Evening Star Newspaper, March 16, 1930, Page 70

DAY STAR, WASHIN 3 TON. D. C, MARCH 16, 1930—PART FOU R. W FACE LEGAL FIGHT, Opponents Declare Musici ! | | While Motoring Constitutes Menace to Driver. Bpeeial Dispatch to The Star. DETROIT, Mich, March 15.—Will radio sets be barred by edict or by law from use as automobile equipment? | This question has arisen as the result | of situations that have developed in two | States—Massachusetts and New Jersey. In both instances official recommends-, tions have been made that the use of radio on cars shall be banned, mainly | for the reason that the operation of a/ reeeiving set while a car is being driven | may be considered a distraction that might interfere with safe driving. controversy promises to be one that will be argued out in many State | capitals during coming months. The; possibility is that it will be productive | of conflicting regulations of a nature similar to the widely varying trafie rules that motorists encounter when | they cross State borders on long tours. Question Raised in Boston. The first time the question rose was in Boston, when G. A. Parker, Massa- | chusetts registrar of motor vehicles, laid | before State authorities a proposal that' the radio be forbidden as an automobile aceessory. He put forth the contention as & safety measure. Stating that reg- | istrars of certain other States agreed | with him, he pointed out that the action | was advisable to prevent the attention of drivers from being distracted. His position was challenged by State | Representative Washburn, who “argued | that eigarette lighters and vanity cases | also were distracting. Mr. Washburn | added that “back-seat driving” and controversial talk in a car also came in the same class and might be considered as disconcerting. The Massachusetts Board of Public Works, before which the proposal came, deferred decision on the matter. Bince then the issue has cropped up Wwilliam L. 1 of service, told the is final report that he radio for cars. Makers, should sense the danger caused orlmu of mind and abandon making radio & part of car| as made among | adv in . These in- prohibition stick- on windows and windshields. He in addition that the use of car hesters that off carbon mon- oxide gas be barred. Makers Start Counter Action. has developed, since manufacturers and car build- ers have got ction plans under way make automotive recei sets ‘There are many arguments advanced Tegarding the utility of radio for use CArS. them it is out that of motorists ;‘m to "I'n programs at their omes or in camp. ‘The chief reason, however, the new phase of police work calling for radio equi scout cars has created a need for freedom of action which did not exist before. Statistics "fin‘{fu %m“. pollcemde&llzfinenl, wl ogress field, % radio cars is that be doubled to make the system thor- oughly effective. General Motors, with an eye to the future, recently embarked in the manu- facture of radio for automotive use. It is stated that nine makes of cars, two of which are of General Motors build, are now fitted with aerial antenna to allow owners to put in the-cets if they 80 desire. (Copyright, 1030, by North American News- legis r Alliance.) WASHING OF CAR HELD AID TO SMOOTH MOTOR Coolican TUrges Owners to See That Autos Are Kept Clean Periodically. Have the car washed periodically, not only to keep it looking right, but to keep it runni ht. t is the injunction of Oscar Cool- , automobile dealer, who points out that to have the car cleaned regularly is a worth-while gesture in several important maintenance direc- “Pirst, insofar as the average owner is concerned, is the fact that the car wash insures a good looking automo- bile,” Mr. Coolican says. “But the car means more than just that. It means, in addition, that the finish is being preserved; that dirt and dust are being prevented from eating into it and dug}vyln‘hthe beautiful luster. - perhaps paramount importance, though, is a factor that mm?‘7 owners completely overlook. It is that the car ‘wash removes from the chassis and running gear an accumulation of grit and grease that is definitely harmful. Allowed to remain there, d‘:mu accu- mulations frequently prevent fresh grease from doing its highly vital work and they impede the forward progress of the car. “From the esthetic standpoint the car wash is excellent. From the practical, technical viewpoint it is an absolute essential.” POINT ADJUSTING EASY WHEN CAR IS IN GEAR Eliminates Necessity of Turning Motor Over With Hand Crank to Open Breaker. One of the things that slows up the work of adjusting breaker points is the difficulty of turning over the engine un- til points just open, It seldom can be done with the starter-motor, since the engine has a tendency