Evening Star Newspaper, July 21, 1929, Page 49

AUTO'SMECHANICAL FUTURE IS PICTURED Day of Pioneer Is Far From Being Past, Observer Holds, Citing Constant Research. Because of the close rclauonsmp[ which the average person holds to the | automotive industry through no o(.heri medium than tbe ownership of & car, | the interest in developments affect- ing the. industry generally is given the closest attention by the public, accord- ing the B. H. Cram, president of Cram’s Automotive Reports. Inc. The strength, position, earnings and personnel of the great manufacturing concerns are common knowledge to hundreds of thousands of people. The newspapers are full og articles concern- ing the daily habits and activities of the industry’s leaders. Yet from the standpetnt of mechan- ical development the tayman knows but little. The announcement of new mod- els and the inauguration of new styles are watched with the keenest interest. But at the same time little is actually known of the steady trend which is al- ways evident and which ultimately brings about improvements in opera- tion and performance. Aspects of the competitive markets in the industry this year offer almost ab- solute proof that the margins of com- petition cannot be measured by the color of a body, the length of a wheel- base or the number of cylinders under the hood. The motor car today is a product of such high and varied util- ity that no one set of specifications ever | will fill a universal demand for the au- tomobile. In addition to this tmportant phase there is another development that is of more than passing importance—the seeming trend toward more power. The four-cylinder car has been proven to THE SUNDAY Hi ’ w SR D ovet’ © American Highway Edscations) Baress AUTOISTS' REFUSAL TO SPEED UP TRAFFIC IN PARKS Capt. Carroll Declares Drivers, When Mo~ tioned to Hasten. Should Move Quic]:’ly Instead of Blocking Road. TANGLES fill a place of its own. However, the generally accepted standard is for thel six-cylinder car, but under the impetus | of competition 1929 has witnessed the invasion of the low-priced car into the | eight-cylinder field. It cannot be be- | lieved that the transition will end with | the point it has already reached. ~Al- | ways looking ahead, the industry is al-| ready surrounded by rumors of 12 and | 16 cylinder models in the medium | group. | This is extremely significant, for ac- | knowledged as the fact is that the in- dustry has not yet reached the acme of mechanical perfection, exploration into new fields may conceivably result in a complete revision of our present conception of the ordinary as far as motive power is concerned. It is & sit- | uation which observers of the industry .:hnu!d follow with the closest atten- jon. In this same regard, the advent of | the front-wheel drive may within & period of only a few years completely | Tevise the standard condition as it ex- ists now, or it may in time be relegated to the heaven where impractical experi- ments ultimately go. Unquestionably the front-wheel drive has powerful ad- ‘vantages and strong points of merit, and here again is a development to be closely watched, for the final outcome cannot yet be seen. | ‘The inténse interest in aeronautics has been supplemented by experiments in the Diesel engine field. Quite con- ceivably the Diesel engine can be | adapted to automotive use and will, as | time goes on, receive more and more attention from the industry's engineers. Because so little is now known about it the possibilities of this motor are in- finite, and 5 or 10 years hence may see the Diesel principle in every automobile that comes off the proauction line. Because the field of mechanics is ac quiring knowledge so rapidly and be: cause changes inm the future probabl. will be more radical, more sound an more rapid than those of the past, it is folly to accept as ortnodox anything that is at the moment satisfactory. The dav of the pioneer in the automotive industry is not past. He will, in the months and years to come, offer many new ideas and will make a great many people rich. B A TRAFFIC: DEATHS GAIN. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, July 20.