Evening Star Newspaper, February 12, 1928, Page 67

3 " WINTER STORING 7 NOLONGER NEEDED “{mprovement of Rural Roads Does Not Require Hiber- nation in Cold Months. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, FEBRUARY 12, 1928—PART 4. Registration Fees Levied in States In Eleven Ways France Seeks Way To End Accidents From Glare Lights ‘TRAFFIC LIGHT TWINKLINGS CHICAGO TRAFFIC PLAN DISCOUNTED Maryland Official Doubts Value of Double-Decked Streets Expedient. There are 11 bases on which the 48 States assess registration fees on private passenger automobiles, ac- cording to the American Automobile Association. The A. A. A. outlines the follow- ing summary of the bases used: “Seventeen States base the rates on horsepower, 14 States on wejght, seven States on horsepower pius weight, one State on a flat rate per car, one State on the cost of a mo- tor vehicle, one State on a cubic inch displacement, one State on value plus weight, three States on a flat rate plus weight, one State on value, one State on selling price plus weight and horsepower, and one State on the manufacturer's list Blinding headlights on automo- blles are again an issue in France. The law requires headlights to be so directed as not to blind other drivers, One solution has been to direct the right light well to the right and to shut off the left light only when meeting other cars. The practice of shutting off the lights when passing another car at night is said to be responsible for many accidents. FOREST ROAD FUNDS BALTIMORE, February 11 (Special) ~~The traffic problem In large cities may be solved eventually, but that en- lutlon will not be the double-decked streets of Chicago, in the opinion of John N. Mackall, chairman of the State In the good old days of, say, 10 years it was customary at about this time of year or earlier to jack up the auto- mobile, remove the battery, and, per- chance, remove the water from the ra- diator. The car was retired for the THE CONFUSED TYPE —HASN'T THE SLIGHTEST IDEA WHAT TO DO WHEN THE FIRE SIGNAL STARTS BLINKING. But OFFICER , THERE WAS NO ONE AROUND, Winter; its utility was cut in half. Nowadays it is & rather remotely lo- cated motorist who is required to per- form this sad ritual. The general im- provement in rural highways has made it possible and highly desirable that time-wasting and travel-prohibiting snow be removed from the roadway. Southern States, according to E. E. Duffy, educational highway expert, al- though never blanketed with snow, also have their Winter worries. Incessant rains convert dirt and gravel roads into impassable, bottomless trails. In many eommunitics the isolation imposed by mud roads is as complete as though produced by several fect of snow. Here again the solution lies in the construc- tion of vear-round pavements. Once Impractical. In the earlier days of the automobils snow removal, except in few instances. was impractical because of the rough- ened condition of the roads underneath the white blanket. A horse-drawn snow plow could cover only a few miles daily. But with the coming of graded roads and hard pavements, along with the development of powerful tractor or truck-drawn plows, the annual Winter hibsrnation of many rural folk has boen eliminated. A saga of the snow plow could well be written. A few vears ago an ambitious ma- chinery company in Milwaukee volun- tecred to show road authorities in Wis- consin what could be done in the way of economical snow removal. The trac- tor burrowed its way through 270 miles of snow of an average depth of 1. feet and of not infrequent drift depths | GIVEN TO 31 STATES West Profits Most in $7.500,000 Total of Agriculture De- partment. A total of 31 States and two Terri- tories will receive an aggregate of $7.- 500,000 for construction of highways within the national forests of the coun- try, according to apportionment of Fed- | eral forest road funds, just announced | | *YELLOW PERIL- THE FELLOW-WHO by the Department of Agriculture. Three States, namely. Idaho. California and Oregon, will receive more than| $1,000.000 under the apportionment, re- | ceiving the largest sums, of course, be- cause of their extensive national for-| ests. ! | “Improvement of the forest roads | will add much to the cnjoyment of the | | motoring public.” J. Borton Weeks, | president of the American Motorists’ | Association, declared in commenting on | | the distribution of the funds which be- | come available for highway construc- | tion July 1. “The forests of America | are in reality the playgrounds for tens | | of thousands of motorists who annually | | tour the shadowed trails. Their im- provement by the expenditure of $7.