to stop in the closed position of the points. The hand crank is the usual way of doing the job, but sometimes the owner does not have his crank handy, and fiire o h e B ice repair shops, therefore, have figured out a way to accompl So“:tu with a minimum of delay and The trick is to place the car in gear, with ‘ignition off, 'and move it & e, forward the or backward. turns :nr:.kiu very slowly until the points Usually in their open position the points should space somewhere between -015 and .020 inch. It varies somewhat with different makes. rret B Caution Against Fast Driving. It's good to remember, when driving slippery Winter roads, that neither a | lion, 37,000 of which were fatal, an in- [ mmufit}"&m expendi Tun, » vich or poor could. travel (in a single penny” wete no inns, no hostelries only missions. Across the the A i reshold of this old mission - San de Am-nm%npugflm into a stofied d found welcome. Tt was founded in pres | | Eliess c the mission was P ithin an enclosure fenced with oxen an llowed the dedicating ceremonics. (Title registered U. 8. Patent Office.) founded in 1802. —~BY o TILL JAMES W. BROOKS. (Sketches by Calvin A. Fader.) d.mfiu* to the oceanside 50 close that sprag fiom rolling breakers enfolds the motor car, a thicty-five mile run halts at San Juan Capistrano, a mission of tiagic higtory. Nine wmguakc in s Y802 Twenty this costly pile vgas sold. fot American Highway Educational Bureas, Wt fell in‘an gcara later 710 Jashinglon, D.C NON-SCATTER GLASS INCARS DEMANDED New York Legislator Seeks Law to Reduce Number of Mishaps. Public officials throughout the coun- | try are becoming alive to the menacing | increase of motor vehicle accidents in the United States. With more than 27,000 taxicabs in operation on the streets of New York City, for example, Police Commissioner Grover Whalen instituted an investigation which re- sulted in a regulation compelling all New York City taxicabs seeking a | license after February 15 to be equip- | ped with scatter-proof glass. This is merely the forerunner of a of legislative enactments, ac- Ing to State Senator Duncan | O'Brien, of New York, who is prepar- ing & bill for introduction in the State Legislature at Albany requiring all mo- tor vehicles used for public transporta- tion to be equipped with non-scattering 37,000 Fatalities in Year. eouu-nn. g il y over a mil- crease of 11.05 per cent over 1928, cording to the latest available insur- ance statistics. With over 26,000,000 vehicles on the road, it is quite evident that even with proper observance of trafe laws some accidents are bound to oeccur, but public officials and safety en, are busy obtaining informa- tive records and analyzing aceident facts in order to take grfluutmn measures for minimizing the number of motor accidents and the heavy percent- age of fatalities. A recent analysis by the Massa- chusetts Mutual Liability Insurance As- sociation of Boston showed th: 1,000 motor accidents involving 1,800 motorists, 720 people were injured. Of these 467, or 65 per cent, were cut by broken glass, the injuries varying from slight cuts to severed jugular veins, re- sulting in death. Blames Traffic Congestion. Lewis A. De Blois, chief safety engi- neer of the National Bureau of Casuaity and Surety Underwriters, believes that he tion of both foot and passen- ger traffic in our great cities; the ten- dency to s this trafic up and to depend on four-wheel brakes for safety, is accountable for so many people being hurled into glass partitions and doors, even when not actually involved in col- lisions. Many had the foresight to adopt non-scatter- “l;’ glass equipment and are offering this additional factor of safety before lation compels its use for public protection. Statistics show the stern reality of the peril and makers of the better cars are already predicting that the use of laminated glass will shortly be as standard as four-wheel brakes. SYNTHETIC PLASTICS HELP IMPROVE CAR Are Able to Withstand High Tem- peratures, Avoiding Ignition Troubles. motor car manufacturers have ‘The trouble-free service that the au- tomobile gives is not altogether a me- chanical achlevement. Materials of con- struction developed coincident with the motor car, and which are superior to anything known before the days of the automobile, have helped a great deal to make it possible. One of these is syn- thetic plastics. In the “horseless carriage” days of the automobile the various of the ignition system had to be insulated with such materials as shellac, paraffin, bees- wax and rosin. But when ted these got soft, so that on hot days the seal- compound used to run out of spark colls sand timers and distributors used o distort badly enough so that con- tacts would loosen up. All of these