Evening Star Newspaper, December 9, 1928, Page 80

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, DECEMBER 9. 1928—PART Z.° ONTARIO WILL KEEP SOUTHERN 'ROADS OPEN THROUGH WINTER I GAS N. OYLE BY THORNTON FISHER NEW RESIDENT IN WASHING TON DECIDES TO OBTAIN A D.C. LICENSE — Ve BEEN DRIVING FOR I SO THE NEW ARRIVAL GETS A AFTER WHICH HE GoES BE| PoOK oF LocaL REGULATIONS - —_— AN EXAMINING OFFCER How SHOULD HEADLIGHTS Province to Provide Many Routes for Tourists by Use of Snow Plows HAT the greater majority of motorists of the National In the Motor World The traffic director stated that Lie had been making a thorough @ speep study of the plan, especially three g RS BY G. ADAMS HOWARD. I and have good records is the opinion of Traffic Director William H. Harland and his as- sistant M. O. Eldridge, in a state- ment made yesterday. This contention is borne out by figures obtained from the files of | the Traffic Bureau for the year ending November 1. A novel way of forming an average percentage was taken. Mr. Harland and Mr. Eldridge took the files of all drivers named Jones, Smith, Johnson and Miller. In this list there were 1,326 names. Among these names it was found that 1,020 or 76.9 per cent had no vio- lations of any nature charged up against them. These figures in- cluded forfeitures of collateral as well as convictions. There remained the names cf 306 violators with an average of two violations each. Some of this number ran as high as 10 and 12, and a few as high as 20. Average Record Good. On this basis, if the average maintained itself throughout the 141,900 licensed drivers of last year, those with clean records would number 109,263. This would leave 32,637 drivers who had vio- lated traffic laws, but inasmuch as a number of these had many violations of the law against their record, it would leave the great bulk of the drivers with only one violation each. Therefore, according to the two officials, there is only a small per- centage of Washington motorists with rotten records, and it is this class that the department is par- ticularly “after.” Going still further into figures of average, it would result that out of a population of 555,000 resi- dents of the city, only 5.8 per cent would have traffic records. Due to the fact that these fig- ures include violations of all kinds —parking, improper lights and other minor infractions as well as those of a serious nature, it is believed that the drivers in the District of Columbia, on the aver- age, are careful drivers. Only those who have violated laws of safety are being called into the office of the director of traffic. Many of these, it is claim- ed do not show a proficient knowledge of the traffic regula- tions, having obtained their licenses before a rigid examina- tion was required. Those now coming into the Traffic Bureau for examinations in order to obtain operators’ permits maintain an average of 5 out 20 failing. The above figures are interest- ing, and there is no reason to believe that the Jones, Smiths, Johnsons and Millers are any better or worse than the drivers with other names. Complaint Registered. Complaint has been registered over the congestion cf traffic dur- ing the rush hour in the morn- ings at Eleventh street and New York avenue. The complaint is merited, but this condition will be changed with the proposed instal- lation ‘of traffic lights on Thir- teenth street, Tenth street, and isolated ones at Twelfth and Eleventh streets. But in the meantime, it would not be a bad move on the part of traffic offi- cials to post a traffic policeman at this intersection. The excessive speed limit of busses and trucks has aroused considerable agitation. These heavy vehicles make their way through crowded thoroughfares with their drivers apparently ob- livious to any speed regulaitons whatever. This practice is ex- tremly dangerous and should im- mediately be stooped. Not only is difficulty encounter- ed with this class of vehicles on the move, but often when stopped. ‘This difficulty is not as dangerous, but presents a decided obstacle to the steady flow of traffic, particu- larly on narrow streets. This is caused by their parking abreast, or often in cases of trucks and delivery wagons, backing into the curb to unload. Often when there is an available space a few doors ahead of their designation, their drivers will not deign to park a few feet away, but will tie up traf- fic in any conceivable manner. Mr. Harland states that he is going to take this matter up with the owners of such vehicles, and unless prompt co-operation 1is given, wholesale arrests may be expected. Attends Traffic Council. Mr. Harland attended a meet- ing of the Traffic Council Friday night in the Mills Building. The subject of the National Municipal major proposals which call for pedestrian control, the banning of all night parking, and the making of left-hand turns on the green light. He is of the opinion that these three proposals are the out- standing ohes, in as far as the District of Columbia is concerned, and that more study be made before a definite conclusion is reached. The installation of the traffic lights in the business section of the city is awaited with interest by motorists and pedestrians alike. At this time Mr. Harland again points out, that the primary rea- son for lights is safety. “It is to be hoped,” he stated, “that the lights will allow steady and a free movement of traffic, but making est desire.” 