Evening Star Newspaper, December 8, 1929, Page 72

6 HNAN[:ING EREAI , AMERICAN HISTORY BY MOTOR—via the Old INMOTOR TRADE $1,380,000,000 Advanced So Far This Year for Car Purchases. Sums totalin proximately $1,380,~ 000,000 were advanced by finance com- panies of the United States during the current calendar year for automobile purchases, it was estimated in a state- ment made public this week by the American Motorists’ Association. Obviously the figures for the entire year are not yet available, it was ex- plained by the association, and the esti- Mate is based upon the volume of busi- ness transacted by 338 finance com- panies during the first half of the year and upon the assumption that business during the latter months has followed the same general trend as in the last three previous years. The sales of approximately 2,940,000 cars, new, used and unclassified, have been handled through these finance companies during the year. About 59 per cent of this number was new cars, used cars and those in the unclassified group making up the remainder. Aj proximately $968,000, purchases by the finance companies, Wwas to finance new cars. Volume of Business. “These figures give the motarist some idea of the volume of business which is being transacted by the various finance companies,” says the American Motor- ists' Association statement. “It is an undisputed fact, however, that there is a decreasing tendency on the part of automobile purchasers to buy cars on | time payment, and since 1925 credit! sales of both new and used cars have fallen off 10 per cent. This decrease is partially explained by the more careful investigation of credit risks, stricter financial terms and, perhaps, the lower Pprices of cars. “During 1925, 63.2 per cent of all new cars and 62.8 per cent of all used cars sold were purchased on the various time payment plans then in vogue. Last year the number of new cars sold on credit amounted to slightly more than 58 per cent of the total, while the num- ber of used cars dropped to 60.8 per cent of the total changing hands. Loss on Repossessed Cars. “The average direct loss per repos- sessed car, that is, the amount owing minus the amount received from sale, hovers between $40 and $65 when cars are purchased through finance com- panies on the basis of 12 or less pay- ments, and between $60 and $95 when the payments are stretched over a period of more than 12 monthly pay- ments. In the former class the average direct loss per re] car in 1928 was $56, as compared with $65 in 1926, while in the latter the loss was $75 last year as against $94 in 1926." “The installment plan has become a popular method of purchasing various commodities in this country during re- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, DE Il i ¥ T e President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davig, spent hig last days and from the scenes which sutrounded. his cherished. Beauboit, his body was takento ROADNEEDS F U.§ GREAT, SAYS ENRY Present Program of Building| Not Up to Nation’s Re- quirements, He Avers. With every indication that Congress will increase Federal-aid appropriations to stimulate road building throughout the country, expenditures for highway and street construction and mainte- nance in 1930 will exceed $2,500,000,000 and furnish employment to 625,000 people. This statement was made by Thomas P. Henry, president of the American Automobile Association, who pointed out the tremendous influence this vast pro- gram will have in justifying the bil- lions of dollars to be spent in other channels next year. “But large as this program appears,” Mr. Henry added, “it must not be as- sumed that it measures up to the road- building needs of the Nation today.” Mr. Henry's estimate of road and street expenditures for 1930 is based on a survey of expenditures for 1928 and 1929 and reports from affiliated A. A. A. motor clubs and highway authorities throughout the country. cent years,” says Thomas J. Keefe, gen- eral manager of the American Motorists Association, “and it cannot be denied that sales of automobiles, both new and used, have been stimulated through the activities of the various finance com- panies. The figures in the association’s Teport show to what extent American motorists have come to rely upon the financing companies in purchasing their automobiles.” . POLITE POLICEMEN URGED BY LEADER Baltimore Official Says He Does Not Want Hard-Boiled Men to Handle Traffic. Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, December 7.