Evening Star Newspaper, March 6, 1932, Page 50

_In the Motor World BY G. ADAMS HOWARD. ITH the announcement of a small car manu- facturer that his new product will “do 80" and with the assurance of man- ufacturers that practically any mode! they build will hit 80 miles | the question naturally | safety, | s hoor, arises: Where can one, in drive a car 80 miles an hour? Of course, there are, at widely separated ints about the coun- try, speedways, where racing drivers are wont to send their metal steeds around the course at speeds considerably above 80 and there is a strip of sand down at Daytona Beach, Fla., where the Segraves and the Campbells have sent their juggernauts across the shifting sands at speeds well in excess of 200 miles an hour, But—the American public is not taking the sleek, highly pol- ished, luxuriously a Sunday afternoon jaunt, or an evening in the moonlight, out on the speedways just to find out how fast it will go. Roads Not Built for It. And the roads of today, with a few widely isolated exceptions, are not built for the speeds of which the automobiles are cap- able. Were the roads built for such speeds, there is no doubt in the minds of the motor car manu- facturers that their cars would, hour after hour, roar along the| highways at speeds in the neigh- borhood of 80 miles an hour. And upholstered | conveyance that is the means of | tages gained from the use of the motor car. Public Apathetic. “The general public has failed to take any interest in thisgrave situation, despite the efforts of a number of organizations, aided by the press, to stir it into action. A Nation-wide survey shows that 67 per cent of all accidents were due to improper driving practices and | all authorities agree that the ma- | jority of automobile accidents are | preventable. Some means of | arousing John Citizen must be | found if any improvement is ex- | pected. Individuals will indorse a complete safety program one minute and then proceed to break every rule it establishes as soon as they are behind the wheel of their own car. They must be mad= to realize that their child may be next, and that their neighbor's safety is as important as their own. “There are two ways in which | this shell of indifference can be cracked; by legislation and edu- cation. A complete program of uniform State motor vehicle laws, municipal traffic ordinances and traffic signs, signals and mark- ings has been prepared by the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety. These laws will go far to guarantee that only competent drivers will be on the highways and to standardize traffic regulations throughout the country. If vigorously enforced by adequate highway patrols, as is nlreacfi' done in some States, they will undoubtedly cut the that would be getting the great American public placesin a hurry. But it is a dream, and only a| dream, and until better roads are | built, the public must chug a!nng“ at the same old cruising speed of | from 50 to 60, and watch its step | on curves and on the straight- aways, for careless drivers, huge trucks, hurrying busses, and, last, but not by any means least, speed cops. ‘We were talking some time ago with Capt. J. 8. Irving, the Brit- ish motor wizard, who designed and supervised the building of the motor in the late Sir Henry O. D. Segrave's car which brought super speed out onto the front pages and into the British peer- age. Capt. Irving said Sir Henry's 1 miles an hour, which stood until Sir Malcolm Campbell came alo) with a bigger burst of speed, was a mere matter of tires, not of automobile engines. Cars That Will Go 400. Mathematically and mechanic- ally, he said, cars can be built to do up to 400 miles an hour with the &esent knowledge of motor building. But his plaint was the same as that of every American who owns a car that will do 80 or better. ;;mero’; no place to do it,” he said. Daytona Beach has a nine-mile stretch of smooth sand that is only in the best of shape for speed trials at certain times of the year. Those nine miles con- stitute probably the best and safest place for an automobile speed trial in the whole world. They are a fine nine miles, but, unfortunately, there are not enough of those miles. Flashing along the sand at speeds in excess of 250 miles an hour, an automobile covers those nine miles in an amazingly short space of time. The race is run ost before it is fairly started. ‘Those same cars which Segrave and Campbell used, would do far better than their standing rec- ords show were they given a little time to “get rollin’.” Capt. Irving predicted some four years ago he would some day | see motor busses running along| the roadways of this country at 100 miles an hour, offering the airlines and the trains serious gpmpetltlon in speedy transporta- ion. 100 Miles an Hour Busses. There isn't a doubt in the mind of any bus manufacturer that he can build a bus that will make and maintain such a speed on long runs, but he doesn't build such busses, simply because there are no roads where