troubles were cured by the use of syn- thetic resin plastics. In addition to not being adversely affected by temperature reached in mo- tor car operation, these materials are strong, their electrical resistance is ex- tremely high, they are not dl'w-d by water or oil and they may ily be mldg either with or without metallic inserts. Synthetic plastics find their chief use on automobiles in the various parts of ignition and lighting. system, but they are also employed for making gears, for bonding grinding wheels and commu- tator brushes, for addition to the com- nds used for impregnating brake inings, for protective coatings and for making various utilitarian and deco- rative parts. . TROUBLES VARY. A point seldom considered in the that jually as serious for all makes. That a friend is inconvenienced by something that goes wrong with his car is no reason why another one need take the same sort of trouble so seriously. This is neatly illustrated in the case of one make of car which will not start if an intake valve sticks open. Most other cars can be started despite such trouble. If a rear axle breaks with rear ends of a certain type the machine has to be jacked up and towed in as a wreck. With another type the wheels are free to turn despite the axle trouble, so that ordinary towing is sufficient. Even a broken shock absorber on the earlier models of a recently introduced of | the car interfere with steering, wh on the average car no serious ties can as oD o | would be met. own distance ‘The industry produced 45 miles of cars every day last year. Film Traces Start Of Man’s Invention Of Storage Battery An educational metion picture which should be of interest to every automobile operator is “The Story of a Btorage Battery,” recently pre- pared by the United States Bureau of Mines, Department of Commerce. in co-operation with a large indus- trial eoncern. The film, which is in three reels, visualizes the work of the different inventors to whose ingenu- ity the world owes the storage bat- tery, and depicts in detail the actual working of the battery and the vari- ous steps in its manufacture. To the automobile owner the most valu- able scenes of the film perhaps are those illustrating the proper care of the storage battery. D\n‘m!hwe clo.tni ars of the eighteenth century andro Volta, an Italian professor, discovered that dissimilar metals in contact pro- duced electrification. The opening scenes of the film show the interior of Volta'’s laboratory at the Univer- sity of P mflm: Volta ul dem- onstrat/ condensing electro- mfmm . OVERLOADING CAR DECLARED MENACE Jose Believes Numerous Mishaps Are Caused by All Too Common Practice. Overloading the car is a practice that is a distinct menace to street and high- way safety, and with Spring weather giving rebirth to the desire to use th: automobile to the fullest possible extent, many mishaps may be traced to this | practice unless the individual motorist sees its dangers and intelligently avoids em. 8o says Rudolph Jose, veteran motor car dealer, in discussing a condition which he believes to be rather prevalent in the ranks of motordom. “When cars ran 12 miles an hour when they were ‘wide open’ it did not make so much difference that they were overloaded,” Mr. Jose points out. “In thosesdays construction took care of the problem where speed did not. To overload & car meant that the en- simply balked, an axle or spring ke, or something else taught the owner that caution was the better part of hospitality. “Today's car is much different. Its engine has power enough and its chassis strength enough to permit overloadirg without mechai 1 danger. But there is the much greater danger of interfer- ence with the freedom of the driver to handle the car with safety. ““The car manufacturer has made the driving controls much more accessible. They all are at the finger tips of the operator. This advance grew out of the very definite need for relocating the controls in the interest of safety. Yet when a motorist tries to carry three or four ns in a roadster or coupe built for two he sacrifices every advan- tage that the car designer has given him in this respect. “The intelligent car owner will not invite guests to accompany him on & trip that is marked by a reduction of the safety factor, not to mention that it is certain to be physically uncom- fortable for every one.” SHEET STEEL TESTING EXPERIMENTS SUCCEED 0ld Method of Examining Material for Auto Body Fenders Is Improved Upon. The usual method of finding out whether sheet steel is suitable for be- ing drawn into body panels or fenders has been to try it out in practice. If a good piece is produced the steel is satusfactory. But if the sheet fails in the forming press, it is not possible to tell