—Traffic fatal- {ties in Baltimore during the first six months of 1929 showed an increase of 20 per cent over the same period last vear, according to a report just issued by the Baltimore Safety Council. Dur- ing the same period. the report con- | tinued. the number of persons injured | in accidents increased by 4.4 per cent. | Seventy-two persons were killed this year and 60 persons last year. The in- jured this year numbered 2.393, com pared with 2.291 during the first six | months of 1928. Traffic accidents of all | sorts during the same period showed an increase of 4.4 per cent, totaling- 6,570, | compared MAKE Buick Master Cadillac 314 8 Hudson Brougham . 28 128 ) Marmon Franklin Mazxwell Cou Studebaker Sedai Marmon_7-pass. Sedan S5 o\ Plerce 33 6 7 Chrysler Chrysier Roa Buick Maste 8 Sed AN OFFER North 7155 | across the Washington Channel, Touring One of the major reasons why traf-| fic is tied up at Hains Point each Sun- | day s beacuse motorists themselves fail | to drive fast, when they get the traffic officer’s signal to do so, in the opinion of Capt. P. J. Carroll of the United States Park Police. . Recently, with a group of officials of the American Automobile Associa- tion here, Capt. Carroll went to Four- teenth street at the point that traffic | comes out of Potomac Park under the railroad bridge and conducted a test in. psychology. Used to_creeping along in the park in the traffic jam, the motorists refuse to be hastened into greater speed when the traffic officer endeavors to get the line to speed up. “We could clear traffic along Four- teenth street out of Potomac Park easily enough if the motorists would | | only step on the gas when we want them to,” Capt. Carroll asserted. ~“It is the same way in Rock Creek Park, where the roads are narrow in some places,” the park official said. “In many places there are single lines of traffic and the motorist in back who wants to assist in speeding up traffic by poing ahead is unable to do so, because of the slow poke ahead, who insists upon proceeding.at snail's pace.” “Center Road" Drivers Hit. Capt. Carroll recalled that in some of the States there is a minimum speed law, which requires autoists to go at a cerfain pace in order to expedite traf- fic movement. He declined to say whether he is in favor of such a regu- lation in the parks of the District of Columbia, however, preferring to leave this question up to the decision of Lieut. Col. U. S. Grant, 3d, director of the office of public buildings and public parks £ the National Capital. Capt. Carroll took occasion to point out anothet factor in slowing up traffic | in the parks—the driver who refuses to keep to the right-hand side of the road. ‘This is particularly noticed in East Potomac Park, he said, where there is one-way traffic. Many motorists have a tendency to keep to the left rather than the right, thus blocking off the motorist in the rear who desires to travel more quickly. If the motorist in the rear, after blowing his horn in vain to have the “road hog” move, over, de- cides to try to pass the offender on the right there is danger of a collision, Capt. Carroll said. Favors New Bridge. To relieve the Hains Point traffic sit- uation, Col. Grant is inclined to favor the construction of a new trafic brldge o empty traffic out of oPtomac Park by way of Water street, which is to be one of the main thoroughfares of the future. It is planned later to hook up this highway with the developed Anacostia Park, so that it will be ible to drive through Rock Creek Park into Potomac Park and then into Anacostia Park. making a gigantic all-park route for Washington's motorists. The opening of the Arlington Memo- rial Bridge, now being constructed | ment of Agriculture now is working on | | also is crowded. across the Potomac, will be a factor in t raffic situation in the parks of the Was Now $975.00 39: 1,295.00 485.00 $78.00 Roadster. ed: :24 Hupp pe . s3523ng8as 2858533 EEEEE dster r _Bro 128 Dodge an sanonavas 126 Buick » 858 EEEEEE) 28822238882222332333283232338233338333333! SE8as ’ i3 2858 o 'USED CAR DEPT. 1733 14th St. 3 MORE DAYS YOUR OWN TERMS 2, '25 Franklin Sedan . 126 Reo_Coach 128 Chrysler * 128 Dodge Senior 126 Chrysler. *28 Marmon Coupe. 