such speed could be reached and maintained in safety. When there are six and eight lane highways between the prin- ciFnl cities of the country there will come such high speed bus transportation with just as much safety as is secured with busses that stay within the 40 and 45 :‘mles an hour limits of these ays. ohn L. Train, chairman of the board of commissioners of the American Mutual Alliance, in a statement issued through the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety, has this to say of man and his control of the machines of his own crea- tion: to curb the machines of his own creation is emerging from the field of academic discussion into that of hard reality. The auto- mobile, as the price of the pleas- ure and convenience which it af- fords us, took a toll of 32,500 lives during 1930 and over 900,000 were injured. Despite an organized safety campaign the number of dead and injured rose during 1931, and over 33,000 persons paid with their lives for the advan- MOTOR DON'TS DonT DRIVE A BATTLE-SCARRED CAR! A MaN MaY NOT BE' JUDGED BY THE KIND OF CAR HE DRIVES, BUT BY THE WAY HE KEEPS IT, A NEW CAR CAN QUICKLY RUN DOWN If* NOT PROPERLY CARED FOR, AND A MAN SOON LOSES PRIDE IN WIS AUTOMOBILE IF IT GETS RUST SPOLS AND DENTS ON THE BODY, WHEN A FENDER OR BUMPER GETS A FEW WRINKLES IN IT, GO To A GOOD BODY REPAIR SHOP AND HAVE IT PUT BACK IN SHAPE | — — — — “The question of man’s ability | number of accidents and reduce the death rate. “Legislation alone is not suf- ficient. It is also necessary to ed- ucate the public in the safest methods of operating an automo- bile, particularly in traffic, and to impress the tragic consequences of negligence upon each driver so deeply that he will put his newly acquired knowledge into practice. Insurance Companies Concerned. “When one considers that the insurance companies pay out ap- proximately one hundred million dollars each year because of claims made for injuries to per- sons or property the scope of the problem becomes clear. The com- panies feel justified in undertak- ing extensive loss prevention work, on the theory that it is better to spend a dollar to avert an accident than it is to spend it in paying for damage. Where a fleet policy covering & number of cars makes it possible a safety engineer is sent to teach the need for care. A driving school is or- ganized. The causes of accidents are analyzed. Incentives for a flawless accident record are given the drivers and penalties imposed in the event injuries occur through carelessness, Mechanic- al inspection of the equipment is furnished and all defects so re- vealed corrected. As a result of the work being undertaken alon these lines the accident rate of concerns operating a number of cars has gone down steadily, while the private passenger car continues to kill a larger number every year. “A survey of the automobile ac- cidents which occurred during 1930 revealed that 89 per cent of the persons killed were the vic- tims of automobiles in good me- chanical condition at the time of mishap and that only in about one-fifth of the total number of fatal cases did weather condi- tions play any part. Ninety per cent of the drivers involved in accidents had more than one year's experience. These facts put the blame for the terrific total in killed and injured direct- ly on the negligent driver. Those who hold their own lives so light- ly that they are willing to risk losing them in an effort to save five minutes should be curbed by public opinion as well as legisla- tion. When improper driving is recognized as a crime against so- ciety (its toll in lives and money is far greater than that enacted by any other crime) the death rate will drop sharply. That happy day will arrive as soon as the individual realizes that every accident that takes place costs him money, in the form of in- creased Insurance costs, and that he or some member of his family may be the next victim of the reckless or incompetent driver. If we would all drive properly our- selves and evidence vigorous con- demnation whenever some one else is careless at the wheel, the problem would lose its gravity al- most immediately.” NEGLIGENCE IS QUESTION OF FACT AND NOT OF LAW Statement Brought Out in Ruling of Supreme Court, According to A. M. A, Contributory negligence is a question {of fact and not of law. i | ‘This, in substance, is the decision of |the United States Supreme Court, re- | fusing to review two automobile col- | liston cases of importance to motorists, | involvi the question as to whether or not it is the duty of & passenger in an automobile to warn the operator of impending danger. The defendants in each case sought to avold liability on the theory that there was an ab- solute duty on the passenger to warn the automobile operator of approaching danger. The court, as & matter of law, finds no such duty. A review of the two cases, involving the same question, was refused by the Supreme urt, thus in effect con- firming decisions rendered in the Cir- cuit