- 500,000 annually on the forest high- ways is_heartily indorsed by the tuur-} ing_public.” | Under the apportionment. $4.500.000 | is to be expended in the construction | and improvement of automobile high- | SHOOTS THRU,THE CAUTION LIGHT AT 45,0NLY TO GET HUNG UP BY A RED SIGNAL AT THE NEXT AND [ WAS IN SUCH A HURRY — BESIDES,[ AM ,, SORT OF COLOR-BLIND! \ T—=.—"THE PEEVISH BUS N ‘GETTYSBURG WAS NEVER LIKE THIS " — DRIWVER- HAS MISSED EVERY LIGHT SO FAR, BECAUSE PASSENGERS HESITATE Too LONG ON THE STEP,AND ASK Too MANY QUESTIONS TRAPPED IN THE MIDDLE price.” 'DIFFERENCES IN BUS | CODES ARE ASSAILED | SR, | Robert H. Newcomb Addresses the Society of Automotive En- gineers at Chicago. Roads Commission. “My judgment is that the doubl decked street will never be satisfac tory,” Mr. Mackall said. He has just completed a study «f those in use in Chicago and of theo- | retical streets proposed by persons a:- | tempting to alleviate traffic eongestion | in large cities. | “The lower levels of those in Chicazn are depressing, dark, gloomy and dan- gerous,” Mr. Mackall said. “Tra precautions are thrown to the win by those who use the streets, both the lower and. upper levels. “Three things are necessary if con- There are 48 separate and distinet jurisdictions in this country that have | a like number of separate and distinct yregulations affecting _motor coach operation, according to Robert H. New- comb, udent of transportation, in a | recent address before the Society of Automotive Engineers at Chicago. | If there are no statutes in a certain Jurisdiction, he pointed out, the courts always can be relied upon to interpret the law covering conditions in a State that has no regulatory statute. It is only when the highway vehicle crosses a State line, Mr. Newcomb showed, that the confusion of jurisdiction and the absence of congressional legisla- tion steps in to emphasize the neces- ity for co-ordinated laws. The varying phases of the problem of carrying passengers are sufficiently vague to provide ample material for discussion, according to Mr. Newcomb ‘When one stops to investigate the car- gestion is 1o be eliminated or even re- duced: First. the authorities must do away with the parking evil. That fur- nishes the greatest problem. Then they must keep the traffic moving as fast as possible. A clear road and aboli- tion of the present foolish speed limi's are necessary to this. “The third and one most often pasc- ed over is regulation of pedestrians. It seems to be a hanging offense in Baltimore to suggest that pedestrian should cross streets at the regularly provided crossings—the intersections— but that is a vital necessity if traffic ilis are ever to be cu " | Of the 48 States. only 8 have popu- lations greater than the number of workers in the automobile industry. Request OF |6Td STREET BYA CHANGING LIGHT. | rlage of freight on the highwav com- plications pile up at such a rapid rate that he is brave indeed who attempts of 4 feet. all in a few days. Today most ‘Wisconsin counties are able to main- tain long-distance travcl throughout ways in and adjacent to the national | forest, and $3.000,000 is to be used in the construction and maintenance of | Balcrank Bumpers ment in service. Removal a Problem. i Snow removal is a problem affect-, ing the entire Northern belt. in some instances extending down into the sec- | ond and third tier of States. Rural roads should be considered as a definite State or county money-producing fa- cility, for money saved is money earned. i Consequently when these roads are idle they become decidedly non-productive. And, unfortunately, rural earning pow- er is diminished and city trade falls off. | A great deal still remains to be done. | Pavements must be extended, both in the North.and the South. so that every populous community will be within easy traveling distance of a hard road. Pave- ments make it possible for the commu- nity to function th= year around at full | blast. | VIRGINIA IMPROVES HIGHWAY APPROACH: (Continued from Sixth Page.) the year, with about 120 units of equip- | | | $his curve, but at the most acute bend | even this feeble protection is absent. | The comparatively small number of ! serious accidents there is attributed to the extremely careful driving of motor- ists and bus operators, all of whom are fully aware of the dangers that lurk on the hill in inclement weather. Plan to Straighten Curve. ~ : | The State highway commission