1929 License Tags. Motorists are warned against before the 15th of this month. They will not be recognized before that time, and the user of the license tags before that date will be subject to an arrest. The usual scramble for low numbered license plates is on, and about over. Applicants, even those entitled to them, are being told that the supply of such tags has given out. It is said that a greater demand has been made by the foreign diplomats. Why the increase in attaches this coming year is now answered. A certain well known game is brought - to mind by the tags of Mr. Harland and Mr. Eldridge. Mr. Harland’s tag is A 7; and Mr. Eldridge, A 11. U. S. Highway No. 99. The United States Department of Agriculture releases this week an interesting account of a road- way on the West Coast. The re- port in part follows: United States Highway 99, so designated by State and Federal authorities, is the longest contin- uously improved highway in the country. Beginning at the Cana- dian line, near Blaine, Wash,, it passes through Washington, Ore- gon and California, and runs practically to the Mexican border. Its entire length of 1,590 miles is improved; and, with the exception of some 95 miles of gravel surfac- ing in northern California, just south of the Oregon line, and a few miles at its southern termi- nus in the Imperial Valley, it is surfaced throughout with the highest types of pavements of concrete or asphalt. The highway is one of the most heavily traveled north and south routes in the country. It is the historic inland route of the Pa- cific Coast, traversing, in the Northwest, the land of the In- dian, trapper and explorer of the eighteenth century, and, in Cali- fornia, the land of the Spanish padres and the “Forty-niners.” It traverses a section of the United States that is the delight of the vacationist. In the nearby mountains are deer, bear and mountain lions to lure the hunts- man. The numerous mountain streams and lakes, to which it gives access, abound in trout and other fish. The Columbia River, which it crosses, is noted for its salmon. All along the route are Summer resorts and excellent ac- commodations for campers. In the State of Washington it trav- erses immense forests of spruce and fir, producing more lumber than any other section of the country. From various points along the highway the outstanding scenic wonders of the three States are reached easily: Mount Baker, Puget Sound, the Olympic Penin- sula and Mount Rainier National Park in Washington; the Colum- bia River Drive, Mount Hood, Crater Lake and mineral springs in Oregon; the Sierra Nevada, with Mount Shasta, Mount Las- sen (the only active volcano in the United States), Lake Tahoe, Mount Whitney and Death Val- ley (the highest and lowest points in the country), and the redwoods in California. Transcontinental Roads. Crossing Route 99 are five main east and west transcontinental roads of the United States high- way system, which lead to the West _through national monu- ments and forests and over the coast range to the shores of the Pacific. To the East, these con- necting roads lead to national forests, parks, monuments and Indian reservations in the Cas- cade range and the Sierra Nevada. In one direction or the other these highways give easy access from Route 99 to 24 national forests, Ordinance was taken up at length. R S S S S S S S SR S S +> Solving the Motorists’ % Xmas Gift Problem! With the advent of motoring, Christmas gift problems be- ¥ come simplified. If your friend wl appreciate some accessory long service! FRE Here Are Some Firestone Tires Firestone Tubes Weed_Tire Chains AC. Spark Plugs Champion Spark Plugs Prestone Whiz Anti-Freeze Aleol o G-P-A Glvcerine o the District distrib- he Lorraine Control- Driving Light. y ¥ A BLOCK BELOW THE 12th and C - '—For Monday Only, with every complete set of Spark Pltigs bought here, we will give vou an EXTRA SPARK PLUG. THE MODERN DOWNTOWN STATION STAR SERVICESTATION five of the larger national parks Ly e e e e e e e P e T et et e et e s or relatives drive a car, they that will prove useful and give Gift Suggestions: Tire Repair