Court of Appeals, according to the American Motorists' Association, re- porting the court’s decision. “As the question stands now, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals holds that a passenger is permitted the op- tion of warning the driver or remain- ing silent, while the Ninth Circnit Court of Appeals—a court of equally high authority—holds that it is & ques- tion of fact for the jury,” it is ex- pmnedA by general counsel of the A M A “Action of the United States Supreme Court in refusing to review the two cases in effect means that it is for the jury to say in every case whether or not the passenger actually is guilty of contributory negligence in not warning the driver.” —_— Absent-Mindedness. One hears a great deal about absent- minded professors, but it would be hard to find one more absent-minded than the dentist who said soothingly as he applied the pliers to his automs b under which he lay, “Now, this is going to hust just & > “ THE SUNDAY' STAR, WASHINGTO DOWN THE ROAD—Recollections. ) ARCH 6, 1932—PART FOUR. —By FRANK BEck | [GROSS INCOME TAX DEDUCTIONS FOR CAR OWNERS ARE EXPLAINED I .DONT KNOW WHAT THIS WORLD 1S COMING TO. THE 1DEA OF A DAUGHTER OF MINE BEING SEEN IN A HORSELESS CARRIAGE UNCHAPERONED. SHAME ON YoU. NELLIE VAN BERGEN, FOR EVEN HARBORING 9SUCH A THOUGHT. 2 N.Y. TrRIBUNE, 1N OIL BIG PROBLEM OF NEWER AUTOS Carbon Spoils Motoring Fun and Lubrication Should Be Studied. With high compression bringing carbon once more into the limelight as | motordom’s biggest pest the eyes of the | motor world are turning to lubricating oil as one of the major problems of the | day. Oil makes carbon. Carbon spolls | the high compression party. Motordom | is worried. It wouldn't be so great a problem if the public knew a little more about ofl control. Things would not be so bad if every car owner had some sort of idea of what happens to oil after he pours it into the crankcase. But as matters stand the engineers have to fight the situation with unfair odds. There are | 32 ways in which ofl can pump past| the piston rings, and the public is| familiar with only two of them. | Most drivers realize that if the cylinders are worn there is more op- portunity for oil to get by the rings: Most of them also know that if the ofl isn't the right grade, or is of in- ferior quality, it will work by the rings and burn up. That's about the extent of owner appreciation of what today has become one of the most far- reaching factors in service. Hundreds of thousands of motors of the high-compression type now are knocking their heads off for no other reason than because oil control isn't properly understood. Soon the number will run into millions. As these newer motors wear and as no consideration is given to the whys and hows of oil loss past the pistons the knocking from | oil-made carbon will become a cease- less torment. Yet prevention is rea- sonably simple. Many drivers will have to learn not to operate the accelerator so erratically. Whenever your foot is lifted from the accelerator suddenly, while running along fast in conventional gear, there is a powerful suction within the combus- tion chambers. This causes oil to be sucked up past the rings, regardless of how efficient or how tight the latter may be. This practice is advisable when the car is being driven steadily at top speed because it helps to cool the cyl- inders and because there is sufficient heat to burn the oil clean. At normal or suow speeds this practice simply draws up ofl and converts it into car- bon. equently with free wheeling there will be less of this. One of the greatest mistakes is wrongful use of heavy oil. If a driver finds that he is using too much oil he is usually tempted to switch to a heavy grade on the theory that the more vis- cous ofl will act as a seal and will be slower to work up past the rings. The theory sounds well, but in practice en- gineers find that if the piston rings happen to be a little lacking in tension they will partially collapse and thus ride over the film on the cylinder walls. The ofl, therefore, has a free outlet to the combustion chamber. Not infrequently at high speeds rings “flutter.” has been found to be s0 noticeable in the case of some cars that oil is actually blown out of the motor breather pipe. Where such poor con- tact is found the explanation lies in the fact that the ends of the rings flut- ter. In somewhat the same category are ""fi,'d‘ twisted and out-of-round piston rings. Such conditions are due to poor manufacture or faulty installa- tion, although they can develop from abuse in breaking in the motor. A great many cases of oil pumping have been traced to unequal tightening | of cylinder head bolts. The cylinder block becomes distorted. Another com- mon cause of oil pumping is the out-of- round cylinder. Particularly in a small- bore, high-speed motor the rings do not have an opportunity to become well seated, making contact only with the higher sections of the cylinder walls. Many drivers still go down hill