for sure whether the failure was due to defective steel, to incorrect design or set-up of dies, or to Ampro‘)er press operation. Acting on the belief that the art of testing metals has reach- ed a higher e of development than that of the design and use of forming dies, experiments covering the past five years developed metho for testing sheet steel to determine in advance whether it will work satisfactory in any given die. It has been found that only two tests are needed to give the desired information. The Rockwell hardness test indicates the difference in pres- sure-ring setting needed for different steels, and it also gives a measure of the degree of spring-back to be expected. ‘The Erichsen test indicates the depth of draw that a sheet steel wui stand, | P aud also what the character of its surface will be after drawing. Specifications of normalized sheet steels for deep drawing and for extra drawing are given. Based mpon m’e sheet, Rockwell values for both id come within the range B-43 and B-53, and Erichsen values should have a minimum of 10.5 for deep g’uwmz and 11.0 for extra deep draw- 8. FOR GLYCERIN USERS. Check Radiator for Water Evap- oration. ‘Those who have glycerin in their ia. diators should get the habit of test ing its stren at regular intervals. wi llioer*n does not evaporate as does alcohol, the water with which it is mixed will, causing an increase in the strength of the solution. Drop around to a service station and have a hydrom- eter reading taken. Any change in the balance of solution should be reme- dled by adding radiator glycerin or Thafacet vl al strength. percentage of glycerin to water is, of course, a rd it too 1t will the motor. too weak, | exception all INGREASE SHOWN IN AUTO INDUSTRY Upward Swing in Production and Sales During Week Noted by Cram. Indications that a general upward swing in production and sales is under | way were noted frequently in the motor industry’s activity this week, according | to B. H. Cram, president of Cram's Au- tomotive Reports, Inc, Five companies reported that in- creases in daily output schedules, rang- ing from slight gains to a step-up in one instance of almost 100 per cent, has been instituted, while with but one tentative set-ups for March production provided for a sub- stantial gain. March -up Equals February. One company kept its March set-up at a figure equaling its February pro- duction, although incoming orders and sales have shown moderate gains. This was a_concern, however, which at the first of the year announced a conserva: tive policy in regard to its output and has since maintained levels strictly in accordance with the demand. From this it is not to be inferred that those concerns which have in- creased their output have done so with no regard for the trend of demand. The fact is that these schedules have been fixed because the sales volume warranted such output. During the last two weeks of February sales began to show an upward trend and during the past week this improvement has been more pronounced. More than a majority of companies reported that in- coming orders have been gaining stead- ily and none has experienced a definite slackening. Medium-Priced Sales Larger. The increases in schedules occurred principally in the medium-priced field, with three of the companies steppmg ugo production having representation also in the high-priced class. No gain in output of low-priced cars occurred, both of the two largest volume producers holding schedules at unchanged levels. Representing an even greater propor- tion of manufacturers than did the schedule of passenger car output were the inereases in truck production. In this d"lvi.sclmzh:h% 5 co{npfllnu;e llnupped up output, sharpest gain g one b e it per cent. Most of the come« g-m- entered the month with a good <k of orders on hand and where ten- tative March set-ups have been fixed these show & gain over PFebruary pro- duction. Majority Report Gains. ‘The majority of companies report sales gaining steadily. ‘The general feeling exists in the tire industry that in view of the impending heavy consumer market, tire distrib- utors have been too conservative in their buying, with the result that they are understocked for this time of the year. Efforts are being made to impress dealers with the extent of the immi- nent market and to influence them to augment their present inadequate stocks, 80 as to be in a position to meet the consumer demand. RETURN OF OPEN CAR FORESEEN BY MAKERS Convertible Body Types Are Popu- larized by Present-Day Younger Generation. Pirst body style produced by the automobile industry, later superseded by the sedan and limousine, the open car has within recent years given pro- mise of an interesting renaissance. The reasons are