Evening Star Newspaper, June 9, 1935, Page 27

THE SUNDAY 'STAR, WASHINGTON, D. O, JUNE 9, 1035-PART ONE. K 2dixg * . . HOW*FINGERPRINT FAUROT” SLEUTHED THE TRAIL OF A TIRE FROM COAST TO COAST AND THE AMAZING EVIDENCE HIS SEARCH -llNGl)VEIl ABOUT : The eyewitness story of the strangest assignment a famous detective ever covered — why the man who brought fingerprinting and the Bertillon system to émerica combed the haunts of motorists for mileage clues — as told by an ace reporter who shadowed him (EDITORIAL NOTE: What you read here is not an advertisement in the ordinary sense. For it does mot present @ manufacturer’s enthusiasm Jor his own produat. It deals with unbiased evidence, gathered by a great detective—and set dowwn by a man trained 1o get and report the meaws. Like the introduction of the famoxs ‘G-3'" All- - Weather — avhich dealt awith the records of this tire on_the Goodyear test-fleets — this adwvertisement seeks to present plain un- warnished facts showing hoow this *‘G-3"" All-Weather is standing %p at the hands of the public, and lets you judge the significance of these facts for yourself.) powerful new cars. People wanted longer wearing tires—and more non-skid safe too—and Goodyear undertoo to find the answer. Engineers in the laboratories ground down tread after tread " with granite grindstones — till By JAMES CANNON Former Ace Réporter, New York Journel J UST as a piece of sheer, dogged detective work, it’s a magnificent story. Piles of first-hand evidence gathered from more than half the states in the Union. Life histories of hundreds of tires, amassed by atient days and nights of digging—a fragment ere, a fragment there. Sometimes quizzing a gas station attendant—or listening in on conversations at a Bar-B-Que stand. Peering at speedometers— running down license numbers—questioning car owners and their friends—finding out how people drive, where they drive, how much gasoline they use in a week, what kind of roads they cover, how fast they wear out brakes. " You would think, to watch Inspector Joseph A. Faurot building up this pyramid of evidence, that life or death depended on his efforts. And in a sense, that’s true. For he was sent out to investigate the safety record of tire treads— Goodyears and others. But that’s getting somewhat ahead of the story. Flash-back to 12 months ago Let’s start at the beginning. Do l{ou remember the first time you heard of the now famous Goodyear “G-3"’ All- Weather tread ? It was in the late spring of 1934—and what a sensational story broke at that time. 52 Joseph A. Fauret, veteran man-hunter, now Chief of Department of ldents fication, Commercial Crime Commission, inspected **G-3"" inside and ont I The problem on all tires then—even on Goodyears —was fast tread wear, due to the higher speeds « and quicker starts and stops of the nimbler, more: they found one that could *‘take it"” as no tread ever took it before. That tread bore the laboratory symbol *‘G-3"'. Then they put that tread on a tire—scores of tires in fact—and put them out on the test-fleet for the toughest kind of third degree. Straight around the clock they gave them the works. Speed up to 50. Wham! Bring them to a dead stop, Up to 50 again — and another screech of brakes! Drivers worked in shifts, but there was no rest for those tires. You know the results. That “G-3" All-Weather stood up and kept on standing up. Under that grueling punishment it de- livered 43% longer non-skid mileage than its famous prede- « + + & fragment here, & fragment there. Inspector Faurot and reperter Cannon check @ line up of '* suspects’’ along the curb in Senta Fe cessor — and kept its grip twice as long as tires tested against it. Where you come in But there is one factor in tire performance that only time can measure — anq that is test of actual, average, everyday service on owners’ cars. You may not know it, but the way you drive has a tremendous bearing on the mileage you get from tires. Some engineers figure that a tire may deliver any- where from 4,000 to 40,000 miles, depending upon - the.treatment it:gets. <. .. ..\ .