with the ignition off. This eliminates com- bustion pressure and allows oil to pump uF into the cylinders. Although it is an old reason for ofl loss the excessively hot engine is a more important factor than ever because with higher compres- sion and higher speed the efficiency of the cooling system is of far greater con- cern than ever before. Heat thins out the best oil, upsetting all normal con- ditions with respect to ofl control. It does not seem to be generally known that improperly timed valves will waste ofl. If intake valves are timed to open too late there is an un- usually long suction period which na- turally permits more oil to be drawn into the cylinders. Too high an oil pressure will waste oil at a high rate in a modern motor. This may be due to trouble with the relief valve or to clogging of & few of the oll outlets. Such clogging generally can be traced to the use of dirty oil or to careless- ness in adding oil. Thousands of gal- lons of oil are wasted annually also be- cause of owners making the mistake of capping the breather pipe. Save the ofl and you save perform- ance. (Copyright, 1032, the Russell Service.) Speed Indication. The engine tempera! o up. Do not exceed 30 miles per hour until the in- t ture indicator is dicator shows 130 degrees or better. COUPE STYLE CARS GAIN FAVOR, PRODUCTION FIGURES REVEAL Gain for Small Closed Automobiles Cuts Down percentagc of Larger Closed Jobs Now Being Marketed. BY E. Y. WATSON. DETROIT, March 5.—Motor cars of | § the coupe type gained 8 per cent in preference and use last year. This is one of the ouu!mdlni facts revealed as the result of a detailed survey made public here. The gain for the coupes cut down the percentage of other closed body types in 1931 production. As the re- sult of it and of other variations shown in last year's figures from those of 1930, the sedans and other closed jobs dropped from 75 per cent to 68 per cent of all the cars built for the United States and Canada. Last year's passenger car production by all companies, it is shown, amounted to 2,038,173 units. Of these 1934515 had closed bodies, with the remainder of 103,658 coming under the open-car designation. Scrutiny of the figures shows a rise for the roadsters from 3.7 to 4.1 per cent and a drop for the touring cars from 3.3 per cent to 1.2. The coupes previously referred to accounted for 26.03 per cent of the total. Chassis built for special body equipment were found to be 0.1 per cent of the factory output, leaving slightly more than 68 per cent for cars of general closed body classification. ‘The differences between 1931 and 1930 thus disclosed indicate what is be- lieved to be an irregular trend, due to the fact that 1931 was an abnormal year. Because the year marked a low production level and slumping condi- tions put America in a mood of close | economy, buyers were led to consider | limited or partial passenger capacity as a factor in budgeting outlay for indi- vidual transportation. For this reason they chose to pur- chase a greater proportion of new cars of the two and three passenger type | than usual. The upward coupe trend also may be attributed to a general desire to make the old car serve the purposes of the family until conditions improve, coupled with a widened de- mand for cars used for business alone. Because business cars usually get more continuous usage than family cars and average greater mileage, the change is seen as constructive for auto- mnbile manufacturing. It is regarded | | ward st bullding the as pointing to greater essential use of assenger cars by the tion as distinct from mere recreation and tour- ing, In the same sense, the fuel con- sumption record of 1931 indicated defi- nitely the use of 500,000,000 more gal- lons of gasoline than in the previous 12_months and a mileage excess over 1930 of more than 8,000,000,000. A large part of the extra fuel re- quirement was credited on the passen- ger car side, with the average of all vehicles, including trucks, flturino! out to 300 miles for every vehicle the Nation’s fleet of 26,000,000. ‘With greater all-around usage on an essential basis, the comfort and visi- bility that have been built into current models may be classed among the for- for this year. In body designers have made better vision possible by Eivmf the windshields more slope as a part of the pronounced streamlining trend. The exterior visor has been taken away and the interior visors, or adjustable “flaps” that replace them, are now so located as not to interfere with rear-mirror vision. Those who drive likewise get more protection against headlight glare and |\, in vertical also street lights, which windshields were reflected in such s manner as to cause confusion and con- sequent hazards. For comfort, including freedom from car noises and heat insulation, the builders have gone to greater pains than before. This is because free- wheeling, with its coasting periods, has made hitherto unsuspected noises audible. To subdue them, modern de- sign calls for