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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1914)
THE " SUNDAY' OREGONTAX; PORTLAND. DECEMBER' 20, 1914. CALIFORNIA AUTO AUTOS HAUL FREIGHT P ITS WHO' S WHO AMONG CITY AUTOISTS LAW GALLED IDEAL Many Portland Lines Open Up Remote Markets. K State Speed Limit Obviates Danger of Arrest by Town Marshals Along Line. FARMERS ARE AIDED ALSO TOURS ARE NOW PLEASANT Fines for Breaking Ordinances Un known to Motorists Frequent and Warning Is Issued Xew Fender Demonstrated. BT RALPH J. STAEHLJ. California, always on the watch to make laws, or roads, or anything: else which may benefit the motorist In gen eral, has now one of the most ideal speed statutes In the United States. Its value lies in the fact that it is an universal law. The motorist paus ing through the different parts of the country bas only to 'learn one speed lifff- and to govern his speed accordingly. This follows a decision of the AddbI late Court of the Third District which recently decided that the State Motor vehicle law preceded all municipal laws covering the same subjects. In congested districts other rules will govern under the special sections or the law which fix the speed within restricted zones. The pace - on high' ways - on which there are many houses. Is limited to 20 miles an hour.- The manner of approaching blind curves and bridges along the road, all are governed by the state law. Motorists hail this with delight, for it has eliminated the petty graft from which some of the smaller cities grew fairly rich. Now the Sunday tourist can take an outing without the con stant dread of being arrested for breaking laws of which he knew noth ing. In some parts of California the game got so bad that automobile clubs warned members and passing tourists not to include certain towns of the tour, as they probably would have to pay a handsome fine for the right to pass through. There is some talk of requiring auto trucks to be equipped with fenders. To the layman, that does not seem like an objectionable feature. At least it would seem the proper thing on some of the heavy city cars which offer no chance of escape for the pe destrian If he is hit. In New York they are showing a new fender called the Royer Automatic The device drops the instant that the auto hits a pedestrian and saves the person hit from being run over. E. H. Royer, the inventor, is demon strating the device. His partner stands in the street and lets the automobile hit him at a speed of 14 miles an hour several miles faster than autos usu ally are traveling when they hit some one and the fender picks him up with out Injury. The worst feature of the truck is the big rear wheel found on some of them. This stands out further than the front' wheel in many instances and is apt to hit the pedestrian who has gauged his step by the front one. Because of the excellent facilities which it has for such work, the West ern Electric Company has decided to make automobile repairing one of the features of its business instead of a side issue. The shop at Sixth and Sal mon streets will also 'be the scene of auto activity. In spite of the war and the fact that almost all European cars which are being manufactured are taken over al most immediately by the governments under which they are made, several of the European makers have space at the New York auto show and will have several cars on display. The 1915 auto salon, as the exhibit of foreign-built cars is known, will be held as usual by the Automobile Im porters' Alliance. Not only will the exhibits be there, but there is every indication that the foreign show will be larger than ever before, with more individuals and more styles. Speaking of auto styles, several Eastern men are waging a campaign to eliminate that from auto literature. Their point Is that "style" implies a passing fancy. They want to call them "models" as implying something for the future as well as the present. The latest among the Good Roads projects under consideration Is the , - . l-?:f I 4 . V. I. K L1.LKK, VICI'KESIUE.T PORTLAND RAILWAY, LIGHT & FOWBIt COMPANY. Good roads have one of their stanchest advocates In F. I. Fuller, vice-president of the Portland trac tion and power system. Mr. Fuller drives a Stearns, and, while Portland's streetcars- are noted up and down the Coast, and in: fact all over the country, for good service and. the best of equipment. Mr, Fuller nevertheless gets around a little bit faster with his motor. The fact that he is connected with the railway is one of the reasons why he is boosting good roads. The company expects much from Its freight department and the good roads movement means more to be hauled. . For the city it means a greater city and a greater city means more people and more nickels. Aside from that, Mr. Fuller Is an enthusiastic motorist for the pleasure there is in it. He always drives the car himself and the country roads are never too bad to demand . periodical attention from the vice-president of -the streetcar company. building of a highway from Chicago to Jacksonville, Fla. The Iloosler Motor Club, through its secretary, W. S. Gil breath, is the originator of the Idea and so far has It carried that the auto men already have named the imaginary road "Dixie Way." . The Seattle Automobile Club's month ly bulletin is a progressive bit of club work. - Its December issue contains a lot of pithy news for the members of the club. The bulletin is not a costly affair, be ing printed on both sides of a single folded sheet. Between the two pages are the president's and the secretary's orders and requests. The latest issue also contains a lot of valuable information concerning the state laws. Accident hints and "what not to do" occupy another page. It is the aim of the committee also to keep the members posted on road conditions and touring information generally. D. A .Waters, factory representative of the Cleveland mechanical depart ment, is in the territory and will spend about a month showing the local serv ice experts some of the latest discov eries of the factory men. Methods which tend to simplyfy and such detail are his specialty. The Covey Motor Car Company has received two eight-cylinder closed cars which have attracted a great deal of attention. They are finished in the best and present beautiful examples of the body-maker's art. ' Just to show that it does not take a new car nor a specially tuned one to bring out the gasoline economy of the Franklin. J. C. Braly, the local distribu tor, is going to arrange for an economy run, taken part in by Borne of the Port land owners, who