—Polite- hess in dealing with motorists who may viclate some traffic law is the first Tequisite of a good traffic policeman, according to Capt. Hamilton R. Atkin- #on, in charge of the traffic division, “I do not want any hard-boiled policemen in the traffic division,” says Capt. Atkinson. “The policeman who goes about calling down a motorist in a diplomatic manner for some small infraction of the traffic law accom- plishes better results at the corner Wwhere he is stationed than one who lets his temper get the best of him. “Learn to know your public, enter- fain them, smile and make it con- tagious, and the petty troubles that are magnified by arguments and wind up before the magistrate in the Traffic Court will be done away with. A surly officer usually is an imcompetent one because he is constantly holding up traffic by arguing over trifling viola- tions.” Capt. Atkinson said there are oc- casions when even the most reful driver, unconsciously, will violate the | trafic laws. It is the duty of thel g)llcemnn. with a smile on his face, to | form the motorist in a polite manner | of the violation without entering into :aulimsg-winded discourse, the captain AUTO TAG NUMBERS RESERVED FOR CITY Maryland Official Allots Those Be-| tween 30-000 and 150-000 for | Exclusive Baltimore Use. Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, December 7.—In the distribution of 1930 automobile license plates for the more than 300,000 auto- moblles owned in the state, E. Austin Baughman, motor vehicle commissioner, has set aside all numbers between 30-000 and 150-000 for use on the ma- chines owned in Baltimore City. All plates with numerals greater than 150-000 will be mailed to the county owners. Authorized dealers will ru- ceive 10-000 for markers for cars under their agencies. Licenses for solid-tired ve- hicles will be started at 15-000. The busses which will be licensea to operate in the State will receive markers beginning at 1 and running up to the series set aside for the deal- ers. Licenses in blocks of thousands have been set aside by the commissioner for the membership of a number or local civic and fraternal groups. - s MOTOR DONTS numbers between 2-000 and | Highway Bill in 1929. “The Nation's highway bill in 1928," he said, “totaled $1,659,691,990, and preliminary estimates for 1929 place the amount at well over $1,800,000,000. “An additional $50,000,000 in Federal- aid .p?ropnnlons. to be matched with a similar amount by the States, to- gether with the speeding up of construc- tion generally as pledged to President Hoover by State executives, will easily mean an increase of $200,000,000 in road expenditures next year. *To this must be added approximately $500,000,000 a year spent by municipali- ties for construction and maintenance of streets. This amount will in all prob- ability be exceeded in 1930. “It is estimated that every $4,00( spent in the construction and mainte- nance of streets and highways is equiva- lent to the wages and materials used by one worker. On this basis the antici- pated $2,500,000,000 in 1930 would mean the employment of 625,000 Of this number, approximately 100,000 represents highway officials, contractors and engineers, the remainder constitut- ing the highway labor army.” While urging the States and counties to do everything possible to enlarge their road appropriations for 1930, Mr. Henry declared that this is a good e for cities to launch their programs for street widening and the acquisition of the necessary rights of way. ‘Wider Streets Needed. “There is hardly a large city in the United States,” he said, “the develop~ ment and future prosperity of which does not hinge on the securing of rights of way for the construction of wider streets, belt roads and super-highways through metropolitan areas. Only a handful of cities have developed a real program. Here is an acute problem to which capital can be diverted as a per- nvestment in efficient pomt(o:d, growth and prosperit; c “It has been shown in the past that Federal aid has encouraged highway building by the States, and also that the resultant increase in travel has stimulated municipalities to take steps to speed up needed street improvements, “Federal projects, however, cannot proceed as rapidly as they have in the past few years unless Congress increases the annual appropriation. The principal reason for this is the fact that an ac- cumulation of unexpended balances of earlier years, which allowed a space in excess of what would ordinarily be pos- sible under the $75,000,000 allotted each year, has now been absorbed. It is significant that the mileage of improve- ment completed during the fiscal year 1929 was smaller than in previous years.” MORE REGARD FOR AUTO IN WINTER IS URGED Manager Keneipp of District A. A. A. Division Tells of Huge Losses in Lack of Care. Urging motorists of the District of Columbia to have more regard for the welfare of their automobiles during the Winter, George F. Keneipp, manager of the District of Columbia division of the American Automobile Association, today sald: “People who in the past would never have left a $100 horse exposed to the weather now gl little or nu protection to a $1,000 cat | ers being a rarity the property man MILADY’S MOTORING By Frederick C. Russell The woman who asked for anti-skid equipment in a chain store simply did not know her groceries. ‘When the engine stalls on a hill some women are just experienced enough to appreciate that in addition to setting the hand brake it is also a matter of safety to shift into low gear. But there is just one further point worth con- sidering: The car will back more slowly and under better control if placed in re- verse gear. The clutch of course should be left engaged. Automobiles are forever pointing out the special characteristics of milady as compared with the man at the wheel. Not so long ago a motor company found an early version of its car and decided to people it with folk done up in the ridiculous array of yestervear. A pic- ture of the affair would be “shot” and thel}mbuc would have a good laugh at tself. ‘Then the search began. Linen dust- cleverly substituted rain coats. Scarfs furnished a handy substitute for muf- flers and ultra-ray glasses served 2s goggles. But where to find the old- fashioned hats for the ladies? 