insulation of the dash, the car floors and the side panels. ‘This has brought into use new ma- terials like asphaltum, which is sprayed on, and a new cardboard composition, which is cemented on. To prevent squeak, insulation material is used in body joints. The varteties consist of felt, wool, cork, rubber, rubberized fab- ric, auti-squeak strips, rubber “dough,” “dum-dum” and cord welt. Floor boards of laminated wood in- stead of metal and asbestos coverings are utilized to eliminate engine heat and noise. by the (Copyright, 1932, North American Newspaper Alliance, Ine.) LABORERS GET MOST | OF HIGHWAY DOLLARS Nine-Tenths of Road Funds Find ‘Way to Pockets of Men Who Build Them. Labor gets $910, or about nine-tenths of every $1,000 received by the con- tractor in building a highway, accord- ing to a statement issued by Thomas H. MacDonald, chief of the United | States Bureau of Public Roads, in testi- fying recently at the hearings of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. This statement, resulting from an| extensive study of all the costs of building highways, was a part of Mr. MacDonald’s testimony showing the value of road building in providing jobs for the unemployed. Mr. MacDonald explained: “The fact that so much of the road dollar, from 85 to 90 per cent, goes into labor, either directly or indirectly, is due to| the fact that there are no intrinsically ;rxnlulb]e materials used in road build- ng.” ‘The data presented by Mr. MacDon- ald show that of the $1,000 given to the contractor for bullding concrete pavements, $141 is spent ectly by him for labor on the job. An addi- tional $44.70 is spent for labor by him in getting on the job and for other miscellaneous items. ‘The contractor pays mills and quar- ries $675, which along with $139.30 spent by the contractor through other agencies, is distributed so that labor eventually receives another $724.30, making a total of $910 received by labor from each $1,000. This money is expended for wages in mills and quarries, in transportation of materials uipment, in the production of fuel, in the manufacture of supplies and equipment, and so on. FIELD HELD GREAT FOR INVENTIVE GENIUS One Out of Four Patents Granted Said to Be for Auto- mobile. More than 400,000 patents have been granted in this country to inventors of automobile improvements, according to Clarence A. O'Brien, Washington patent attorney, who says there is still a great field here for inventive genius. While many of the improvements were necessarily of less importance than others, some of the patents have paid the inventors thousands of dollars, says Mr. O'Brien. At the present time almost one out of every four patents granted is said to be for use on an automobile. In the last year there were 11,000 automotive patents out of a total of 45000. A year or two ago, and for several years prior to that, the average was one automotive patent out of every three. “There are so many that are in need of improvement,” said G. C. Arvedson of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, “for which & large reward in the future is certain. I refer to the solution of real problems and not merely other of slightly different designs.” The extent to which America’s in- ventive talent is turned to the solution of these problems is further indicated In the receipt last year of 6,000 inven- tions by one automobile manufacturing corporation alone. The beginnings of the gas vehicle are said to start with the work of a Frenchman named Lenoir, who was granted a patent in 1860 on a vehicle driven by an explosive uulne. In this country, George B. Selden probably initiated the experimentation with his enrly’ :ork with power driven vehicles In commenting on the fact that|in 187 labor receives such a large of the money required for concrete pave- ment building, road builders point out that labor benefits as much in high. type pavement building, with extensive use of machinery, as in the construc- tion of low-type roads, where compara- tively little machinery is Care of Chassis. Flush the radiator until the water is clear and at the first* appearance of cold weather add an anti-freeze solu- ~ e REFLEX LENSES New Cars Equipped With New Bafety Device. A new development, one which safet; advocates will especially acclaim, is l; improved reflex lens for the rear end of cars, busses, trucks and trailers. When the headlights of a car behind shine on the reflex lens it returns a beam that can 'l: &elen ta:“ago ;eet It provides grea or shead and the one hlndy b x all of the 1932 cars are :;muimd Teflex lens of the new FEDERAL GAS TAX SCORED BY HENRY Evils Without Parallel Have Crept Into System, A. A. A. Head Says. The threat of a 33 per cent boost in the Nation's $500,000,000 a year gas- oline tax bill, in the form of a Federal levy of 1 cent per gallon, looms as & birthday gift to motorists on the thir- nfim.h anniversary of this form of tax- ation. This statement was made today by the American Automobile Association, which pointed out