pro- | poses to strajghten this curve and widen | th> roadway s0 that th® hazards now | existing will be eliminated. It will be| properly banked and equipped with ade- quate guard rails, 1t is said. Just how the widening of the high- | way through Park Lane will be accom- | lished 1> & taatter yet to be scttied. | t may be necessary 1o raze several buildings in order to make way for tas new road, reports have it. The treatment of the road in the Rosslyn end probably will follow the lnes of least resistance. Previous plans mapped out by the highway com- niission were for a complete re-routing ot tie roed in Rosslyn so that the new highway would keep to the south of the Old Dominlon Rajlway tracks anc thus avoid use of the viaduct at the western edge of the town and the grade crossing at the Rcssiyn terminal of the raiway company. i Shirley some months ago said that a posal 1o this effect had been madc | Eomz rallway company, but that the ! company indicated that the cost of | moving its tracks further northwarc | 1o make room for the highway would | be prohibitive. The pian at that time was for an exchange of right-of-ways between the raflway company and the highway commission, the former 10 use the old highway roadbed for its track. #ge and the latter 0 build a new high- way over the abandoned raliroad prop- erty Negotiations Failed. That these negotiations have failed :!orward s e however, is indicated by the fact that | roads required mainly for the develop- ment and protection of the forests. | to unravel the snarl. man'’s sized job in a thorough and wholesale manner. The banning of downtown park- ing, the business zone, appcars Lo be spreading. Chicago had its first experience with it at the first of the year. Cleveland is re- norted taking the matter up, and ~lose to home comes a report that Baltimore is seriously thinking over the plan. Police Commis- sioner Charles D. Gaither of the Monumental City has returned from a trip of investigation to the Windy City. ports, he is said to be enthused over the conditions in Chicago. How far he is to get with the Bal- :!mlore City Council is problemat- cal. Still, the matter has come close enough for consideration here. It is unnecessary to say such regu- lations are drastic. That word is known to every one. But is it necessary? That is the question for thought. At present it is not necessary in the National Capi- tal. Conditions do not warrant surh a regulation here. Our pres- ent restrictions seem sufficient. But it would be well for the con- stant kickers, whether motorists or merchants, to realize that thei. ~bjections to any plan now in ef- fect as to parking will not help in warding off or preventing that decried bogey. The District heads and Congress will in time tire of these conscientious obijectors of ~" nlang enforced for the welfare of all, and lay down a stringent measure that will be a real hard- ship. Regarding Speed. One of the most widely adver- tised adjuncts to the automobile of 1928 is speed. In considering this factor it is timely to consider the speed laws { now existing. And in considering this it is well to take up the limits on the open and unobstructed roadways where high speed Is possible. No one with the average | motoring intelligence contem- plates the open throttle through | villages and congested areas. The nation today is pushing ier According to all re- | | limits on certain highways. Pre- |dictions are made that other | States in the near future will fol- | low this lead. Whether this is to be true is of course uncertain. But the advisability of doing away | with all limits is up for discussior. | The plan for prohibiting slov | speed on certain highways, which | has been tried in one of the smaller States along the Atlantic | seaboard, although of the other | extreme, comes into the same dis- | cussion. The slow driver, who| habitually moves along the center ‘3 of the thoroughtare, is a nuisance. and not only slows up traffic, con- | gests and jams it, but often is the indirect cause of many an ecci- | dent. Whether he should be fined | for going too slow is debatable. Certainly it is not because his car | cannot make a better grade, be- | cause today there are no mechan- | ically slow cars, unless those by age and lack of care. These shoul:i be banned, not because of their speed, but because the rest of their make-up is probably dan- | gerous to trafic, in regard to brakes. steering wheels, etc. Prob- ably the glow driver should be fined because of not keeping to- ward the right side of the strcet or