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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 1920)
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, JUNE G, 1920 66.2 'MILES PAVED " ON WAY TO ASTORIA MAKING READY FOR PAVEMENT ON THE LOWER COLUMBIA CLATSKANIE AND ASTORIA. RIVER HIGHWAY BETWEEN Nearly Two-Thirds of the 110 Miles Now Hard-Surfaced. HIGHWAY GOOD GENERALLY Franklin Makes It to Seaside, 130 Jlilcs, Including Stops, la Five Hours 10 Minutes. 4 - w y2 & I ij&k fmr' 3 h&i:4 wwl fII IfwWC I ..-.... - - ,,....,;.,r.W,,.,....... .....v.. . ......... BY I. H. GREGORY. Nearly two-thirds of the lower Co lumbia river highway between Port land and Astoria is now paved. To be axact, of the lit) miles to Astoria, nearly 68.2 miles are paved. This in cludes the distance to the city lim its from The Oregonian building in the renter of Portland and to the "Weinliard Astoria hotel in the cen ter of Astoria. Adding on the 20 miles from As toria to Seaside, ISO miles in all from Portland, there are 81.9 miles of pave ment. Nine-thirteenths of - the dis tance to the beaches, over a highway that up to last winter was not even an uil-year road, is now hard-surfaced. These figures as to amount of pave ment on the lower highway were ob tained in a run to Seaside and Cannon beach and return "by the writer last Saturday and Sunday in a Franklin car driven by Lawrence E. Therkel son, sales manager of the Braly Auto company. George K. Chambers, the Oregon State Motor association's road expert, and Charles Krazier of the Crescent Paper company also were In the party. Only One Itongh Stretch. The paving mileage was obtained on the return trip by shoving in the registering pin on the trip mileage odometer for all paved stretches and shutting it off again when the car left pavement. So the totals of 66.2 miles of pavement to Astoria and 81.9 to Seaside are correct. Taken all in all, the whole highway to Astoria and Seaside is now in prime condition. True, there is one very rough stretch, the 12 miles of old road troin Scappoose nearly to Deer Island. This is undeniably and un qualifiedly rough, though the Frank lin springs ironed out most of the bumps. But this 12 miles Is by long odds the worst stretch on the whole route. To compensate for it. the highway is now paved all the way from two miles this side of Deer Island to Clats kanie. Up to a month ago it was paved only about half the distance lietween Rainier and Clatskanie, but concentrated efforts of the paving crews have now surfaced it into Clatskanie. There is just now not a single de tour on the trip to Astoria and the beaches. F.ven the very short detour a couple of miles below Deer Island wheru cars were routed down a gully and up it on the other side -while a concrete bridge was "setting," has been eliminated. The concrete bridge is open to traffic. Three I'nvinjt Plants Ready. This condition of no detours is not likely to continue very long, how ever. No less than three paving jdants have been assembled between Chitskauiie and Svenson, 11 miles this sido of Astoria, from which point there is pavement into Astoria. This unpaved stretch is approximately 30 miles long, and the paving plants have been set up at intervals approximately ten miles apart. These plants are just about ready for business. In fact, paving work, was in progress at two points last Saturday, and with the fine weather of the past week no doubt fast prog ress has been made. One of these points was four miles below Clats kanie toward Astoria. Here .4-mile of hot stuff had been laid and rolled, and there was another -7-mile of crushed rock ready for the hot stuff. The other point where hard sur face was being laid was on the Windy loops, where . the highway winds in four great loops up to the summit of Clatsop Crest, the Crown Point of the lower highway, from which there is a wonderful view of the Columbia river and its lower gorge. Here about .1-mile of pave ment had been laid, and from all in dications the paving crew was ready to go ahead pretty fast. In another two or three weeks it would not be surprising if the high way were, paved up these loops to the summit of Clatsop Cre'.. fast rrORrem Planned. By the end of June great progress will have been made on the new pave ment between Clatskanie and Astoria. By the end of July the greater part of this unpaved part of the high way probably will be paved. Great Quantities of crushed rock and "hot stuff material, with road graders and rollers and fleets of trucks are all ready to go. Naturally, this will make neces sary some detours. They will prob tibly all be short ones. As dry weath er may be expected from now on they ivill not be difficult, that is sure. Preparatory to laying new crushed rock on the macadam grade that was rocked two years ago and has been in use by heavy traffic since, the sides f the road for several miles below Clatsop Crest have been dug up, leav ing a macadam strip in the center wide enough for only one car. But if another car comes along from the opposite direction it's easy enough to turn out on the dug-up portion. Drainage ditches also have been cut along the sides ofthe highway for miles. The road builders have learned the lesson that the most important essential to good pavement is to have the grade thoroughly drained. Jack. Kiddle Busy Garageman. The road from Astoria to Seaside Is in first-class condition. Of the 20 miles from Astoria to Jack Riddle's parage in Seaside, 15 miles are paved. True, a few miles of this is over the rough, worn-out old single track con crete laid several years ago, but ex cept for having constantly to turn one wheel into the semi-ditch along Eido to let other cars pass, it is not bad. Jack Riddle was one busy garage man in Seaside last Sunday. His is the official garage