that the gasoline tax, first levied at the rate of 1 cent per gallon in Oregon on February 25, 1919, has spread to every State, with the average rate nearly 4 cents per gallon. Pointing out that motorists have paid approximately $2,500,000,000 in gasoline taxes since it was first levied, Thomas P. Henry of Detroit, Mich., president of the national motoring body, declared tating svetem ‘are ‘without paratel 1 system are ul the whole history of taxation. “The tax was concelved as one of the most equitable forms in existence,” sald . Henry, “In that the users of the highway were to pay for the buil of roads in proportion to their use o the roads. But what do we find on the thirteenth anniversary of the tax? “We find the tax in effect in the 48 States and the District of Columbia and in hundreds of counties and munici- palities that have superimposed local taxes on the top-heavy State levy. “We find rates ranging from 2 cents K:.r gallon in some States to 7 cents Tennessee and Florida, with a 1- cent levy at Pensacola m the latter State making the rate 8 cents per gallon. “We find the bootlegger and the racketeer waxing rich at the expense of motorists and profiting to the extent of approximately $60,000,000 a year through wholesale evasions of the tax. “We find the States diverting around $20,000,000 & year from the tax receipts to schools, port development, charitable and penal nstitutions, for the develop ment of water supplies and for unem- ployment relief. ““And at the moment we find the Fed- eral Government ghreatening to enter a field that is already overexploited by the State, the county and the city, through the levy of a Federal tax of 1 cent per gallon, which it is estimated would cost motorists $165,000,000 a year. This would bring the tax in Pensacola, Fla., for example, to 9 cents per gallon, or equivalent to & 75 per cent sales tax on a commodity selling for 12 cents per gallon without the tax. Surely it can line tax is no ment continues: “If a Federal gasoline levy comes as an equitable part of a manufactures, the motorists would not quarrel, highly burdened though they are. To impose a special sales tax on gasoline, however, would be highly in- equitable and hark back to the dis- mzulo:; h“mu. thed Ways and Means t1 made & praiseworthy effort to avoid, S > “Such a would breakdown the gas-tax “‘:\x‘:fi& ZhA! special Government impost for general purposes would go far to establish ‘di- version’ as & ciple and divorce this tax from use, its original justift R ould “It we jeopardize hundreds of mil- lions of dollars in road hond:di.‘uue:xgy the States and which are contingent on future gasoline tax collections by the States. “It would greatly accelerate the eva- sion _evil, which is already depriving the States of much revenue and adding greatly to the cost of administration. It would inaugurate a serious battle between the States and the Federal Government in their respective spheres of taxation and inevitably lead to re- taliation in other tax flelds.” ROAD BUILDING KEPT NORMAL PACE IN 1931 One of Few Industries to Do 8o, Aiding Approximately 8,000,000 Men. During 1931 the business of buflding rural highways and streets was one of the few industries that proceeded at a n&?‘}fi””h’m pace that some- thing like a on men busy road c(;)mtrun{‘gn. actual In the words of Thomas H. Mac- Donald, chief of the Bureau of Publclc Rl“de;' '-'l"x:r “‘h:h u:rl:‘dmdunl 50 em- ploy WA d! o e S Y Senei ment equivalent to two other persons. This does not mean only two men ac- tually employed indirectly, since pro- duction of materials and equipment and transportation may involve part | time of many persons, but rather ployment equivalent to full time for two other persons.” From this it can be seen that in the neighborhood of 3,000,000 men were benefited by the 1931 rm'd and street 3 lamilies E’u‘f.'.;»:r‘”m“:“"'" some 10 or 13 mition people. A. A. A. Outlines Cuts in Levy That May Be Made on ACC ount of Owner- ship of Automobile. DPeductions which car owners may make from their gross income on aor count of automobile ownership and operation under regulations of the Uhited States Bureau of Internal Reve- nue were outlined today by the Ameri- can Automobile Association. First, the car owner may deduct from his gross income all sums paid during the calendar year in the form of regis- tration fees, “State personal property and municipal taxes. Fees paid for drivers’ licenses may be deducted in connection with cars used for business purposes only. Second, the gasoline tax may be de- ducted in all cases where it is a “‘con- sumers’ tax” under the State law, but not where it is specifically enacted as a “distributors’ tax.” If the taxes are added to or made a part of the business expense of the consumer, they cannot be deducted separately as a tax. The bureau has ruled that the gas tax is & consumers’ tax in the following States: Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indlana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hamp- shire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Da- kota, Virginia, West