125 Chrysle: '27 Hudson ~Brougham 125 Packard 8 Touri: :23 Hudsor 8 Poeva A F = OFFER wee | ' PJERCE - MARMO trafic and countless visitors will come to Washi n for the George Wash- ington Bicentennial celebration. The stream of traffic that will pour down the roadway through Rock Creek Park will add materially to the thousands ;f automobiles that now visit Potomac ark. Capt. Carroll is hopeful that by that time the Washington motorist will be educated into “stepping on' the gas” when he is directed to do so by the trafic officer. There seems to be a distinct opposition on the part of park officials to placing traffic lights in the parks, not only because of the dis- cordant note such lights must strike in a parkway, but also because. the trafic varies so in volume that durin many hours they would interfere mate- rially with the .public’s enjoyment of park driving in order to facilitate matters during relatively short crowded" periods. And so, in traffic matiers, the Wash- ington motoring public is likely to en- counter the human element in the guiding of park traffic in the form of the park policeman, rather than the traffic light. Hence, in the opinion of the park officials, the public should co-operate with the officers by speeding up at the proper time and when desired to do so. L - Glaciers Move by Jerks. The general beliefe that a glacier moves slowly and smoothly down a city, as it will have a tendency to open up this new thoroughfare, along the | enlarged B street of the future, for through traffic to Virginia. The Bu- reau of Public Roads of the Depart- plans for the establishing of the new Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, which is expected to link up with the Virginia_terminus of Arlington Memo- rial Bridge. ’ Will Relieve Other Spans. Col. Grant has let it be known that | he has no way of estimating just how | many machines would be taken off | other streets, by the opening of the new | bridge, but he pointed out that this will open up a new line of traffic between the Highway Bridge, which is crowded | 50 as to be a source of uccfdent.s fre- | quently now, and the Key Bridge, which Switzerland. After an investigation Memorial | covering 17 years it has been found ‘The width of Arlington | illustrated | that ice flelds move forward with Bridge for traffic has been by Col. Grant, woh points out that it will_have six channels for vehicular | This was shown by a “diary” in the traffic and will be 60 feet wide. It will | form of lines scratched by two needles be about the same size as the road on a clock-driven disc. around the Lincoln Memorial at the present time. Yet another approach to the Wash- ington park system will be B street, which is to be designed as the great “ceremonial avenue of the Nation's Capital.” B street north is to be opened up to the Senate Office Building area, crossing Pennsylvania avenue, starting on the north side at Third street and ending on the south side at Sixth street. Granite Contract Is Let. Motorists now find that they have to dftour when they travel south along Twenty-sixth street and reach B street, owing to the construction work going forward at that point for the founda- tions of the Arlington Me! lal Bridge Plaza and the water gate will be one of the beauty spots in eonjunction with the bridge. Another contract has just been let by Col. Grant's office to place the granite that will link Rock Creek Park and Potomac Park. The motorist of the future will then be able to drive up a gradually-slop- ing parkway approach from Twenty- sixth street and B_street to the Ar- lington Memorial Bridge Plaza, and down into Potomac Park. Two under- passes will be constructed for the road that will pass under the parkway ap- proach and under Arlington Memorial Bridge proper, to permit traffic to go directly into Potomac Park on a low- level roadway, skirting the Potomac River. Col. Grant's office’ is now at work on constructing another link in the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway system by putting in an improved road from the Zoological Park to Massachusetts ave- nue. Construction of this through route along Rock Creek will depend on the rate at which Congress appro- priates the funds to carry on the work. May Be Finished by 1932. There