust of the automobile dischargel (Continued on Seventh Page.) co! Safe Brakes Let us service your brakes. 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We do nothing but brakes. Auto Brake Service and Ford Band Co ' Phone Franklin 8208 : 425K St. N.W.