two-fold: First, a newer generation, bare-headed and fur- coated, which openly courts the sun and the wind—a generation brought up in houses with windows through which old superstitions about drafts and “humors” in the air have blown away, leaving saner minds in healthier bodies for the enjoyment of life. The second reason is the manu- facturing and design improvements which the makers themselves have been able to effect. The open car of today with its storm proof top and glass windows in place is as snug and warm as a sedan or limousine, offering at the same time the additional conviences of a “sunshine” body with top removed and glass windows in place. or a fully open car with windshield level and the full sweep of an exhilarating breeze. Income from automobile freight would pay the dividends on all the railroads’ referred stock. GUAMEE Auto Glass Any Glass Installed in Our Shop Will Be Guaranteed for One Year Taranto & Wasman 1017 N. Y. Ave. N.W. Franklin 6539 PLANTOPUT CURB ON “EUEST SIS |States to Clarify Laws Au-| | thorizing Damage Claims Against Auto Owners. | — | With the advent of a new legal racket | in the form of “guest suits” in which | the a.tomobile host is sued for dam-| | ages, often by friends and relatives, | | seven States have taken steps to curb| the practice, according to the American Automobile Association. ! The national motoring body called | attention to a recent decision of the| ‘Sunumn Court of the United States in | which it upheld the constitutionality of | the Connecticut statute which provides that no guest in a motor vehicle shall | have cause for action against the owner or olpa tor unless injuries received “shall been intentional on the Fin of the owner or caused by his heedless- ne: “These sults” says the A. A. A,| ried for hire, but deal only with guests of a car owner who are thansported free | and relatives. ‘Connecticut, Iowa, fornia, Delaware, Michigan and Ver- mont are the seven States which have laws governing liability following auto- mobile accidents. ;o—o Long —I_Dnve. long drive from the last te ‘es, siree, I'm the man.” (proudly.) “Are you sure it was you?" | | yards.” (More proudly.) and rear windo -From Gi Liverpool, Naples, Oslo, Plymouth, Port “Are you the man who made that E;‘rd- 275 U “Yep, certain. Pretty, wasn't 1t—270 have licenses ready for the car, arrange fer the owner and car to “Well, you owe me a new windshield | customs, secure r ‘The Wheel. | mobjle and start the party en route. League Seeks End Of Tax on Tourist Autos at Frontiers ‘With the League of Nations spon- soring & mevement to abolish taxes on tourist automobiles at all na- tional frontiers and the French government prgposing, of its own accord, to modify its present system of taxation, moter travel through foreign lands soon may be relieved of one of its chief drawbacks, ac- cording to the American Automo- bile_Association. “Dispatches from Geneva,” says the national motoring body, “indi- cate that plans are well under way for the issue of draft treaty elim- inating the tax fee the treaty to be open for the signature of all nations whether they are members of the League or not. Only citizens of signatory states would benefit by the proposed islation.” PORT REPRESENTATIVES ADDED TO A. A. A. STAFF Six additional port representatives were added to the ‘;lli‘;lersetnzhsltlfl" olithe - | forel travel division of American “should not be confused with the Habile | Fonrims e o, during ity of & public carrier to passengers car- | pringing the total number to 26, embrac- | ing all of the principal ports of entry. 1929, This statement was issued by the A. of charge, and with suits by dependents | A A, m“m"mun:nnm .‘“fi as an | indication of the jportance ropean Oregan, Cali-| travel has assumed in | American people. ‘The the life of the A. A, says port representatives taken legislative action to clarify the |are maintained at Alexandria, Antwerp, g;mlun-, Belfast, Boulogne, Bremen, w, Gothenburg, London, _Marseille, Nice, Said, Rot- Stockholm and meet all ships on which travel- r A. A. A. auspices have passage, Southampton, "They e, xe pass through and oil for the auto- Copyright, 1930, by Dedse Brothers Corporation OWNERS acclaim them sensational values BALTIMORE USES Examining Drivers Too Expensive. | | Special pispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, March 15—Drunken driver cases are too rare for Baltimore to follow the lead of Los Angeles in instituting @ blood, breath and vision test for all automobile drivers whose sobriety is suspected, according to John A. Meyer, magistrate of the Traffic Court. Baltimore will stick 4o the sim- pler walk-and-talk test, he said, in ob- serving that apparently Los Angeles is bothered more by drunken drivers than