is a feeling in some quarters that the Rock Creek ‘and Potomac Parkway should be completed by 1932, when the Arlington Memorial Bridge is expected to be in commission for . | ] ) | mountainside has been shattered in | spasmodic jerks as stress accumulates. | 3 e30f golc.. FREQUENT COOLING OF AUTO ADVISED Motor Car Is Likened to Hu- man Body in Effects of Heat in Clogging Pores. ‘The cooling system of an automobile | may be likened to the perspiration sys- tem of the human body. The function of both is to get rid of excessive heat. “Bathe frequently in hot weather to keep your pores open,” says the M.'D. “Don't let the tubes of your raditor get clogged,” advises the automobile doctor, “or your engine will overheat.” Most motor car manufacturers recom- mend a regular monthly bath or clean- ing out of the cooling system. Few mo- torists heed this advice, fowever, espe- clally during the Winter months, when such procedure would mean draining | off the anti-freeze solution. As a result, | the beginning of Summer may find the cooling system filled with the accumu- lated sediment of six or seven months’ driving. Dust is bound to form in any radiator tubes, the water placed in the radiator contains mineral sediment that is apt to clog the tubes if left undis- turbed. Car owners who find their cooling | be beaten by other men. - Rosina said toThomas used abusive language. systems badly clogged are advi | pound of sal soda in five gallons of | —By James W. Brooks (Sketches by Calvin A. Fader.) have the cleaning done by an experi- enced radiator service man. For those who undertake the job themselves, the AUTO INDUSTRY’S BILL| O un toe motor w1 s warm, en | FOR FREIGHT IS BARED| open all radiator cocks and drain the 1 cooling system thoroughly. Dissolve 2 Railroads of U. S. Received 3193 4 . o y 798,936 of Revenue From This Source. water and pour this mixture (after straining it through & cloth) into the radiator. Run the engine slowly with the spark retarded for five minutes, and | then drain the system. Refill with clear I th“‘u:‘iu dls‘:losl‘nl fre;‘llht regnu;l of | v e rail carriers from shipments of au- | Desin and sepeat with 'clear water. | lomobiles, trucks, parts and tires, | Then, after flushing for several minutes | taken from statistical reports of the | longer with the motor stitll mnn\ng,}lnkmau Commerce Commission, have the system may be filled for use. been released by J. S. Marvin, gen- T3 etsential that all traces of sal |eral traffic manager, National Automo- | sods be removed, because of its detri- bile Chamber of Commerce. In 1928 ental action if Teft in the cooling sys. | Tailroads received $193,798,936 freight tem. Care should be taken not to spill | Fevenue from this source. | any soda on the hood or radiator shell. | Of this, Eastern roads received $93.- The same process is urged before | 747.040: Southern roads. $16.227942, | anti-freeze mixture is installed in the | and Western roads, $83,823,054. cooling system at the approach of freez- | In the East the New York Central| ing weather. lines and Michigan Central lead in 5 revenue from the shipments, with $27.- 761,021, followed by the Pennsylvania Ex-Lovers Must Walk Alone. | Railroad with $9,357.680, Wabash and | | Ann Arbor, $8,178,946, and the Pere | On a promise being given by two for- | Marquette with $5,198,806. mer lovers that they would ignore each | In the South the Illinois Central other and walk on opposite sides of the |and affiliated lines received $5013,013; street should they happen to meet, Jus- | Southern Railway system, $4.901,775, tice P. J. O'Donoghue, in the Belfast, | and Louisville & Nashville and Atlantic Ireland, Police Court, adjourned for six Coast Line, $3.371,380. months summons brought by each of | Transcontinental lines lead in the the parties. Thomas Nuttall said that West. the Union Pacific group showing after keeping company with Rosina|$12,517.053, the -Pacific lines of the Peed for three and one-half years she | Southern Pacific Co. and its affiliated had assaulted him and caused him to | carrier, Texas & New Orleans. $11 405808 and the Santa Fe System, | $8,552,807 ¥ CHRYSLER MOTORS PRODUCT U.S. makes 1y P LYMOUTH / h wg s gl '23 Chandler Sedan ..... 