1t ought to emphasize the progressive- ness of the modern woman when record that the photographer had to fake the bonnets for the ladies in the MBER 8, Spanish Trail A modetn travele Tk odety trasder clérk is that Biloxi Indians, meaning the first (Title registered U. 8. Patent Office.) be ised. to learn upon et Sucggtnlfnin{cafit)q a3 he 1o doubt will be— le’, left many fables which. sexvice a4 (onfederate Soldiets Home. picture while all the men had w0 do was to don their latest derbies. Women perhaps cannot be expected to know exactly what's wrong with their cars when they take them to & mor for service, but one rule, if religi- ously followed, will save many & useless and costly repair job. Simply have three different mechanics express their views as to the cause of the trouble, being careful not to inform any one of the diagnosis made by the other. ‘You might call it a process of obtain- ing “sealed bids.” If each offers the same view the car is quite apt to profit by whatever treatment is recommended. Disagreement, however, will call for caution and further dfaj e se- cret of successful repair work. While it doesn't pay to buy cheap service for the car, nevertheless there is no reason to be suspicious of the me- chanic who says he can grind valves and scrape out carbon in less time than some other competitor. Any repairer who knows a certain make of thoroughly can remove the head quicker, because he is familiar with the details of the work and has learned a number of short cuts. ‘The modern woman who stops off at a brake-testing station to see if her car is entirely safe for the demands of traf- fic is likely to be informed that her brakes are of the internal-expanding type and not have the slightest idca what is meant by the term. This type of braking system has practically sup- planted the external-contracting type so popular a few years ago. Any brake of the conventional type consists of a drum attached to the wheel. Against this drum something is ?rssud to produce the braking effect. { this takes the form of bands which draw around the drum we call the system external contracting, whereas if there are brake shoes pressing outward into the inside of the drum the ar- rangement is known as internal ex- panding. ‘That's about all there is to it. In either case brake lining is attached to the parts which engage with the drum. ‘The advantage of the internal type is protection from water and dirt, but there has been the problem of noise and grabbing to meet. If your car carries this type of brake and noise appears, simply run a few yards with the brakes part on and the engine pulling. Avoid having mechanics over-lubricate the front wheel bearin; Between Alexandria N Mount Vernon Home CooKin ‘Luncheon or On Richmond Road WARREN GREEN HOTEL ARRENTON, VIRGINIA “There are thousands of cars which are not garaged all Winter long and the resultant loss to their owners runs into aggregate figures of astounding amount,” he continued. “Wholly aside from the question of lessened efficiency, which is woefully apparent to any one who has had dealings with a motor ga- raged in the street, there is also the loss in value because of damage to the car’s_exterior. “That feature cannot be averted if cars remain out in the Winter's sleet and snow, but the injury to the motor can be lessened by proper care. Al- though the District of Columbia divi- DONT KICK YOUR TIRES! A GUAGE AND MAINTAIN PROPER & PRESSURE To PREVENT PREMATURE WEAR - sion of the A. A. A. is prepared to pro- vide adequate service to its members | Guring ‘the Tong Winter months shead, motorists should do their part in meet- ing the situation. There is nothing more damaging to the mechanism of an automobile than to have the engine freeze, but before car owners put in anti-freeze solutions they should have the cooling systems of their cars cleaned and tightened. “It is the best practice to have the cool- ing system inspected by an experienced mechanic and necessary repairs made,” continued the A. A. A. executive. “Such precautions will pay tenfold in the form of pleasant motoring and in protecting the investment in the automobile.” The average cost of operating a car on a farm is $208 a year, not including depreciation, according to District of Columbia division, an A. A, A, unit, WARI Forty Miles from Washington O Higfway Through the Bull nun"in't't'l'em MRS. FRED G. BERGER, Proprietress Telephone Warrenton 280 ++.