road. Punishment for this vio- lation would seem better. Qualification Found. As to the States that have abol- | ished speed limits, a qualification | ‘is to be found. In Michigan the law states: “Any person driving a vehicle on a highway shall drive the same at a careful and pru- | dent spced not greater, nor less, | than is reasonable and proper having due regard to traffic, sur- face and width of the highway ard of any other condition then | isting. No person shall drive any vehicle at a speed greater than will permit him to bring it to a stop within an assured clear distance ahead of him.” | This law makes the motorist the judge. He must have intelligence and skill. Every motorist should have those requirements. It is' the one who has not those re- | quirementsdhat is the chief cause | of acciden | | Bome yea McMahon of the local Police ana s ago Judge John P. Care of Hose Connections. | The motorist who knows that hose connections must be especially tight if glycerin is used as an anti-freeze may be tempted to use shellac on them. This ot advisable. INSPECT FAN BELT. | draughts of air when the belt that runs ' case, slippage means that both fan nndl ;h is slipping. but in some cars belt pump are idle when both are seriously | slippage has a doubly bad effect. ThIS | nasded for cooling purposes. Keep the is_particularly true in that design in | which the fan and the water pump | belt functioning and inspect it reg- both work on the one belt. In such a'ularly. It is bad enough that the fan fails to provide the engine with cooling' On Your New Car Most Beautiful—Strongest Guaranteed Forever Against Breakage Watson Stabilator Co. of Washington e Pt AGTaIT A N XY‘\‘ AL RN | A LA W Our New Home Conveniently Located ed! the ratiway company has just completec | transportation. Limits have been | -rafic Courts, stated that a man | the construction of a new viaduct of | raised in nearly all of the States | might he driving recklessly, even large proportions, to replace the | Michigan and Connecticut have | it he were going well under the cramped structure that previously con- | topped the list of States in this | the Announcin - gested automobile trafic beneath it Just beyond Park Lane and Aurora Heghts Yies Lyon Village, a new residen- 112l community whose developers, Lyon & Fich, are co-operating wholeheart. jy in the plans of the Htale for ob | taining an B0-foot right-of-way through that section highway commission a 40-foot sirip o] its property “and more if necesszry” entirely without cost. It 15 estimated the donated land is worth from $25,000 0 830,000 It will be used 1o straighten & curve and widen the thoroughfare ir Bpost Run Valley West of this valley the highvuy again heging 10 wind upward as it approaches Cherrvdsle. A series of dangerous srsielice curves brings the movrist to the 1own limits #nd 14 the bank huild- ing referred tn by the highway com- wissioner Buildings Block Plan. This bullding of modern brick oon- struction, s occupled by the People’s Blate Bank Unforvunstely, the stric- Lure ix tituated on & direct line of the youd us it would be extended under the susightenisg pian Nesrby, Just W the eust. are two residences which also loom 85 terious obslaries I the path of the extension project An officisl of Ve benk sdvised ‘The Bier hat Wi bank hss no objeetion 1o being moved U wuother locstion, pro- viding the Blate pays for the removel “He estimated the cost st about §12000 s undessUnd that the Slate 18 Te Uy €spend s laTge B sum on one Ik -sUreighlening operation it e olner plan e feusible I wes with n view 1o sscertalning U other course might be Yuken 'hat Dhwey commireion oraered s har property wnd cromsing over the Bucli w procedure 1 | ain Y meel with oppositin on the | iway tracke pert of sy moorisis, whi fesr the Bungere of yiwde crossings snd who Yook with disfuvor on wny plan for in- creasing Ve number of such croesings o6 b dmpotant & UM srtery s the Jee Highway Congestion caning Acording 1o Ve bk official efure mentioned, (e wileinative ple by - 1 Uie grade cromsing, would cell for e fork i the highwey se the rosd ap: Prowchies the town limite of Cherrydale On e ewst WL B ONE-WRY pRvemen) The firm has offered the | | respect with eliminating all speed | far as the Glebe or Chain Bridge road | Tne second crossover would occur just t of the Glebe rond, where the tracks i 1o curve 1o the north This plan would carry the two one- | way roads quite a distance apart, the | northern or westbound strip travereing part of Lee Heights, The south strip | of