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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1913)
THE' SUNDAY OREGONTAN PORTLAND, DECEMBER 21, 1013. ROADS LIMIT AREA OF FARMING LANDS Paul D. Sargent Shows How Cost of Hauling May Wipe Out Profits. LOCAL DATA ESSENTIAL Ton-Mile Expense and Crop Produc tion Along Highway Must I'll Amount That Can Be Spent -for' Improvements. "BtT Paul. T?"SARlESTr State HiKhway CommUsloncr, of Maliw (Since writing the brochure on the benefits of improved roads air. ar Ifent has resigned his post as Assistant Director of the Office of Public Roads in the Department of Agriculture to accept the post mentioned above. Automobile Editor's note.) CHAPTER IV. It is hlRhly desirable that the road officials In any locality should have Information which will enable them to establish In some measure the money value of any proposed system of road improvement. -It is becoming Increasingly evident, however, that it is undesirable for a locality to base its calculations upon generalized data deduced from nation-wide observa tions. What is neetied In the Individ ual Instance I an understanding of the methods which must be employed to establish the economic conditions in tiie locality. Certain facts which are essential are easily obtained. The area of the road district or other highway unit, the number of niilea of roads of vari ous classes and their distribution, the more important crops, the number of miles of railroad and the number of railroad stations and similar data may be accurately established. So also niav the prevailing cost of teams with driver for & 10-hour day. The average load and the average haul are less easily obtained, but they are essential In developing facts. - When all the information has been carefully studied it will be possible to derive the ton-mile cost for the vari ous classes of commodities hauled. If the areas along the roads devoted to various crops and the acreage yield in tons can be compiled. It will be of great value in determining the annual service of the road. , Traffic Census Needed. A traffic census should be made and the total haultnir charges for the com munity approximately estimated. From a strictly business standpoint it then becomes necessary to make a conser vative estimate of the reduction In hauling costs that will result from any Bystem of road improvement. The important point is that at least a part of the reduction in the total annual hauling charges to the community msut be regarded as measuring the in terest and maintenance charges which the community can economically af-foriJ- toran - Investment " in improved roads. The amount of money avail able for Improvement cannot . by this "method be measured by one calcula tion: one or two calculations wil, be needed before any considerable hd issue or any form o raisins money Is decided upon. As an illustration, the example of a county in which wheat is the prevail ing crop may be considered. If the construction of narrow single track roads with improved surface will re duce the hauling cost 5 cents a ton mile anil the average yield of wheat is SO bsuhrU to the acre, there results, for an average haul of five miles, an economic advantage of 22.5 cents per acre or J36 per quarter section. This Is 4 per cent on $900. It appears im mediately that such & community will be safe In borrowing money to the ex tent of $000 per square mile of wheat area to effect such an Improvement in the roads as would reduce the hauling charges o cents per ton-mllo on the wheat crop alone. Tkree Items Factors. In determining the economic advan tages of good roads to any community there are three Items which must be Included, but for which no specific figures can be given. These items are the wear and te'ar on vehicles and harness, the Interest charges on the Investment in extra horses, and the wear and tear on the horses. The argument for the reduced cost of hauling on country roads need not be carried further. In moving prod ucts of all kinds from the field to the consumer it is clear that the reduction In transportation charges is most im perative on the oountry road. During the last 15 years remarkable changes In highway transportation have been brought about by the Introduction of motor-driven vehicles. The motor car was first regarded as an exclusive luxury, but It has become, to an In creasing extent, an economic neces sity. It is Impossible, at the present time, to place an upper limit upon the use of the motor vehicle for any pur pose. It is the most potent single in fluence that has reached the road problem since McAdam. The adapta bility of the automobile and motor truck, ts almost unlimited, and the farmers. especially those of the West and Middle