- The man who spins his wheels on a fast get-away and stomps his bnke_c on every stop, s up rubber aswell as gasoline. Ittakes 500 horsepow " in your es to give safe control over an horsepower engine, MORE PEOPLE RIDE ON GOODYEAR 3 oo o guissing car owners and their friends ';\ N So Goodyear wanted to know exactly how well this ‘‘G-3"" All-Weather was living up to its sen- sational test-fleet record under the varying usage it gets in the hands of different drivers—and took the bold step of hiring Joseph A. Faurotto find out. How evidence piled up It would take hours to give you all the evidence. Few front page mobster cases ever went to trial with a more volumi- nousrecord. It was gathered all the way from Gotham to the Golden Gate — from taxi drivers, truck farmers, doctors, salesmen, house- wives—in a snow storm in Chicago - and a dust storm in the Southwest. So let’s open Faurot’s fat notebook, put our finger on a typical record, and see what it says: “Tire No. 0183644 7K — Goodyear “G-3" All-Weather on left front wheel, Detroit taxicab. ““Three other makes of tires on this vehicle, as follows: “Right front — well-known brand, bought two months ago; tr nearly worn down to fabric. (See comments on daily mileage.) ‘“Left rear — Canadian brand, bought ¢ months ago. Badly worn. “Right rear — as American brand, bought 5 months ago. Also badly 5 “D mileage—this cab is in service 24 hours a day—on a'o.:rym—al.w on occasional trips into Canada—frequently covers 200 miles per day. (Compare average mileage of *‘G-3" All-Weather.) ¢ “Condition of “G-3" — af time of examination this tire showed very little evidence of wear, in obvious contrast to other tires. Grooves between non-skid blocks were deep and sharply defined, grip was unimpaired by service. "“..l‘. = ““G-3"" All-Weather had traveled 16,844 miles in 3 months, average daily mileage 157, PROVED “G-3" All-Weather tread —because of the broader road contact of a flatter, wider All- Weather tread —because of the slow, even wear of closer-nested non-skid blocks and wider riding ribs — because of more rubber in the tread—an average of two pounds more per tire AND QUICKER STOPPING SAFETY because of the greater road grip of more non-skid blocks inthecenterof thatfamous tread! « “Report on drivers—all men driving this cab are expert in traffic — take no needless chances — but make frequent and heavy use of brakes. “Summary—from comparison with other tires au4 observation of treads, *‘G-3'’ All-Weather will deliver 100% longer non-skid mileage. Driver in charge of cab concurs in this estimate.”’ Let’s look for a few from other sections of the country—hitting the high spots for the sake of brevity. These are typical: “Mount HoLvy, N. C.... Driver of this car travels con- stantly between six textile mills, has charge of electrical main- tenance. Mileage 47,666. Tread pattern entirely gome — but “‘G-3"" kept its grip approximately 50% longer than former tires on same wheel.”’ “ALBUQUERQUE, N. M.. .. Mileage 27,000 in year. Tractor and road machinery salesman, travels Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico. Tread shows signs of wear, but former tire wore out in 12,000 miles.”’ “TOPEKA, KANSAS. . .."“G-3" mileage 21,112, district man- ager, life insurance company. ives 2,000 miles per month, . mostly gravel roads. Tread shows evidence of wear, but former tires never totaled over 15,000 miles.”’ “OAKLAND, CALIF.. .. Set of ““G-3” All-Weathers, mileage 14,131. Right rear worn by poor brake adjustment — other three have half of non-skid tread remaining. Last set of tives —another make—wore out at 3,000.” There, in thumbnail, you have a few frpm the hundreds of typical cases, painstakingly investigated by a great detective — whose relentless search is told in the vivid words of a reporter who went along. And back of these facts you can read the stirring evidence of nation-wide satisfaction with the way this “G-3" All Weather performs—how it lives up to and oftén exceeds its test-fleet records of 43% longer non-ckid mileage. One important fact more you ought to know. The under- lying reason this tire has been so successful is the founda- tion of super-resilient, super-durable cords on which it is built. You've heard the name of those cords — —the surest safeguard against blowouts which can be built into every ply. No wonder this tire is outselling any other tire in the ,world! It is ready for you now —af no increase in price—no farther away than the nearest Goodyear Service Station Dealer. THE GooDpYEAR TIRR & RUBBER COMPANY, INC. . AKRON, OHIO