recommended by the Oregon state Motor association, lie not only had all the cars he could attend to, but every motorist in town, seemingly, and there were scores of them down for the Sunday and Me morial day holidays, was around there trying to get gasoline to drive home on. Jack did the very best he could for them. His gasoline lasted quick, but he got hold of a few hundred gallons of distillate and helped many a motor ist on his way with a few gallons of it in his tank. But when the distillate ran out and he was unable to procure more those who came late were strictly out of luck. Alany cars were stalled In Seaside for several days owing to the gasoline shortage. The Franklin made the run from ro: Maud to Seaside ia ten minutes ISA - x " - A1 3 over five hours, including stops for photographs and the like. There Isn l a better road car built than the Franklin, for its full elliptic spring construction irons out the bumps on the roughest roads. Speedy on Houeli Roadff. Therkelson was able to keep right up to his average, even on the rough Scappoose-Deer Island stretch, where other cars were crawling along. From Seaside the Franklin ran' over to Cannon Beach Sunday morning. The road over the mountain to I'lk creek. 8.7 miles from Seaside, is in good condition, though narrow and winding. The man at the wheel must keep a mightlv sharp lookout for other cars on some of the curves in this picturesque drive, whose pictur esqueness. however, soon will be a thing of the past. The Hammond Lumber company is cutting down the big trees right up to the road on t.ie Seaside end of the divide, leaving des olation and waste. ROUTING TRUCKS VITAL PROFITABLE OPERATION PEXDS OX MANNER. I)E- Intelligent Dispute-Inns of Ma chines Held Chief Duty or Transportation Head. "Upon Intelligent dispatching and routing of trucks depends their profitable operation. In fact, these are the chief duties of the superin tendent In charge of the operations of the trucks. His ability to keep paying loads moving will measure the success of their service," says C. C. Fagan, Pierce-Arrow distributor here. "System should underline the work of the dispatcher and router. He should have a complete knowledge of the day's work at least 24 hours In advance if possible. Upon this infor mation he can chart a schedule that will eliminate all waste time, dis tance and motion. "To route the trucks, an Intimate knowledge is necessary of the geog raphy and topography of the scene of operations whether it be city or rural territory. The dispatcher and router should know the density of traffic t various hours of the day. He should know the best hours for load ing or unloading at various shipping or delivery points. "It is the aim of the dispatcher to keep truck traffic moving past his shipping platform in a cycle. He must avoid, if possible, the congestion of his entire fleet at the shipping platform, compelling part of the trucks to remain idle while waiting for loading or unloading crews. "To aid him in assigning the loads to units of the fleet and to map out time-saving schedules for their opera tion, the dispatcher usually makes use of a dispatch sheet. This record will show at a glance the nature of load, the distance, the time of de parture, the destination and the probable time of return of any truck in the fleet. "'That the installation of an ef ficient dispatching system is profit able is proved by the experience of an operator of 24 large trucks who in one year saved close to $30,000 in operation and maintenance expense through the elimination of idle time and wasted travel." These views show how all bur a narrow scrip of macadam has been dua; up for several miles on the lower Columbia river highway on the stretch between ClatMOp Crest and Svenson. preparatory to laying? rock and hot stuff. In wet weather you are out of lurk If you drop off the macadam In the center. Three pavins plants have been set up between Clatskanie and .storia and will soon be going full blast. The car In the picture Is a Franklin. Truck Depreciation. Motor truck operators will find it advantageous to divide the factor of depreciation into two distinct parts'. The first is the depreciation in mar ket value of the vehicle, due to newer models being placed in service. The second division of depreciation con sists in the decrease in efficiency of the vehicle through use. Obviously the former cannot be influenced by the motor truck user, but the lafter half of the depreciation charge can be cut down by care and efficient up keep. There were 1438 automobiles in se in France in 1899. CYCLE COMPANY GROWS NEW QUARTERS OCCUPIED AT FOURTH AND TAYLOR. Strine Cycle Company Carries Big Stock of Motorcycle Parts Worth Large Sum. One of the largest and most com plete bicycle and motorcycle repair shopes and salesrooms in the north west was opened recently at 194 Fourth street by the Strine Cycle company. Inc., formerly of 86 Broad way. The quarters contain 6200 square feet of "floor space, with 70 square feet of plate-glass windows on Tay lor street and 34 on Fourth. Cement floors throughout, as well as sound proof doors, which exclude noise in the machine shop, are a feature. Be sides the owners, six men are em ployed, four in the shop, one in the parts department and a bookkeeper. The Corbett estate owns the building, which cost $14,000. Officers of the concern are: George T. Strine, president; Charles S. Piper, vice-president and treasurer, and G. E. Sanderson, secretary. The capi-' talization is nominally placed at $15. 000. About $25,000 worth of stock is on hand, including $12,000 worth of parts. ' ' ' Other stockholders in the enter prise are Harvey Wells and Charles Scanlon. Mr. Strine has teen actively en gaged in the motorcycle business for the last four years in this city. Be fore entering the army in April, 1918, Mr. Piper ran a cyclery in Salem. He is a former railroad man and came to Portland In 1910 as private secretary to J. D. Farreil of the O.