West, have been quick to recognize it. In handling milk and cream the motor truck has become especially useful and has extended land areas available for profitable dairying. ' While no great stress has been laid upon the total annual waste on ac count of poor roads, figures have been presented which are sufficiently in dicative to those who are Interested in road matters from a' nation-wide standpoint. In this connection it is well to remember that the economic problem of today ts not so much a problem of production as it is a prob lem of distribution. In the process of distribution It is not too much to say that the highway Is the first link, but that it Is operating at present with the lowest efficiency. Farsalaa- Depeadrat Roada. We must now discuss certain ques tions of farm economics, without, however. Introducing the social condi tions o: --untry life. The business of farmintc :s essentially dependent on the condition of country roads, for whatever Is not produced on the farm must be hauled to the farm, and many crops of the farm must be hauled away to the railroad stations and local mar kets. - Farmers sooner or later come to realize the desirability of diversified farming. Perhaps no cause limits farming of this description as effect ively as bad roads. Of course, the prime requisite for successful diversi fied farming Is a good --rkot- This market may be either at by town or a city, or a distant :-t which requires railroad transportation. In any case, however, the speed of trans portation from farm to the unloading point Is essential. Diversified farm ing usually mean a chance from sta ple crops such as corn and wheat to mora perishable products such as fruits and garilen truck: that Is to say, from crops that may be held at the farm to crops which must be moved away from the farm immediately. The possibility of this change Is largely dependent upon road conditions. A farmer 10 miles from a market for Spring truck crops, such as rhu barb, peas and spinacii, is at a great disadvantage if his market road is un improved, and he may be totally un able to compete with the farmer the same distance from market in another direction on a good road. About each market or shipping point there Is a boundary line which incloses the area that can be culti vated profitably for delivery at that point. If this area is considered as bounded by a circle it is not difficult to see that its size will depend upon road conditions. The profit to the farmer is determined by the differ ence between the production and transportation costs and the telling prices. Production roust cease when the transportation costs wipe out the difference. As one goes farther from market centers, one passes through successive zones of production, each of which contains fewer farm products, because some products will not bear the addi tional cost of transportation. With a good system of improved roads radiat ing from market centers it must fol low, if all other things are equal, that the total area of farming land will in crease, as well as the successive areas or zones capable of supporting diver sified crops. The whole business of farming is sufficiently dependent spon weather conditions without the added uncertainty of road conditions. JACKSON LEVY 3 MILLS SPECIAL ROAD TAX 'WILL YIELD S111.000 FOR ALL Pl'RPOSES. BARGAIN FOLLY TOLD Fred W. Vogler Gives Warning to Prospective Buyers. MANY SIDES TO PURCHASE Tneaty-ave Tkouaaad Dollar. .Will Go Toward Interest ."00,000 Bond Iiurae la County. MEDFORD. Or.. Dec. 20. (Special.) The County Court of jacason i.ounu has levied S mills for road purposes. This levy will yield J111.S0O. There will be no special tax levies in the various road districts. According to County Judge Tou Velle. $25,000 of this amount will go toward the Interest on the 500, 000 good road bonds recently authorized at the special road election for the construction of the Pacific highway over the Sisklyous and through Jackson County from north to south. The Road Supervisors of the county will receive $43,450 to expend In their various dis tricts on road " maintenance and con struction and the remaiader will be used by the County Court on the con struction and maintenance of roada and bridges. With the construction of the main trunk highway through the center of the county provided for by the J500.000 bond Issue, the road, work in the county will be largely taken up with the con struction of good roads into the lulls and valleys as lateral feeders. The County Court recently purchased two split log draxs and when the condition of the roads are favorable these will be used to make the roads passable. If they come up to expectations the county will buy a quantity of them for use in the Fall and Spring. 