is Baltimore. “We don't need such a procedure here,” saild Magistrate Meyer. “There is no epidemic of drunken driving, the average number of drunken drivers ar- raigned in the loca] Trafic Court in a week being two or three. To carry out the Los Angeles plan the court would have to employ a physician and the scheme would be too expensive. “Of course, if a driver who is sus- pected of being drunk wants a physi- clan to examine him, one is called for :’-lnlni but the muuhl‘:ltun‘l‘orb: method of esting & man’s sobriety is by observing his walk and his speech. " The patrol- man who makes the arrest and the desk sergeant before whom the prisoner is brought decide whether his step is fal- . |tering and his speech is ‘fuszy.’” “Dod Gone!” Jones—Sorry, old man, that my hen |got loose and scratched up your gar- | den, Smith—That's all right—my dog ate your hen. Jones—FPine! My car just ran over | your dog.—From The Wheel. EASY DRUNK TEST Los Angeles Scheme for TOURISTS DRAWN 10 PASSION PLAY Travel Agency Issues State- ment Which Embodies Dates of Performance. | Inquiries received by the foreign travel division of the American Auto- mobile Association indicate that Ameri- |cans are evidencing a keen interest in | the forthcoming productions of the Pa. |sion Play at Oberammergau, Germ travel to Europe this year, ‘The A. A. A, International Travel | Agency announced the dates of per- | formances as follows: May—11, 18, 25. June—1, 9, 15, 22, 29. July—2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, $0. August—3, 8, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27, 31. Lcal September—3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28. “The Passion Play at Oberammergau, which is 66 miles from Munich, is one of the outstanding attractions of the world,” says the statement, “and draws people from all parts of the globe. Tickets for the performances are to be had only in connection with vouchers for board and lodging. They are deliv- ered by the landlord at Oberammergau, to whom payment must be made direct. However, the A. A. A. foreign travel division will make arrangements in ad- vance for those contemplating the trip abroad.” The A. A. A. said that prices for the performances, in American money, are: Pirst class, §5; second class, $3.75, and third class, $2.50. Accommodation vouchers for board and lodging, which include late dinner on day of arrival, breakfast, luncheon and dinner on the day of performance and breakfast on the morning of de- parture, are issued to those who register for the Passion Play. The rates in American money are as follows: Best hotels or private houses, $13; in very good hotels or private houses, $11; in good hotels or private houses, $0.75, and lem but simple, private lodgings ‘BACK cAGAIN William A, (Buck) Walsh. e usiness ani Where'he will be mighty slad to wele Bis. jmn'a-. WHo can be assured of 100% Ford Service: Motoring experts and the motering public unite in acclaiming Dodge Brothers achievement in the new Dodge Six and Eight-in-Line. From the standpoint of comparative specifications or by actual test on the road, th cars have astonished everyone with their remarkable performance, their luxury, their roominess and their beauty. And all these fine qualities are offered at prices which bring a Dodge car within reach of many added thousands. Sales Department 1509-11 Fourteenth St. N.W. e— I. C. Barber Mat . 1805 14th St.qNo.rW(.h Frye Motor Co, Leasburg, Va, 1835 AND UP, F. O. B, FACTORY 095 AND UP, F. O.B. FACTORY For the first time, an eight-cylinder motor car of Dodge Brothers traditional dependability. The first time such a wealth of power has ever been achieved at such a low first cost and with such economy of operation. The first time such a combination of luxury, beauty, refinement and stamina has ever been offered outside of the high-priced field. DODGE BROTHERS SIXES AND EIBHTS UPHOLDING EVERY TRADITION OF DODGE DEPENDABILITY THE TREW MOTOR COMPANY Established 1914 Phones—Decatur 1910 to 1913 Sales Roam Open Daily Until 9 P.M—Sundays Until § P.M. —— Leogardtown Motor & Hardware Co. Schooley Motor Co. "' Leosardtows, Md. . Alexsndrio, Va. e lz(;{yl Padgett Motor & Tractor Co. A NEW ROOMIER SIX For the first time at so low a price, a Six —or a closed car of any deseription — by Dodge Brothers. The lowest-priced car with Mono-Piece Body that ever has been offered. And the lowest-priced Six ever to be equipped with internal-expanding four-wheel hy- draulic brakes! And roominess, beauty, power, speed and dependability in a measure never before available in any car at such a low price. In every way, a friumph of value! A NEW EIGHT-IN-LINE Maintenance Department 131719 W Street N.W. an & Crawford, Inc. Champlain St. N.W, Camp Springs, Md.