Evening Star Newspaper, January 27, 1929, Page 106

' 2518 . CRISIS 1S REACHED - IN ROAD PROBLEN 4,700,0007 Mo{or Cars Were! Closed in 1928—Nearly 1,000,000 Gain. Despite the fact that the advance- ment of the highway systems in America in the past 10 years is a real | national achievement and has been a major factor in the tremendous growth of business, we are fast reaching a critical period in our road transporta- tion problem, according to H. H. Frank- lin, president of the Franklin Automo- bile Co. The year just closed witnessed the sale of 4,700,000 motor cars—an in- crease of nearly one million cars over the previous year. Every indication points to 1929 reaching the 7,000,000 mark if car building schedules are car- ried out as planned. One can readily picture what that ‘would mean—the addition of millions more motor cars on our streets and highways than at present and no ex- tensive progress being made to take care of this additional traffic. Demand More Speed. Numerous plans have been suggested to remedy this situation, yet I believe that the outstanding plan is that of the one-way superhighway system—a theory that I have expresed before. If our highways at present are in- capable of taking care of the traffic— that is, safely taking care of it—what can we expect in 1929 unless immediate action is taken to provide adequate means of safely moving intercity and interstate highway traffic? ‘The buying public demand more speed in their motor cars and the manufacturers are acceding to this wish. This means that highways safe for fast travel must be provided and thus materially reduce the high an- nual accident toll. It is notable that this accident toll is not the result of the fast cars, but is directly attributed in most cases to congested conditions of the highway. Superhighways Suggested. If a system of one-way superhighways were provided, so arranged that traffic between the important trade centers hich are now carrying traffic both ways, could be routed only one way, we would be mkmi- direct forward step to provide a highway system that would meet all needs with a safety element that is lacking at the present time. The railroad systems of the Nation went through this same period of transition. First they had the single tracks that carried trains both ways. Because of numerous accidents they gradually came to adopt one-way track- age with the result that they were able to speed up their train service and, more important, reduce the accident "toll to a minimum. When such a system is adopted as regards automobile travel over the high- ways then we will find a real solution for our jammed conditions on the read- 'ways and the resultant heavy annual death and accident toll. ' 1t was @& few short years ago that the American who sought what he be- *lieved to be the last word in the aris- |kocracy of motordom, looked to the products of the European automobile | buillder. It was a broadspread belief that in style, quality, originality of de- sign, fine fitments and upholstery, and ! outstanding engine performance, the 500 Autos a Day Wear Away 1 Inch Of Gravel in Year An inch of gravel will be worn away in the course of a year by a traffic of 500 vehicles per day, ac- cording to N. M. Isabella, Wiscon- sin maintenance engineer, occasion- ing a loss of 400 cubic yards of ma- terial for every mile of 18-foot gravel road. At a cost of $2 per yard the total yearly loss in material amounts to $800 per mile. In actual experience the main- tenance of inferior highways often runs to considerably more than this figure, road engineers point out, whereas maintenance charges ,on hard pavements are mg3ligible. Iowa reporty that in 1927 940 miles of hard pa®ment on the primary road svc.om were main- tained at an average cost of $247 per mile. R.C. GRAHAM TELLS HOW ADS AID SALES iDaily Newspapers Conduct “Shows” for Makers of Aatomobiles. ‘When an American studies the status of the automobile and the automotive industry in European countries, he finds no end of sharp contrasts with condi- tions here at home, according to Robert C. Graham, vice president of the Graham Paige Motors Corporation, Of the many differences, the most striking, he reports, is that in Europe there is a vast number of people who can afford to own cars, but don’t; while on this side, there are millions who do own automobiles and could not afford not to. Of this, he said: “In Europe, especially on the conti- nent, the automobile has not gained a place in the daily life of the average individual, as it has done here. The motor car there is still in the position that it occupied in America in the early years of this century, when car owner- ship was regarded as a mark of dis- tinction. European motorists are still a class apart from the great majority. There exists therefore a great field for promotion, in which American manu- facturers are bound to gain @ great share of the trade, because our cars are held in high esteem throughout Europe. Lack of Advertisements. “The outstanding difficulty, as I see it, in selling the automobile to the peo- ple in general, is the lack of efficient means of mass selling through adver- tising, and this lack is especially marked when one compares the Euro- pean newspapers with those of the United States and Canada. “It was not until I studied the pos- sibilities of the European market that I fully appreciated how important a part the American newspaper has filled in developing the automotive industry in this country through its recognition of the automobile as a vital factor in American life. A “The automobile section of the newspaper in this country is as ex- clusively and distinctly American as are the Niagara true simile, be- European manufacturer in the fine car market far surpassed the American | manufacturer, H. H. Franklin, pres dent of the Franklin Automobile Co., centinues. A careful survey of America’s fine iear business today discloses a complete reversal of this former condition. Not alone does the American buyer of fine 'cars now depend