2.73 MILLS LAKE ROAD LKVY County Court Puts Total at 14.60 Mills, Said Lowest In State, x . T-. -t r-n- r Tor- 50: ( SDecial.) IjA&Ci it. r v... ' - - - The County Court made the tax levy for- this .year 14.60. mills for all pur-, poses. This Is 6.10 mills higher than a year uo, the state tax being 3.56 higher "than last year, while the road tax and school tax are each one-fourth of a mill greater than a year ago. The total' amount ot assessaoie -j practically 58.500,000. upon which the levy was made as follows: For county schools. 3 mills; county roads, 2:75 mills; county purposes, 4.4s mills; state tax. 4.46 mills. The lew will raise about $2.500 lor schools. 23.375 for roads. J37.000 for county purposes and 38.000 for the state, or approximately $124,000 In all. This probably will be the lowest levy in the state. '- : The levy for county purposes in cludes many items, among them being the library fund, eouhty. high school fnud. Circuit. Juvenile and Justices Courts, pensions and salaries. WASCO ROAD LEVY IS S MILLS Tax Will liaise Approximately $50, 00 0 for Work Throughout County. THE DALLES, Or., Dec. 20. (Spe cial ) The Wasco County Court has levied a three-mill tax for road pur poses. This levy will raise approxi mately $50,000. Besides this general levy three of the road districts have levied special taxes for the purpose of Improving the publlo thoroughfares of their territories, making the total amount which will be expended on Wasco County roads next year about $60,000. ... County Judge' Gunning says this money will be spent in accordance with the state road law. being distributed over the county generally and used for the construction and maintenance of roads. HARXEY'S ROAD LEVY IS MADE Extensive Natural Roads Make 2 1-2 Mills All Necessary. BURNS. Or., Dec. 20. (Special.) The County Court of Harney County, Ore gon, recently adjourned, made a levy of 24 mills for road purposes, which will yield $20,000 for the upkeep and repair of the-roads throughout the county for the coming year. The sum is small considering the mileage covered In this county by the roads, but nature was kind to the tax payers in giving them so many miles of natural roads, and as no extensive operations are called for In the way of roadbuilding in the county at this time the above levy will 'be sufficient in all respects. - World Tour Is On. A motorcycle trip to San Francisco by way of Europe Is being taken by F. J. Redman, of Wichita, Kan., and J. B. Grosenblck. of Denver. Colo. The cyclists will first ride to San Antonio, Texas. They will then follow the coast to New Tork. from which . point they expect to sail- for the old country. After touring Europe they will return to America by way of . the Pacific Ocean. They expect to reach San Fran cisco in time to be present at the 1915 exposition. . B. T. Kinsman Is Dead. B. T. Kinsman, manager of the Chi cago Studebaker branch and formerly connected In a similar capacity with the Studebaker branches at Boston and Buffalo, died suddenly in Buffalo from acute indigestion. Mr. Kinsman was known to a wide circle of friends in the automobile industry. Lane Road Supervisors to-Meet. EUGENE. Or., Dec 20. I Special.) A convention of the 64 road supervis ors of Lane County will be held in Eugene shortly after the new road supervisors for 1914 are announced in January, according to plans of . the County Court. The purpose of the convention will be to outline plans for road work for the coming year and to make a study of modern roadmaking methods, Dealer Advises Against Purchase at Low Price Even of Xew Car, Made by Manufacturer Now Out of Business-1 Reasons Cited. There are bargains and bargains In every walk of life. Just tell a woman, for instance, that there is a reduction sale' or a bargain sale at any store and she'll get up early, be down town outside the store an hour before time, possibly having taken a taxi to get there, spend the whole day buying things she doesn't need and be a: nervous wreck at the end of the day. All this simply Decanse she has learned that there's a bargain. Now- that's the way some people buy their automobiles, according to Fred Vogler, president of the Northwest Auto Company. He did not put It quite that way, hut. In substance that was what he said. There are three or four sides," he said, "to the purchase of second-hand automobiles, which I have In mind, and remember there are, too, three or four classes of purchasers. I suppose the most frequent buyer of A second hand car for .pleasure purposes Is the man who can well afford a new car but prefers to have an old one to learn on. one that will look and run about the same when he has got through with it- as It did before. He certainly