Virginia, Wash- ington and Wisconsin. In Missouri the gas tax is a consumer's tax, with the exception of the fuel tax imposed by Kansas City. Third, the interest on money bor- rowed for the purchase of an auto- mobile 1is deductible, irrespective of whether the car is used for business purposes or for pleasure. If the tax- payer keeps his accounis on a cash is, such interest will be deductible only for the year in which paid. If accounts are kept on an accrued basis, interest may be deducted as it accrues. Fourth, if a passenger car is used wholly for business purposes, all ex- penses incident to maintenance, cluding depreciation, may be deducted. The bureau fixes no definite rate of depreciation. Allowance is made for exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence of property and excludes any idea of mere reduction of market value not resulting from wear and tear. While the burden of proof rests on the tax- payer to sustain the deduction for de- preciation, such deduction will not be disallowed unless shown to be unrea- sonable. Where the car is used partly for business and partly for pleasure, maintenance and depreciation deduc- tions may be made only where the car is used In the taxpayer's pursuit of mn.'u}nu sustained by resson of damage to a nger automobile while being used for pleasure is deductible. The loss, however, must be an actual Milady’s loss to the person claiming the deduc- tion. In other words, if it is com- pensated for by insurance or other- | wise, it is not deductible Sixth, the bureau has ruled that where a motorist paid damages for injury to a pedestrian, such amount is deductible, provided at the time the injury occurred the car was being used for business. There has never been & decision, however, on whether a fine paid by a motorist might be deducted 45 & business expense, where, at the time the expense was incurred, the car was being used for business or profes- sional purposes. Seventh, loss sustained from the out- |Tight sale of an automobile used pri- marily for business purposes may be deducted in computing net income. Eighth, the amount paid for insur- ance on automobiles used for business pu and also the amount of finance charges on a purchased car, which covers interest and risk on the loan, may be deducted, but not the amount covering the premium on in- surance to protect the finance com- pany’s interest. With reference to loss due to dam- age to a car maintained for pleasure, the bureau says: “A loss occasioned by damage to an automobile maintained for pleasure, where such damage results from the | faulty driving of the taxpayer, but is not due to his wilful act or negligence, may be deducted in the computation of | the net incomc of the taxpayer. Where | da to a taxpayer's automobile re- |8 from the faulty driving of the operator of an automobile with which the automobile of the taxpayer collides, the loss occasioned by the taxpayer by such damage is likewise deductible. The jamount of loss must, however, be re- duced by the amount of any insurance or other compensation received and by the salvage value, if any, of the auto~ - | mobile.” A. A. A points out that loss | sustained from the outright sale of an automobile does not apply to cars traded in for new cars to be used in the business of the taxpayer. On this point, the Bureau of Internal Revenue says: “When an automobile used solely in the trade or business of a taxpayer is traded in as part payment on another automobile, no gain or loss is realized. In determining the basis for subsequent depreciation computations and the computation of gain or loss where ex- changes of this kind occur, the pur- chase price of the new machine should be decreased or increased respectively according to whether the trade-in value of the old machine is greater or less than the depreciated cost of the | old machine.” Motoring BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL. Judging from the number of collisions, automobile drivers can always be relied upon to make ends meet. Do you wait until the stuttering of the engine proves that you should shift to a lower gear, or do you shift in an- ticipation of this situation? If you're a “late shifter” you're doing things “just like & woman” This habit is said to be one of milady's chief faults in driv- ing. Always remember, too, that if the| motor starts to buck and jerk you can stop this instantly by pressing the clutch pedal to the floor. Often you can coast through a difficult traffic stretch without any of the embarrass- ment of a balky motor. I have seen clever women coast through s tight place with the motor stalled. This isn't entirely eliminated by the new auto- matic starting, because often an engine won't start even if it is lustily cranked. The rule, of course, is to steer the car in the direction the rear end is starting to skid, if you would check this most unpleasant of motoring ex- periences, but sometimes