-W. R. & N. His , connection with the Strine Cycle company dates from last February. . HOW THEY DO IT UP NORTH Saskatchewan Requires Guarantee of. Auto Parts.. ' Agitation was begun some time ago in Regina, Saskatchewan, by an. own er of a one-time popular brand of car whose manufacturers had stopped production on. it to build another type. This owner claimed he cojild- not ob tain spare parts anywhere in the province and that the company was not interested in giving service on old cars. This led to a new law for automo bile venders in Saskatchewan. They are compelled to give the purchasers of cars guarantees that all the neces sary parts except those which can be made by a carpenter or blacksmith will be-kept at a specified place in the province for a period of ten years from the date of the sale of the car. They are obliged to file with the pro vincial secretary a list of repairs showing price's on February 1 of each year. Motor Life. Many Batteries Used. Statistics just compiled indicate that there are 6,000.000 automobiles with starting and lighting ssytems now in use in the United States. The, average life of each automobile stor age battery is less than 23 months. This means that within the next two years there will be a demand for 5,000,000 replacement batteries be sides the thousands added every day in new cars now being produced. NOT MUCH ROAD SURFACED ONLY 12 PER CENT OF HIGH WAYS IMPROVED. Meier & Frank Co. Has Just Ordered Two More GMC Trucks Another Truck Owner Is Convinced of GMC Quality Wentworth-Irwin, Inc. Second St., Cor. Taylor, Portland, Oregon Ail liiis Despite Fact U. S. Has 7,000,000 Motor-Driven" Vehicles in Use. WASHINGTON. June . 5. Despite the fact that the United States has 7.000.000 motorrdriven vehicles in op eration leading the world in this re spect motorists will be surprised to learn that but 12 per cent of the roads or tnis country are surfaced. Out of an estimated total of 2.478.522 miles of public roads, only about 299,13a are surfaced or improved. ' Indiana shows the greatest percent age of improved, highways,. 52.5 per cent of its roads being surfaved, based on the last available figures of 1918. That there is a great need for good An old adae as true today as in all the yesterdays. No car offers cleaner lines, more truly dignified gracefulness or deeper lustre of finish than does the Cleveland Six. But these qualities would be but a surface, were it not for .what is beneath them. the case of its control the soft cushioning of its low underslung spring construction, the certainty of its brakes, all these qualities add to the comfort and safety of its perform ance on any kind of roadway, on the steepest hills and in crowded traffic. The exclusive Cleveland motor, most highly developed of the powerful over-head type, gi ves a character of performance in flexibility of power and speed, and in dependability and endurance, that surpasses other, light cars. The sturdiness of its chassis construction, Take a Real Ride in the Cleveland, and You will know What a Good Car It Is, Touring Car (Five" Passengers) $14S5 Sedan (Five Passengers) $2395 Roadster (Three Passengers) $1485 Coupe (Four Passengers) $2395 . (Prices F. O. B. Cleveland) Twin States Motor Car Co, Distributors Ifith at Alder St., Portland Bdwy. 491 CLEVELAND AUTOMOBILE COMPANY, CLEVELAND OHIO roads can be deduced from the in creased tendency for long-distance hauling by motor truck and particu larly by the fact that 60.000 employes of the postoffice department travel 1,400,000 miles daily in delivering mail on rural routes. With an estimated 1920 production of 1,500.000 automobiles, the need for better highways is evident. That this fact is recognized by states and muni cipalities is shown by estimated ap propriations of $600,000,000 to be spent on hard-sorfaed roads during the year. To stimulate interest ,of the public and of the government of states in the value of better roads one of the large tire and rubber companies has created a new department to be devoted en tirely to this work. This department will gather data on the cost of good roads, methods of taxation and other valuable Information necessary before legislatures can frame and pass good roads legislation. rry Dry Cells. cells have a tendency to "go to sleep" in cold weather. This Is one of the causes of hard starling in winter with cars using this equip ment. If two extra cells are used in cold weather and the entire battery is tied together, so that the cells may be easily removed from the 'car and placed in a warm place when not in use, they will keep wide awake and on the job all the time. llllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllltlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllUIIIIL: DOMINANT MOTOR TRUCKS l,-2Vfc, 316, 5 Tons ' The Only ..Trucks Equipped With FAGEOL Compound Seven-Speed Transmissions Are FAGEOL TRUCKS FAGEOL SALES AGENCY, foe I 411 davis i SALES SERVICE f riiiiiniiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiMiuiiiiiMir Col Announcement!! to Motorists umbia Storage Batteries Now in Their New Home at Park and Couch Streets Bats3Lak Now we are housed in our new building at Park and Couch Streets, prepared to render a superior battery service. The service that accompanies Columbia Storage Batteries-is of the type you would naturally associate with a product of such high quality. We also render service on all other makes of batteries. This Is Your Invitation to Call at Our New Home for a Free Battery Test A staff of skilled men ready to serve you. Columbia Storage Battery Co. fs Park at Couch Street H. M. Nisbet, Mgr. Portland, Oregon