figures on getting allowed quite a substantial sura for it when he goes to buy a new car, say half to two thirds of what he gave for 'it. Now the cars which fetch the most from dealers when turned in are those cars of well established makes of which it is easy to get additional parts and whose name is a guarantee at least of sound construction. Good Cars Are Sold. "Some few people may have an Idea that a dealer will sell a man any old thing in. the way of a second-hand car just to get rid of It. A moment's consideration will convince him that such could not be the case. Every man to whom we sell a 'second-hand car we consider as a very live pros pect for a new car In a year at least. We should not want to Incur that man's emnlty by selling him some thing which would not stand up. As a matter of fact all the cars we take In are thoroughly overhauled and quite a sum spent on new parts, and the car has to be a solid investment be fore we let it go out. "WiUi the tendency today towards only the soundest of methods in the automobile business it has natrually come about that certain manufacturers have gone out of business simply be cause one or other of their methods was -wrong. In nine cases out of ten it has been due to' the fact that the car is mechanically imperfect or else' contains parts which do not appeal to the average man. When these firms went into the hands of - the receiver the new cars on hand were naturally ordered sold at what they would fetch for cash. Special Parts Needed. "Suppose Smith has a friend Brown who bought one of those cars last year,' and that Smith sees he can buy a car identically the same for just half the price; his first thought is. 'That's an awful bargain, better than any second-hand proposition,' and naturally it must seem so to him at first sight. But suppose anything goes wrong with that car. He will find that the parts have to be made specially at great cost and also he. will find that when he goes to dealers and asks how much he can get on his car the dealers to a man will offer him about as much as a Junk dealer would offer for a suit of clothes. The ma chine is no use to the dealer; it will cost him too much to repair, and he could find no sale for it. "The man who buys one of these new cars made by firms out of busi ness will have nothing but a hard row to hoe. There wljl be no one to give him- service, there will be no one to take his car : when he wants to ex change it, no factory to get parts from and be will find the car a white elephant." MOISTS TO FIGHT TAX MEDFOHD MOTORISTS WILL REFUSE: TO PAT STATE) LICENSE, Sontaern Oregon Antomoblle Associa tion Orarasdsed and A. C Allea ' la Elected aa President. MEDFORD, Or., Dec. 20. (Special.) At a meeting of local auto owners at the public library, the Southern Oregon Automobile Association was formed, with A. C. Allen president. Dr. Korinek, vice-president, and H. C. Garnett treas urer. Frank Amy was delegated to se cure new members. The immediate work before the association will be to secure the repeal of the state auto tax, which autolsts claim is unconstitutional, as It is a double tax. autos being In cluded In the personal property tax. The membership . fees of $1 wilk.be devoted exclusively to a fight against this tax, legal aid will be secured and all members will refuse to pay the State auto tax for 1914. Although this tax repeal Is the imme diate object of the organization, the as. soclation will be a permanent one and will work for better roads, better laws and better conditions for the autolst. A book describing the best auto drives In Southern Oregon will be Issued, and club auto trips are a possibility. At a meeting in the near future by laws for the association will be drawn UP and details of the anti-tax campaign decided upon. POLK SCHOOL REPORT IN Percentage of Attendance for No vember Is 7.1. AIRL1E. Or.. . Dec 20. (Special.) Showing a percentage of attendance of 7.1 and with 3072 pupils on the regis ter in 70 schools during the month. County Superintendent Seymour ftle'l his monthly- report today tor November. The number of visits by parent was- increased to 190, and 108 members of School Boards paid visits. The whole number of days' attendance was 46,846.5 days, and the number of days' absence totaled 1461.5. The report gives the following data: "Number of schools reporting cor rectly and on time, 6S; not reporting on time, 2: pupils registered new during month. 124: days taught during month, 17.4: pupils neither absent nor tardy, 1874: average, dally attendance, 2696 pupi.a." twSSTTrP I HtJLVLim CsW Owt (hasyrsbd) srosa aa gin amrMtM fcH ft ' HT T ; KECHTZB AT DaXITSRY HO. . Fresnp, Calif,, Deo., 19, 1913. 