Kits and full line of lals B ged, Seare Tire Chaing Locks Fuil Line of Top Dressing Olls and Grease Veedol Mobiloil Pennyoil Standard Havoline Gasoline Amoco Tydol Ethyl so Tydol Straight American Standard Free Air and Battery Service AVENUE AT TWELFTH Streets N.W, the intersections safe is the great- i putting their new 1929 tags on; MEARS IN ST.PAUL- ¢ 6\ ¢ BE ADJUSTED? IF SO AND HE 1S THEN ASKED TO DESCRIBE THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS AS THEY ARE DISPLAYED= o ? \Q ey ?9%‘7 HOPING HE HASNT SUDDENLY GONE. COLOR Automobile Thefts Still Rated Among “Big Three” Crimes Stealing automobiles continues to be one of the “big three” crimes of the Nation, as evidenced by the fact that the number of prisoners in the Federal prisons for this offense closely trails bootlegging and dope peddling. This statement is made by the American Automobile Association, which sponsored the national motor vehicle theft law, making the in- terstate movement of stolen cars a Federal offense, and has consistent- ly supported the measure. ‘The national motoring body says a total of 1,396, out of a total of 9,294 in the “prison family” on June 30, 1928, were “up” for violation of the motor vehicle theft law. Violations of the prohibition law numbered 2,530, and the next larg- est number of the “big three” were violators of the anti-narcotic law, numbering 1,396. and several national monuments and Indian reservations. From end to end the route trav- erses a series of valleys—the most_famous of the West; Skagit and Puyallup in Washington; the great Williamette ~ and Rogue River valleys in Oregon, and in California the fertile Sacramento and San Joaquin, and the wonder- ful irrigated gardens of the Im- perial Valley—all rich in historical and agricultural interest. And from these smiling valleys the traveler looks upward on one side or the other to the peaks of the Cascades, the Siskiyous, the Sierra Nevada, the Coast range and the Sierra Madra. No other road in all America, according to many tourists, is so well favored in nat- ural and historic attraction as this great national highway. In the improvement of the road the three States have been helped materially by the Federal Gov- ernment, which, according to the Bureau of Public_Roads of the United States Department of Agriculture, has co-operated in the construction of 516 miles, con- tributing to the total cost of $16,~ 798,725 the sum of $8,4983825, a little more than 50 per cent. | edge of the pavement. | Motorists in Need of Engincers Show by Interesting Tests Do you know that you drive your car or truck by instinct? You do, for engineers of the Bureau of Public Roads have been watching you. They have made observations to see how far from the edge of the pavement you drive and what you do at curves and on down grades. Having marked off pavements into one-foot sections, the engineers, by watching the right rear wheels of pass- ing vehicles, find that on straight and level roads of various widths from 14 to 24 feet, with shoulders in fair con- dition, passenger car drivers habitually maintain a distance of from 1'% to 4 feet between the outer wheel and the Truck drivers operate somewhat nearer the tdge, but prefer not to approach closer than 1% feet. Drivers will sacrifice clearance between their own and passing vehicles rather than drive closer to the edge than they instinctlvely feel is safe. The bureau’s observations indicate that pavements less than 18 feet wide are decidedly too narrow, since they provide no clearance for passenger cars or trucks operating in the usual paths. While the 18-foot width is apparently great enough for passenger cars in two= lane traffic, it is not quite wide enough for trucks. The 20-foot width gives ample clearance for trucks and is not excessive for automobiles. In moving downhill on light grades traffic moves slightly toward the center of the road. Light down grades do not suggest reduction of speed, hence traffic takes the precaution of moving slightly away from the edge of the pavement. No such tendency was observed on heavy grades where the speed is re- duced and the instinctive fear of the pavement’s gdge is lessened. In rounding horizontal curves traffic in general shifts toward the inside edge, but the trucks shift their courses toward the inside of the curce less than pas- senger vehicles. Under all circum= stances truck drivers are found to ad- here more closely to the edges of the pavement than operators of passenger vehicles. Traffic moving on the outside of the curve shifts its course farther in the direction of the inside than traffic mov- ing in the opposite direction, which is limited in its choice of a course by the proximity of the edge of the pavement. Unless, therefore, the pavement is widened on the curves the normal straight road clearance between the two lines of vehicles is reduced. The used width of a pavement may frequently be considerably less than its apparent width, the observations dis- closed. On straight roads, as well as on curves, the outer foot of the surfaced Golden Rule BRAKE SERVICE - ot For Every Car Three Convenient Locations Our aim and duty is to provide you with adequate, de- ndable, and satisfactory brake service at a rcasonable cost. 