even this rule is deserving of an exception. A woman was telling me that when her car started to slue around into a tree she decided that even if she did manage to straighten out the course of the car the machine would hit the tree anyway. She elected to crash sidewise instead of head on. The result was that she saved expensive damage to the motor and prevented herself from being thrown against one of the older type steering wheels that might have snapped off. This reminds me to add the sugges- tion to grasp the steering wheel firmly when colliding, if the car is a compara- tively new one. The Iatest steering wheels may bend, but they won't break off and injure you. In other words, hold everything. While it is true that a car, unlike & dress or coat, can be changed or “dyed” any color other than what it is origi- naily, one must consider the hue of the upholstery. If there is any possibility that the original color of the car may grow wearisome and require a change after a couple of years, at least be sure the inside “lining” 1sn't so gay as to be entirely out of harmony if a darker ex- terior is applied. Recently a woman paid too much at- tention to the road sign and ditched her car. When a service man arrived he decided it would be necessary to obtain a wrecking car with a holst as the machine was too badly tipped. Having made one error the driver decided she would try to compensate by offering| the bright idea of asking some of the bystanders to stand on the upside run- ring board while the service man gave | the car 8 tow. Her car came out of the predicament in & jiffy. “Why don't you explain the new fea- tures of the new cars, putting the essen- tials into the simplest possible terms>” asks & woman who evidently wants to keep abreast of the everchanging au- tomobile and show up the men folks who claim to know so much about cars. It's one of the best suggestions I've heard in a long while. Here goes: Let's begin with the new automatic starting system. With many of the this system eliminate the need for pressing a pedal or touching a button with your foot? The whole thing is done electrically in'a small metal box mounted on the dash. Switching on the ignition feeds current in the usual way to the coil, distributor and spark plugs, it also energizes special coils which have a magnetic action. The result of this is to make special additional electrical contacts which correspond to your pres- ent manual job of stepping on the starter button. A number of detalled refinements are incorporated in the de- vice in order to take care of those occasional situations when the starter pinion fails to mesh with the flywheel gear. The starting device is nearly human in its action. Eve seemed to be going along serenely. ‘motor purred contented- ly; the tires hummed a pleasant tune. Then, without so much as a warning, there is a most alarming racket under the hood. The engine ran wild, choked up, sputtered and backfired. Quite a startling situation for a woman to face, alone on the open road, but the one who tells the story wasn't at all trouble. She snapped off the ignition, pacified the motor and was quick to note that the accelerator pedal had fallen to the floor. That meant the throttle was wide open. ‘When this happens the return spring of the throttle is broken. Lifting the hood and tracing the accelerator con- trol to the carburetor will reveal the location of this necessary coil spring. Unless one is very helpless some make- shift scheme of using the re section of the spring can be utilized to Frepue the throttle for temporary serv- ice again. A rubber band is handy for this purpose. e WINTER TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATION DESCRIBED Temperate Zone Most Intemperate of All, Says U. 8. Weather Bureau. Winter weather In most States is likely to have an extreme temperature fluctuation of around 100 degrees, says the Glycerin Producers’ Association in its latest bullentin about anti-freeze protection. Motorists are reminded that although the calendar may say “January” or ‘“February,” the ther- {nomeur may say “July” for a day or WO. According to the United States Weather Bureau record of past per- formances, the temperate zone is the most. intemperate of all the zones when it comes to the abruptness and extent of Winter weather variations. Tem- E‘“‘“" variations throughout the nited States are much greater in Win- ter than in Summer. Some typical cities and their pos- sible temperature ranges between De- cember 21 and March 20 are New York, with 73 above zero and 13 below; Oma- ha, 78 above and 32 below; St. Louis, 84 above and 22 below; Des Moines, 78 above and 30 belo above and 33 below: Chicago, and 23 below. Almost all other Jo- calitles where anti-freeze is used new cars vou just flip the ignition switch and the motor cranks. How does subject to similar extremes of ‘mometer readings in Winter. TOP AND SEDAN WOODWORK EXPERT BODY & FENDER WORK 20% Cash—Balance 6 Months SYSTEM AUTO LAUNDRIES 1822 M St. N.W. North 9465