on the quality prod- ucts of domestic manufacturers, but the notable strides that these same do- mestic builders have made in the fine car fields of the Old World indicate clearly .that American artistry and , craftsmanship now dominates the fine car markets throughout the entire world. ‘The great inroads that the American ‘fine car manufacturer has made in the /past few years in the fine car markets of Europe.competing against the mas- ter designers of the Old World is a distinet tribute to the craftsmanship of America. At the recent international salons held in Paris and London in which the i Jeading quality car manufacturers of the world exhibited their products, the ' marked interest shown by representa- tions of all nations in the American built cars reflected the dominant posi- tion won by our products in the foreign markets. As the world in general a few years ago looked to Europe as the style and quality leader in the fine car fleld, today America is accorded this position of leadership and every indication points to a maintenance of ' this position. “SIGHT LINE” IS HELD FACTOR IN DRIVING Baltimore Safety Council Director Advises Motorists Should Know | When to “Step Off Gas.” Ppecial Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, January 26.—The “sight line” is an important factor in »driving an automobile, and motorists should keep a watchful eye upon it, according to J. P. Rostmeyer, director ©f the Baltimore Safety Council. The building line determines the sight line, he pointed out. Since the building line can't be shoved back, the driver should “step off the gas” in time to allow a safe and sane approach to another street. Few drivers realize that when they are traveling at the rate of 25 miles an hour they are covering 36.7 feet a second,” said Mr. Rostmeyer. “At that speed the maximum ° stopping ,power of four-wheel brakes is 20 feet and the average 40 feet, For two-wheel brakes the maximum is 40 feet and the average 80 feet. “These are figures put out by the United States Bureau of Standards, not by my department. There may be some people who will say ‘Tommyrot; I can stop faster than that’ Perhaps he can, but if there is any one with him the passenger is going through the windshield. “Baltimore's average street,” said the director, “is 30 feet wide. An automo- ,bile approaching an intersection at a speed of 25 miles an hour or more is | inviting disaster, for it will take 20 feet at the very minimum to stop i the brakes are applied immediately, which is seldom done. If his brakes are not functioning 100 per cent it will take 40 feet, plenty for a smashup. Either that or the driver is forced to Surn hard into the path of other traffic, often running on the pavement, where jnnocent pedestrians are. “For his own safety and the safety of others and to reduce the total of 13,701 accidents that occurred in the eity last year, the driver might ‘step off the gas' when it isn't safe to ‘step on it’” Au'; i;;ribed 600 B.C. According to an archive, Nahum, the Pebrew prophet, who lived about 600 BC., made the following prophecy: “The chariots shall rage in the streets; they shall jostle one another in the cause automobile sections and the Falls are common to both Canada and the United States. “We speak of the annual automobile shows as great.events in the industry because they are attended by hundreds of thousands. Yet every week, the au- tomobile sections of the newspapers carry an exposition of the industry’s latest developments to millions. Columns Are Studied. “Motor car manufacturers thus enjoy the advantage of presenting their an- nouncements in the advertising columns of newspaper sections that are really motor magazines, read and studied by the particular class that the manufac- turers must reach. “The reader interest in the news- papers’ motor columns reflects the edi- torial truism that whatever directly concerns the reader is news. Publishers long ago realized that, because the au- tomobile enters so largely into the av- erage American’s daily work and play, there is tremendous interest in every- g:mg pertaining to motors and motor- 8. “The automobile sections serve as a trade paper for those who use the motor car in their work; to those to whom the motor car is the chief means of diversion and recreation, the auto- mobile sections are helpful advisers; and to all owners and prospective own- ers they are buying guides and trade directories. “It is the well edited and readable automobile section, in fact, that - has made the daily newspaper in America the most important advertising medium for the motor industry, because it so thoroughly. covers the particular fleld we seek to reach—the owners and prospective owners of cars.” MOUNTING MILEAGE FOR AUTOS FORESEEN Rubber Company Predicts Steady Increase in Next Six Months. Averages Are Cited. Steadily mounting monthly automobile mileage will be observed for the next six months, according to a survey by the Miller Rubber Co. of Akron, Ohio, culminating in July and August with the highest monthly mileage in the year. The greater mileage in July and Au- gust is accounted for by the fact that most persons are on vacation in those months and do more driving than at other times in the year. Miller figures indicate that 10 per cent of the year's driving is done in each of those two months. January appears as the month when least driving is done, taking the coun- try as a whole. The average driver, however, will travel two-thirds as many miles in January as he will in July or August, in spite of the less favorable Midwinter weather conditions. There is slightly more driving in February than in January, with a con- siderable increase for March and April. Beginning with October, the monthly average decreases steadily until Janu- ary. In certain portions of the country, par- ticularly the South and Southwest, au- f | tomobile mileage remains fairly con- stant throughout the year, while in ex- treme Northern States the variation of travel throughout the year is much greater than