'his responsibility we accept as a public trust. Our lining is the best that money can buy, namely, KEASBY and MATTISON'S own trade-marked brand, AM. BLER AUTOBESTOS. Our workmanship we guarantee to please and we will certainly surprise you by the speed with which we can reline your car. Relining Prices ON 4-Wheel Brakes G .. 15100 Auburn, Buick, Hudson, Hup- mobile, Jewett, Oakland, Willys-Knight. .. l6.00 *Nash. ..... 17.00 Equally Low Prices on Others Not Listed *Hard Fiber Lining on Nash Shoes Relining Prices and Time Per Set Buick . +. 59.00 60 Min, Cadillae s Chevrolet Dodge Essex . Hupmobile (1) Hupmobile (6 & 8] Maxwell Nash . Packard Pontiae Study .Auto Brake Service Co. (YAY;) 3360 M Street N.W. Phone West 2378 711 G Street N.E. Phone Lincoln 9703 427 K Street N.W, Phone Franklin 8208 Official A. A, A. Savings BE S%E you get in Mr. Leach’s place on K Street! 427 K is not a tire shop NEXT HE EXHIBITS H SkiLL FOR: AN INSPECTOR— WHY? ANSWER NVES OR. NO-NOT™ PERHAPS DRIVING w VES,DOCTOR, HE BECAME RATIONAL W FRER — oo 20-Foot Road. section is sometimes totally ineffective because of a bad shoulder. A closely set guard rail, a steep crown, a bad gutter, or an uneven, bumpy condition of the surface near the edge will cause | the driver instinctively to seek the cen- ter of the road. In one case a 24-foot pavement was found to have an effective width of not more than 20 feet because of the abutments of an overhead rail- road bridge which were crowded close to the edge of the pavement. Smooth, white concrete shoulders at the edge of a black surface seem to lure the traffic toward the side. Center lines on straight roads, as well as on curves, exert a marked separatory in- fluence. e Motorists contributed $725555,812 of the nation’s tax bill during the calen- dar year of 1927. Village in France Claims Record for Auto Proportion By the Associated Press. AUNAC, France.—This little village of 352 inhabitants, with 36 automobiles owned within the limits of the munici- pality, claims the world record for the number of cars in relation to popula- tion—1 in 9. Situated in the Charente Inferieure, in the vicinity of the far-famed distil leries responsible for the “Three Star Hennesy” brandy, it is very wet, boast- | ing of no less than 7 cafes—1 in 50. “Send that to the United States,” the | mayor told a newspaper man recently “it will give them something to worr: about.” Perhaps the mayor forgets tha New York claims one automobile per six inhabitants. BY JAMES MONTAGNES. TORONTO, Ontario, December 8.— | Ontario intends to keep her southern | | motor roads open this Winter. She kept them open all last Winter, and if the weather is not especially severe | the department of highways feels sure i they can keep the main roads open this year. | American motorists who want to | bring_their cars to Canada, be it for | the various holidays which will occur during the coming Winter, or for the | Winter sports, need not have any fear | of not making the main cities in the province by motor car. One can’ enter Canada through New York State and the surrounding coun- | try by Buffalo and be assured of good | roads’ both east and west. The en- trance through Detroit also. will be the starting point of the chain of good roads, both gravel and paved, which can be used during the entire Winter. It is 544 miles from Windsor to the Quebec boundary. That is the provin- cial highway No. 2. It is an all-pav road, and along its entire length, at intervals of 50 miles, there is a snow | plow and crew. Just as soon as & snowstorm comes up those snow plows begin to work, and they keep the road as clean as it is in the Summer | time. The province owns six trucks | and ‘snow plows. It has available 16 contractors_with snow plows, making | a total of 22 snow plows, to keep her | several thousand miles of southern | | roads open. Two of these snow plows | | are the powerful rotary type, while 10 | are nose plows, and the rest are known as blade plows. To each plow there are assigned two men. | Niagara Traffic Heavy. From Windsor to Niagara Falls via St. Thomas and Welland is 257 miles of paved road. That is another road which will be kept open. From To- ronto to Hamilton and Niagara Fails | via the Lakeshore road is part of high- | ways No. 2 and No. 8. This particular | stretch always has heavy