$1.50 Sunday Chicken Dinner. 100 P.M.—3: Sunday 6:00 M. *“The Place to Eat™ MILLER BROS. 119 West Fayett, Baltimore, .{:,,:_‘5'- GRAY'S HILL INN 003 A St oo Luncheon, Dinner, Special Parties @ sty Wadagten Richonond Bovlovard - 16 Mo Latayette Tea Room 106 W. Patrick St. Frederick, Md. Erederick’s Smartest Tea Room Chicken & Waffle, Dinners, $§1 Fres Parking Spase in Rear % i t d'Tberville, the Trench exploter, B A Terriiry v 609 Mo © Amarican Highway Edveatins] Borean, Washingion, .. . correspond. to those accredited. to Acsop. How may lanted the first Capital %theolridty o 0l and do not hold the brakes on con- stantly on a long downgrade. I notice that a great many women run the engine when stopping for gas. This 18 bad business. Modern cars have long exhaust pipes which carry the fumes to a point directly under the gas tank. With pressure gas pumps and inaccurate gasoline gauges the pos- sibility of spilling fuel over the tank and on to the exhaust pipe is too likely to warrant risking. ‘The dry cleaners have educated most households to the value of saving wear on clothes by keeping them clean, and for years it has been the custom to have the Oriental rugs washed annu- ally to prevent grit from being ground into them by tramping feet. Despite all this progress along the lines of preservation through cleanliness, it is rather rare to find a motorist giving instructions for having the upholstery of her car vacuum cleaned. ‘To speed the process of pouring in oll, some impatient chaps at filling sta- tions like to lift out the strainer in the oil filler pipe. Don't let them do it. Be “fussy,” even if{ they do tell you that the engine carries an oil filter in addition to the strainer. Oll has to pass through part of the engine before any dirt that happens to get into it is filtered out. Also the oil filter is for finer particles of dirt and not for the larger and more dangerous pieces of foreign matter which the strainer is intended to catch. (Copyright, 1929, by the Russell Service.) Novel Auto Race In France Is Won By Slowest Car A new kind of automobile “race” has been invented in Paris and has made a big hit with the public as with the motorists. It is a low-speed hill-climb, the winner being the car that takes the longest time to reach the top. ‘These novel events were held this Fall by two of the free communes that make up the city of Paris. Montmartre was first, having decided that it should have a place in the automoblile sun along with Monte Carlo, Pau, La Baule and other famous resorts that hold their annual automobile “rallies.”” Not to be outdone, the Free Commune of the Montagne-Ste. Genevieve, across the Seine, followed suit. Each event at- tracted many competitors and large crowds of amused and interested spec- tators. Both were won by an American car, a Graham-Paige, driven by M. Ferraut. These slow climbs are difficult tests of skill and judimem on the part of the driver, and of smoothness and flexibil- ity on the part of the car. They are held on very steep and winding streets, and the driver is required to complete the climb without touching the clutch pedal. Stalling the engine or stopping the car means disqualification. As the grade varies, the operator must control the throttle with the utmost delicacy. If he goes too fast, he cannot win; if he goes too slow, he will kill his engine, femaing today. 1929—PART FOUR. —BY arrival &t be.on this of Louis— was erected 254 guiding JAMES W. BROOKS. (Sketches by Calvin A. Fader.) mmfii&mfi&fl signal to ing ships. For over 60eats it i NEXT: Othet Gulf Coast Scenes SAFE ASSETS SEEN INAUTO INDUSTRY Citing $677,189,218 Balance Operator Sees No Cause for Apprehension. That there is no reason for the pres- ent uneasiness or apprehension regard- ing the condition of the automotive in- dustry is shown by & statement just is- sued by R. W. Judson, president of the automotive industry. Mr. Judson points out that the automobile companies of the country today have a cash balance of $677,189,218, with a funded indebted- ness of only $71,639,700. In continuing the statement, Mr. Judson says: “The automotive industry is as much a part of America as the ground upon which we walk. Countless millions are vitally concerned with its daily prog- ress. They are engaged in the extrac- tion of raw materials from the earth, in the fabrication of metals and woods end textiles, in the production and as- sembly of automobiles and their com- ponent parts. Many vast allied enter- 'ODAY'S Chrysler ‘66" — lowest- Tpriced six ever to bear the Chrysler name—is in every way the biggest value ever offered by Chrysler. It gives you Chrysler beauty, Chrysler luxury —and Chrysler performance! Here is high-compression power from any gasoline. Here is a superb engine with 7-bearing crankshaft and Iso-therm Invar Strut pistons; with impulse neutralizer and with positive fuel pump, instead of a vacuum tank. Rubber en- gine