35P0 F 80 BLUE Howard Automobile Company, . Portland, Oregon. ' Buiok "Six" with I". E. Gross, Claude McGee, Mr. Pierce and Mrs. Doyle arrived at our garage from twelfth and Madison t ' Streets, Oakland, at ten thirty. ' Gross drove all the way without a change and without a stop in eight hours and ten minutes. Speedometer shows one hundred eight" four and five-tenths miles. Gasoline used was nine and five tenths gallons, making an average of, nineteen and forty-two one hundredths miles per gallon. " Can any "Six" beat it? HOPM - WATERMAN BROS. COMPANY, INC. HOWARD AUTOMOBILE CO. MEL G. JOHNSON, Manager Phones, Main 4555, A 2550 Fourteenth and Davis Streets SOLID TIRE HAS LIMIT WARNING SOl'NDED AGAINST OVER LOADING TRICK. R. G. Harris Says First Indication Is Appearance of Bulge la Rubber, Called "Traction Wave." Many motor truck owners have the Idea that there Is no limit to the abil ity of a solid tire to bear loads and go pile their cars high with "cargo" without any regard for their tires. Solid tires, however, are as sensitive to overloading as plienmatics, and R. G. Harris, head of the motor tire de partment of the Firestone Tire & Rub ber Company, sounds a warning of that tire abuse when he says: "The Immediate result of overload ing a solid tire is the appearance of a bulge, called a 'traction wave.' in the rubber Just in front of the point of contact between tire and street. This wave with the enormous weight back of it, works through to the very base of the tire. ' "o tires are made of pure rubber. The gum must be compounded with chemicals to give the desired wear-resisting, qualities. The traction wave lessens the cohesive power of the com pound and if not guarded against eventually will tear the tire away from the steel rim. Not only does the wave ruin the tire, but it also affects the truck as though It were going up hill, Involving a constant loss of power. "Several methods of preventing the separation of the tire from the channel have been devised. One is that of a hard rubber base vulcanized into the channel. The channel has a saw-tooth base, and the hard rubber filling these saw teeth, -and vulcanized into them, becomes an Integral part of the channel base. To this hard rubber in turn is vulcanized the tread. "A second method involves the use of a metal sub-base to which Is dove tailed and vulcanized a hard rubber base.- To this hard base the tread Is united. No channel is used in this type, but side abrasion Is prevented by an Intermediate band, projecting out on each side. "The side wire tire Is the third pre ventive of tread separation. Two end less retaining wires with flat sides are sprung over the edge of the rim and engage the ends of the cross wires, which are flat on the upper side. "Whether or not tread separation is prevented, however, overloading re mains Injurious to the tire. The com pound Is crushed and sooner or later is broken down entirely." "Milk" Joke Gets "Goaf of Auto Dealer. Bob Lefevre Finds That Vnon Op portunity, Bert Roberts Can More Than Even Score. BOB LEFEVRE, formerly Wlnton man at Spokane, was in town last week to see Bert Roberts, who has the Wlnton factory branch under his wing here. The former Is always pull ing some good ones, but he got singed by the auiet Roberts right on top of a warning he himself had issued about getting stung. Roberts cleverly led the conversa tion round (It was quite a work of art the way he did it, by mentioning that R. D. Inman had taken his new Wlnton into Arizona with him on a trip and would inspect some mines), to the mining industry; and then he said: "By the way. It's extraordinary how that murderer, Lopez, in Utah, Is holding out down in the mine isn't it?. -He's been in the mine a fortnight now." "What on earth Is he living pnr' queried Bob, getting Interested. "Oh, he had ammunition cached away, and he's been living all the time on milk," said Roberts, Waiting for the bite. "MilkT Why, how the deuce did he get milk here' for that length of timer1 said Lefevre. And then Bert's face showed just the trace of a smile for half a second. "Tiiey do say that he got the Sheriffs goat!" and with that Bob had to admit the laugh was on him. Both these men have Just had let ters from Roy C. Bothwell, of the well-known firm of Bothwell & Mc Conaughy. of Salt Lake, who was out here recently on a trip. He drove his old Wlnton all the way back last month and made such a good showing In spite of bad weather and roads that Bothwell decided he did not in the least want to change makes. All he wanted was a new model, which he bought when he got back. Riding Costume Suggested. According to Miss Nora Hough, one of the most enthusiastic motorcyclists of England, the folluwin? Is the most suitable costume for the woman rider; A three-quarter