traffic, and 1s certain of being kept open due to that fact. From Toronto to Hamilton on | the Lundas road a great deal of heavier | traffic makes its way. Therefore an- other road that will be open, and it is all paved. Busses have their daily schedule from Toronto to Buffalo with Hamilton and Niagara Falls in between. These buss- | es, operated by the Toronto Transpor- | tation ~ Commission, _will ~ continue throughout the entire Winter to travel on highway No. 2. From Toronto east- ward busses operated by private com- panies have their daily services to Oshawa Cobourg and Belleville, and the Winter is not going to interfere with the traffic on this road, which is part of the transprovincial highway from Windsor to Quebec boundary. For those who desire to visit the Win- ter sports and the resort regions of | Ontario there will be open roads in very direction. From Toronto to Bar- ie, on Lake Simcoe, is 82 miles; from Port Hope to Peterboro and Kawartha | Lakes district; from Belleville to Pic- ton; from Ottawa to Prescott, and from | the capital to Carleton Plane and Rockland are some of the roads which will be open even during heavy snow storms. In the western part of the rovince radiating out of Hamilton one will be able to go into the cabinetmak- ing district, touching Kitchener, Hes- and Drift Fences. peler, Stratford and up to Goderich on Lake Huron. Then northwest from Hamilton is a paved road which leads through Guelph to Fergus, and this is another road which will be open. 300 Miles of Snow Fence, Coming back to the transprovincial highway and some of the main roads leading from it there are in all 300 miles of snow fences on this highway. ‘These fences placed near the highways, four feet high, are constructed like & picket fence. These snow fences are a great help In keeping drifts from reaching the roadway. They help to make Winter driving much more pleas- ant than it used to be some years ago. ‘There is not enough traffie in North- ern Ontario to keep the roads open up there. One can travel along some of the roads in the Georgian Bay district and north of that in the Muskoka dis- trict, but not after severe storms, be- cause no attempt is being made by the department of highways to keep thess roads clear enough for any sort of traffic. Winter travel in Ontario along those roads which are being kept open takss the motorist through the more settled parts of the province, and to the places where Winter sports are predominant. One gets the beautiful scenery of frozen Niagara Falls. At Hamilton the hillv nature of the country affords skiing and tobogganning. Outside of Toronto, accessible by open roads, are numerous places where good skiing can be had. And Toronto Bay is known for its fce~ boating. Ottawa and the Rideau Hills is another district which affords excel- lent opportunity for the skiing mo- torist. In the snow-bound Summer resorts frozen lakes and thickly snow-covered hillsides, easily accessible by motor car. lend themselves to all sorts of Winter good times. Skating, snow-shoeing, to- bogganning, ice-boating, skiing and hockey are sports which can be had by jolly parties in these white-clad regions. To the motorist all these places are open. He need but fill his tank with gasoline and his radiator with anti- freeze solution, enter Canada through various Ontario motor points, and travel in comfort just as he would in Summer to all the aces in the south- ern part of the province which he cares to vislt, because the roads will be open Sl g SLOW IN PAYING TAX. Less Than Third of Baltimore Auto Owners Are Paid Up. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, December 8—Of the owners of approximately 100,000 auto- mobiles in Baltimore, only 30 per cent have paid their taxes for 1928, accord- ing to William A. Codd, deputy man- ager of the bureau of receipts. Men and women have been standing in line before the cashier's window in the bureau all the week since the ing of the sale of 1929 auto vel licenses. Under the law, the state commissioner of motor vehicles is not permitted to issue tags unless the bureau of receipts certifies that the owners of cars have paid their city taxes. PONTIAC IS CO KEEPING with its policy of progress, Oakland has for months been working on a new Pontiac Six. It is more than a refine- ment of its famous predecessors. It is essen- tially a brand new car from beginning to end. Details will be announced later. But this much can be said now. This new Pontiac will represent an even greater innovation today than the first Pontiac represented in 1926! Without departing from the low-price field, it will bring to this field fine-car elements of style, performance and luxury never before provided in a car so inexpensive to buy. Warca For Flmml InrormaTIiON REGAR®SYG G!