mountings are another advantage. Here is the safety of weatherproof in- ternal-expanding four-wheel hydraulic brakes. Here are remarkable riding Executive Offices and Service 1612-22 You St. N.W. AND UP . . . F. O. B. DETROIT qualities secured through a perfectly- balanced chassis and extra-long springs— L L and a new type of rubber-core spring shackle, noiseless as weil as resilient, and never in need of lubrication. Just ask the nearest Chrysler dealer for a demonstration. He will gladly place a : H. B. LEARY, JR., & BROS.:= CHRYSLER DISTRIBUTORS HRYSLER MOTORS ———— e . e prises are dependent upon the motor car for their corporate existence. o “The automotive industry belongs to America. Millions of dollars’ worth of its securities repose in strong boxes throughout the Nation. A comparatively small percentage, changing hands day by day upon varlous stock exchanges, may fluctuate in price. However, the great majority, safely held, represent a value as fundamentally sound as our national existence—a value that will appreciate as long as America_continues to be the leading industrial Nation of the world, a value that always will rise above gossip, rumor and hysteria, ‘““The automobile represents the high- est unit cost of any article purchased by the American family. It has the most intensive usage and the highest rate of depreciation. The replacement market alone absorbs a yearly produce tion of between two and a half and three million new cars, which is a prof- itable volume of business. In addition, an ever-growing export trade and s constantly increasing domestic demand, based on family requirements, automat- Ically create a tremendous total of new car production. “The autamotive industry was the first to apply scientific management to its operations. It was the first to suc- cessfully employ mass production methods. Because of these two factors It set the pace for a hundred other in- dustries in raising the individual's wer and at the same time permit American manufacturers to market successfully their products in foreign countries ‘despite lower wage scale competition.” NEW CHRYSLER 66 ‘| should be taken to INPROVED ROADS * BUSINESS FACTOR | Writer Urges Every Possible Agency Be Employed in Meeting Public Need. Improved highways are so badly needed that every ible expedient eep road graders and concrete mixers in action, accord- ing to E. E. Duffy, highway educational writer, One of the leading difficulties encoun- tered in the war on mud, dust and friction is nothing more than that hu- man quality which inspired Benjamin Franklin to urge: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Plans for highway betterments in themselves do not save the motorist gas or wear and tear on his car. No com- fort is brought to the motorist at least until he hears that the contract for the contemplated project has been let. In a day’s ride one may pass through doz- ens of communities, each with a long- planned pet project for which finances are available, and yet no constructive actlon taken. 1t is with pleasure that the action of the Minneota State highway depart- ment i viewed. Bids for contracts on 136 miles of pavement are now being received. This pavement is not, to be built until 1930, but the contracts are being placed now, and just so much routine work is out of the way. Early letting of road contracts brings with it manifold benefits; the contrac- tor has ample time to make his plans road machinery can be placed in opera- tion at the crack of dawn on the first suitable day; costly delays are elimi- nated and full advantage can be taken of the all too short road-building sea- son, and the citizen feels his tax money will soon be at work for him. PR Overchoking on Starting. Beginners are apt to_overchoke the engine when starting. It is often un- necessary to use the choke at all, es- pecially in warm weather or shortly after you have been running the car, First try to start without ohoking and then, if the motor fails, use the choke Just a little. . The United States produces 83.5 &r cent of all automobiles, according to the Dlizflct of Columbia division, an A. A. A. un! Official Service A. C. Speedometer CREEL BROS. 1811 14th St. N.W. Decatur 4220 "” COUPE, $985 Chrysler “66” in your hands for any test or series of tests you desire to make. PRICES CHRYSLER “66"—Business Coupe, $985; Road- ster (with rumble seat), $995; Phaeton, $995; $1045; Royal Sedan, $1065. priced from $1295 to $1525 PRODUCT Salesrooms—1612-22 You St. N.W. and 10th and H Sts. N.E. Skinker Motor Co., 1216 20th St. N.W. Chevy Chase Motors, 6701 Wisc. Ave. N.W. Baker Motor Co Boswell Motor C OTHER DEALERS K. Weave Brougham, $995; Royal Coupe (with rumble seat), ALSO NEW CHRYSLER “70"—Seven body styles, NEW CHRYSLER “77°~Nine body styles, priced from $1595 to $1795 v CHRYSLER IMPERIAL — Eight body styles, priced from $2895 to $3475. Allpricesf.o.b. Detroit.(Specialequipment extra) 6 ———— Used Car Salesrooms -23 Fourteenth Street N.W. Frank H. Rowe, 3309 M St. N.-W. Newton Motor Company.. .Orange, Va.