that indicated by the av- erage. While Summer mileages still are higher than those covered in Winter, students of automobile trends assert that Winter driving is much more prev- alent now than it was a few years ago. Roads are better, cars are easier to start and operate, and people have adopted the automobile as a year-round method of transportation, when 10 years ago the average driver stored his car throughout the Winter months. Gasoline Used by Autos at Peak. Based upon a gasoline consumption of 11,563,490,000 gallons, each motorist in the United States, in 1927, used an ways; they shall seem like shall run ubyv the average of 550 7gauom and traveled an average of 7,437 lnlln,"&_yfl%h‘ W eae | HONEST DEALERS LAUDED BY HALLER Play Important Part in Life of | City, Association Presi- dent Declares. Manufacturing conditions have so im- proved in the last few years that it is now possible to give the automobile buying public more for its money than ever before, according to Fred L. Haller, president of the District Motor Co., and first vice president of the Washington Automotive Trade Association. “It does not take an old-timer in the business to remember when $2,000 bought only an average automobile. Today the purchasing power of half that amount is truly amazing,” Mr. Haller said. “We washington dealers,” he con- tinued, “have seen changes nothing short of miraculous in the purchasing power of the automotive dollar of today Chevrolet Six Coach Ford Town Car Compare the automobile of today, with its fine quality, its engineering perfec- tion, its beauty and its low price, with any other commodity anywhere near its how far in the van of the industrial world the automotive industry has forged in a few short years. “When you consider what an im- the dally life of the average Washing- ‘ build up greater public confidence in | ton citizen, it is easy to realize what a tremendous factor automobile dealers | course, the legitimate one. are in every community. as compared with that of a decade ago. | class and it is immediately apparent portant part the automobile plays in “Everything possible is being done w\ the automobile dealer—that is, of Here in Washington we have the Washington Automotive Trade Association, made up entirely of local automotive men. of the most important functions of organization is to further the building up of public good will. “The support given this association is_evidenced by the large attendance figures at the annual automobile shows nsored by this organization. That the support is appreciated by the au- thorized dealers is shown in our trend toward better methods of doing busi- ness, with an honest profit, which ul- timately means strength and co-opera- tion from the factory on down the line to the consumer, and, of course, this | co-operation means production and | merchandising costs cut to a minimum, with the natural result of a great deal moré for the buyer's dollar than ever before thought possible. “The Washing®ea Automobile Show this year has & number of real develop- ments in style and engineering, and it is almost a duty to inspect it. The { man or woman of today who cannot | converse about automobiles intelligently |is as hard to find as the proverbial | needle, and particularly during the show period of the industry. “Practically every car to be seen at the show has some change, no matter how small, which makes it just a little greater value than ever before. I sin- | cerely believe that 1929 will show Wash- ington again one of the leading cities One this | in automotive prosperity.” . Traffic regulations are made for your afet; d convenience. é;rrl/s/er NOW makes available e New FULL SIZE LYMOUTH \ A Chrysler Motors Product 655 AND UPWARDS Coupe 5 Roadster (with rumble seat) . 2-Door Seda_m E Tousing "0 . . . . DeLuxe Coupe . . 695 (with rimble seat) 4-Door Sedan 695 All prices f. 0. b. Detroit. Plymouth dealers are in a position to extend the convenience of time payments. $655 675 675 695 New Lower Prices—with Quality Unchanged— e focusing public attention on Plymouth and winning even more enthusiastic recognition of its outstanding dollar-value. 4 Comparing the Plymouth with other cars at its price, people are convincing themselves it offers greater intrinsic value and lasting economy. Economy with Full-Size: Buye:s are turning to this «car in ever-increasing numbers because in point of size and seating space, it over- shadows every other offering at its price —is the outstanding full size car in the lowest-priced field. ew Lower Prices Economy of Operation and Uphkeeps: 1t is obvious that Plymouth has all the economy advantages of a simple, sturdy four- cylinder engine, resulting in substantial savings in gas, oil, tires and freedom from upkeep expense. Economy with Modern En- gineering: Designedby Chrysler it embodies all the recognized advantages of modern engineer- ing including such important developments as rub- ber engine mountings, aluminum alloy pistons, large main bearings, torque reaction neutralizer and positive pressure-feed lubrication. Economy with Power and Sa'ety: It is a joy to drive the Plymouth— to note its typical Chrysler alertness, responsiveness and smoothness of performance—to feel the pos- itive safety of its hydraulic four-wheel brakes (inter- nal-expanding, front and rear) which are found on no other car near the Plymouth price. See the Plymouth! Drive it. You are bound to recognize the wisdom of popular judgment in rat- ing it the biggest value and among cars selling under $850. . the soundest economy All Plymouth models on display at the Automobile Show, Space 19, and at all Dealers’ Showrooms ' H. B. LEARY, Jr., & BROS. Executive Offices and Service, 1612-22 You St. N.W. DISTRIBUTORS Salesrooms—1612-22 You St. N.W. Connecticut Ave. and Que St. N.W. and 10th and H Sts. N.E. Used Car Salesrooms—1321-23 Fourteenth St. N.W. and 1612-22 You St. N.W. Frank H. Rowe, 3309 M St. N.W. Chevy Chase Motor Co., 6701 Wisc. Ave., Chevy Chase, Md. Skinker Motor Co., 1216 20th St. N.W.