38 McFarland Stdan . Standard 6 Master 4-pass. Coupe s3s38asnenst £33385338338332 2 o p o325 BERSHIS! LIBERAL TRADES North 7155 Tz RoaDsTER (with 1655 H.B. Executive Offices and ‘Service 1612-22 You St. N.W. Salesrooms—1612-22 You St. N.W. Connecticut Ave. and Que St. NNW. o and 10th and H Sts. N.E. 132123 Fourteenth St, N.W. .\‘ - and spwards £. o. b. Leary, Jr., & Bros. Used Car Salesrooms % rumble seat), $675. Special equipment extra ' _ PLYMOQUTH LOWEST-PRICED OHE[I-’S makes them PETROLEUM TARIFF 15 SEEN AS RUSE A. A. A, Official Says Levy Screen to Cover Gas _Price Increase. Charging that the unprecedentcd proposal to levy & tariff on petrolenm - and petroleum products is simply a screen to enable the oil industry to* boost gasoline prices, Ernest N. Smith, executive vice president of the Ameri- can Automobile Association, recently filed a brief with the Senate finance, committee opposing such a tariff and attacking the position of its propon- . ents. “It has been estimated” said Mr.: Smith, “that should the proposed im- port duty be levied that the retail price of gasoline would be increased at least ' 2 cents per gallon. Based on present consumption, which is being steadily ' increased, this would mean an addi- tional burden on the car owners of the Nation of approximately $240,000,000 annually. R “Moreover, the proposed import duty on petroleum and its products is con- trary to the ofl conservation program enunciated by the United States Gov- ernment.” The A. A. A brief was filed with Senator Reed Smoot (Republican, Utah), chairman of the Senate finance committee, and is expected to precipi- tate a lively battle on the question of a tariff on petroleum. In support of the brief, Mr. Smith called the finance committee’'s atten- ' tion to the following resolution passed by the A. A. A. at its twenty-seventh annual convention ' recently held in Buffalo, N. Y.: “Proposals are now being made by certain interests before the Senate finance committee to levy an import duty on crude and fuel oil, gasoline, lubricants, kerosene and all derivatives of crude petroleum. The object of these proposals naturally to produce higher prices for these products. The American Automobile Association there- fore protests against the levying of any import duty on such products and formal action before the Senate finance committee in the interest of the users - 1.;1 MEISD“!IE of this country is author- Protesting against the proposed im- port duty on petroleum, Mr. Smith pointed out that specia] taxes levied againgt the motorists of the Nation in 1928 reached the staggering sum of $785,386,176. French Sou of Little Value. In an investigation to see what he could buy for a sou, a French journal- ist recently made a round of the shops. All that he found for sale at the price, which, before the World War was ~ equivalent to 1 cent in American money, was a slate pencil. v SMALLER LARGER 4 of its kind in the world, is IN WASHINGTON, the government print- ing presses are turning out smaller dollar bills. In Detroit, the huge Plymouth plant, largest turning out a motor car that makes the dollar bigger in purchasing power than it ever was. Not in all automobile history has another wch value appeared in the low-priced field. There has never been another low-priced car to compare with the improved Plymouth in full-size roominess—in Chrysler-designed stylishness—in Chrysler-like smoothness—in ruggedness of briskness and construction— in safety—in all-around quality and ability. Big body, big engine, big chassis, big axles, big 4.7 tires, big internal-expanding 4-wheel hydraulic brakes—in every respect, Plymouth is the biggest thing in its clas. Compare— you'll ‘be astonished how big in value Plymouth has made the dollar. v v v Coupe, $655; Roadster (with rumble seat), $675; 2-Door Sedan, $675; Touring, $695; De Luxe Coupe (with rumble seat), $695; ¢-Door Sedan, AMERICA’S : ’ Frank H. Skinker Motor Co., Inc. Sales and Service 1216 20th St. NW. Phone Decatur 4640 FULL-SIZE $695. All prices f.0.b. factory. Plymouth dealers extend the convenience of time payments. "CAR Rowe Sales and Service 3307-9-11 M St. NW, Phone West 227 Blanton Motor Co. Sales and Service 33 New York Ave. N.E. Phone Met. 6720