length Russian blouse with belt stitched on at the waist, Parisian collar and three fairly large pockets, a walking-length skirt and close fitting cap. This outfit should be of strong tweed of mixed colors. Miss Hough does not approve of the extremely short skirt. She says the walking-length skirt is Just as "con venient while riding and does not at tract undue attention when one desires to leave the mount and walk through the streets.. MOTORCYCLE NOTES A motorcycle wos the first vehicle to cross the new $75,000 viaduct atf.Wau kegan. III. . . . Sheriff Martin Verhagen, of Apple ton, Wis., rides a motorcycle when serving notices throughout the coun try. . . . - George Olson, of Minneapolis, Minn., has Just returned from a week's mo torcycle - hunting trip. Olson had 10 partridges, 16 rabbits and one 250 pound deer strapped to his motorcycle when he arrived home. ; ... In the WItwatersrand district of South Africa there were 2600 motor cycles registered up to June 30. ... A mid-Winter endurance run is being planned by motorcyclists of Ohio. The City of Wheeling, W. Va., has decided to use motorcycles in its police department . '. . Chief of Police Henry W. Dunn,' of Omaha, Neb., has asked for additional motorcycle officers in his department. ... Henry R. Baldwin, a historian, uses a motorcycle, in searching for graves of Revolutionary soldiers throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania. ... The Winnipeg, Canada, Motorcycle Club has planned a series of social events to keep the riders together dur ing the Winter months. . A 550-mile motorcycle trip through Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota has Just been completed by L. W. Hoffcnan, of Canton. S. D. CHILDREN IH ROAD RICE SUNDAY SCHOOL USES NOVEL PLAN TO EXCITE INTEREST. . Points Won In Bible Classes Used to Indicate Miles Traveled Over . -Lincoln Highway Route. DETROIT. Mich., Dec. 20. (Special.) Two hundred children who attend the Sunday school of the Fort-street set tlement at Seventeenth and Fort streets are traveling weekly over the Lincoln Highway, according to a new plan. The trip is under the direction of Edward McLean, superintendent of the Sunday school, and has aroused widespread in terest. When the Lincoln Highway route was announced some time ago Mr. Mc Lean took a large wall map of the country and traced in red the road from New York- to San Francisco. This map was placed on the wall of the set tlement assembly-room. He then -devised a plan to interest the children in the highway and at the same time pro mote better attendance and greater at tention to the Sunday school lessons. There are 18 classes or teams in the school, each one with a teacher, known as the chauffeur. Various makes of automobiles have been apportioned to each class and they go forward from town to town through New Jersey all the way to San Francisco because of attendance, ability to read and remem ber the weekly text, etc. Five point3 are allowed for attendance, one point for reading the text, etc. Every point counts a mile and some of the classes are in Ohio, while others have not been able to get beyond Philadelphia. It will probably take several montiis before all have safely reached San Francisco and can start -back. In the meantime the attendance in the Sunday school has grown and more attention is paid to the exercises. In fact considerable diplomacy must be exercised by the teachers to prevent undue rivalry. Mme. Alice Deschamps, a well known French sportswoman, celebrated her 84th birthday by taking part In a lawn tennis, a golf and a croquet match at T,e Touquet. It's the prince of cars and car of Princes. Two Grand Dukes and nineteen Princes drive Fords in Russia. And the sturdy car is as popular "with both classes and masses the world over. Its unequaled merit has won it world-wide recognition. Five hundred dollars is the new price of the Ford runabout; the touring car is five fifty; the town car seven fifty f. o. b. Detroit, complete with equipment. Get catelogue and particulars from Ford Motor Company, 61 Union avenue, corner East Davis street, Portland. You Should Not Deci that White Trucks are too high-priced or that your business cannot af- ford them. . ' Voitr own delivery problem In already Molred by nome par ticular firm with White Truck -ami we have their expln . nation In writing waiting fur yon here, call or write for it. The White Company K. W. Hill, Mkt. Rmndirav mnti flfltr Iciicaffc-: Over 4000 White Truck Now In Uae Your Conscience WO! Tell You to Buy the Oakland G Kip-8- "Watch for the German Silver V-shaped Radiator. Tou see them everywhere. The Car With a Conscience Now Commands Your Worthy Investigation Gerlinger Motor Car Company King and Washington St.