course, would be exclusively for Wash- Ingwn-bound trafc T'he highway commission realizes thet | some drastic move must be made to aholish the growing congestion | Cherrydale Lack of foresight realty developers in this town has | resulted 1n a condition wherehy busi- ness structures have heen huilt h with the roadway for a distance several blocks, permitting of no road | expansion work whatever. Only & nar- row sidewalk separates the heavily- | traveled highway from the show win- dows of stores and other business estul- | Lishmente To make matters worse, automobiles are permitted 1) line the curh and further constrict the busy traffic lune through the town Yth street car tracks cramping the roadwiy on the other side, molorists must exercise the | greatest caution in wending their way | (hrough the congestion The vast n | cremse i bus traffie within the pust few | years b magnified e taffe problon il along the youte Hpring Construction Seen, “The Viginie highway suthorities in vend to welgh 1he ndvantages sgainet the disadvantages i each of the pro- possls for ohviating congestion Uirogh | Cherrydnle, and they assert their inost careful deliberation Their hope. BU BBy 1816, 18 10 com- phete the project with all diepmteh possi - Ve, for they wre convinced of the fact | that tratic over the Lee Highway b | lung sinee outgrown the fecilities af- forded in the old youd We wre golng o lose nn tme in Luetting down b0 the work of setusl | cometruction,” Chnirman Bhirley told Vi Blar | e wre tying (o facilitate (e s Jition of the problems (hat face us, wnd Just ws soon ws the preliminary surveys wre done we will diaw the plans and ssk for hids I oexpect o et contiacts for e | by | District speed limits, should the | ~onditions of the time in his own | sense of judgment warrant even | further curtallment of momen- | | tum. It would seem that the pres- ent Michigan law is patterned to | some extent along the ideas of | the local magistrate 1t is llkely that all speed limits will not be given up by all Btates | | in the near future. The motorists need further intelligence and | aining. Until the untrained are | weeded out, which should be, | here must be somebody set up to | hink for them | One-wav highways between | ities are lkely to come first, com- | pulsory insurance —much sooner | Motor millenium 15 as far off as v other. Manufacturers can gain con- | #derable comfort in the state- ment, of The Index, of the Nevy | wkers, as quoted In the y Star of lnst week. In this it will be remembered, it meted that more than 80 pey of the cars abroad were of werican make and that the ex- ot to date 15 in ils Infaney. The ronosed 5 000,000 sales can easily w reached AUTO CONVICTIONS FEW. Balthmore Found Guilty of Manslaughter | BALTIMORE, February 11 (8pecial) | Only two persans were convicted of manslaughter Iast year in Raltimore in connectinon with automobile deathis ‘That was brought out by the crimi nal justice commission I e 1027 ve- port explaining the high rate of man- slaughter churges compared with eon- victons Mot of the 52 mansluughler arvests were ade In o connection with st cusen, but only 11 resulted In indiet- ments. Of 3 convietlons. | was for & Killing not connected with an automo- wo Drivers in Myelieling ‘he Viwcke on the northi sx work by Apri) or May, st the latest,” bile accident, . The Removal of Hawkins-Nash Motor Co. To New and Larger Quarters . ... .. NCREASED Nash sales and service have made it necessary for us to move a0 our new car sales and service as well as our used car department from 1333 and 1337 14th Street to 1509-1511 14th Street, where we shall occupy a modern four-story building with 20,000 square feet of floor space. This new location affords ample opportunity to display to better advantag: e the line of Nash automobiles, which, at their netw reduced prices, are now the outstand- ing values in their respective price fields. It also permits us to better serve those who have purchased Nash automobiles from us and to whom we still have a service obligation in so far as providing adequate facilities for maintenance. Our Used Car Department is located on the sufficient room has been provided to display them properly. more cond floor of our new home, where During the present week we shall maintain open house until 10 o'clock every evening. and see how splendidly we ave equipped to serve you as a Nash owner. Hawkins-Nash Motor ASSOCIATE NASH DEALER Conveniently Located 1509-1511 14th Street N. W We cordially invite you to call and inspect our line of Nash automobiles Co.