always remain boost ers. Right now he is also demonstrat ing the value of the air-cooling system with nothing to freeze about the motor. At the last meeting of the Coterie, one of the leading woman's clubs, that convened on Wednesday at the home of Mrs. E 3. Coovert, a resolution was adopted .acknowledging the courtesy of the Maxwell Motor Car Co. in allowing women the same privileges as men in demonstrating cars. The Maxwell agents, Cohen Bros., have followed out the policy of the parent company and will have women salespeople. . DODGE-TO ENTER FIELD FOREIGN REPRESENTATIVE VISIT SOUTH AMERICA. TO The Overland Six bas been announced and Is being shown In San Francisco, where it is making a big hit. The car Is an extremely nimble one, an Is ex pected to be a big seller. The first Portland car is expected soon. - Blar Chance to Build Up Export Trade la Pleasing American Model Seen and Effort to Be Made. Before leaving to establish perma nent headquarters In Singapore. Straits Settlement. G. E. Willems, recently ap pointed foreign representative of Dodge Bros., will visit Central and South America with a view to develop ing an export trade with these coun tries. Mr. Willems will sail shortly and expects to pass two or three months In the Southern Hemisphere. "American motorcar makers, devot ing their efforts to the manufacture of .moderate-priced cars, have succeed ed in turning out models that should appeal forcibly to the buyer In Latin countries," says Mr. Willems. "A car may have a powerful and efficient motor, but the South American pur chaser demands, in addition, pleasing lines of . the tjtream-line type. "French and English cars have been given credit in the Latin countries for originating the present mode In body designs, but the American manufac turer, with his enormous production, has hot only Improved on the original designs, but offers his product at a lower price. My first Impression of Dodge Bros.' new car was Its striking resemblance to the better type of light car now being marketed by French concerns. This appearance, combined with the powerful motor- In the car, should render it a big seller in the for eign market. I am confident that we can build up an important export trade not only in South America, but with all countries not affected by the European war." ROAD-SIGX CAMPAIGN NOW ON McMinnville Automobile Club Acts to Have Guides Everywhere. M"MINTTVTLLE, Or.. Dec 19. (Spe cial.) The McMinnville Automobile Club has launched a campaign to install guides or finger boards on all roads and highways in the various counties of the state. G. S. Wright, president of the Mc Minnville Automobile Club, has for warded to all county courts a letter drawing attention to section 6317 of Lord's Oregon Laws, which provides that road supervisors shall erect such guides or finger boards at all forks and crossings of roads or highways and maintain them. It also provides that supervisors shall not be paid until they have complied with the law. The let ter also sets forth that tourists visit ing the Panama - Pacific Exposition will be aided and Impressed if the re quired guides are placed. The Yamhill County Court, aided by the MoMInnvllle Automobile Club, has placed adequate road, signs throughout the county. - CHEHAMS ROADS ARE BEST Washington Highway Commissioner Praises County's System. EL1IA, Wash, Dec. 19. (SpeciaL)) According to the annual report of R. Roy. State Highway Commissioner, Chehalis County has the best roads of any county In the state. "The average cost of the gravel roads has been around J2500 a mile, with an added expenditure of J300 a mile a year for a few years for maintenance," says the report. "An effort Is being made to keep the roads in excellent con dition by using the patrol system as far as possible." At present Chehalis County has 28 miles of permanent rolled gravel roads eosting S90.026. and five and one-halt miles of concrete pavement, costing $34,225. The County Engineer says bids will be available to build 25 more miles of road, besides maintaining the roads already in use. ROAD SUPERVISOR SUGGESTED 'Walla Walla Commissioner Sees - Chance for Saving in Work. WALLA WALLA, Wash., Dec. 19. (Special.) A plan to do county road work cheaper and more effectively is being advanced by Commissioner H. A. Reynolds, who suggested Wednesday to the Board the employing of a road superintendent to supervise all county work In an auto: abolishment of the job. of supervisor, allowing a foreman to ' each gang and requiring him to stay with the gang. At present there are four supervisors, each of whom has a foreman. The saving, it is es timated, would be MOO a month or $5000 a year. H. D. Eldrldge. another Commission er, stated he favored the plan. He and Reynolds are a majority of the Board. Agricultural, Dairy and Poultry Products Are Brought to City by Trucks Which Take Out Big - Shipments of Merchandise. - Just . what the auto truck business means to Portland and the volume to which It already has grown was brought out In- a chat with S. Harder. of the Reo truck service, one of the several companies which -runs daily trucks Into the country on a schedule which is as exacting as that of the rail roads. His business is taken by way of ex ample, and while he has kept no exact figures of tonnage, the amount which those trucks move may he arrived at in a general' way, enough to show the larire business which they create. The Reo service has 16 trucks of that name In operation to. points within 25 miles of Portland. In many places these are in active competition with the rail roads, but In many others they carry on the business where a railroad would not pay. More Than Two Tons Daily Average. These 16 trucks handle on an average 2Vi tons of merchandise each day. The stuff, as a rule, is not weighed on all loads, but the truck is loaded enough to be within the limits of guarantee and 2M tons is a conservative estimate. This means that the trucks carry daily about 40 tons of merchandise matter.. This is the amount which leaves Portland every day. But t'ae trucks do not return empty. They bring back every kind of farm produce eggs, butter, milk, fresh meat, chick ens, garden truck, hay and fruit. At this particular time of the year the business on the return trips Is lighter than ordinarily, as this Is the slack time for the ranchers. But the average return load of each truck is about a ton and a half. Troutdale Shipments Are Many. Just now the Troutdale truck is bringing in 2700 sacks of potatoes and there has been so much business that the truck on the Gresham run has had to be called on to help pick up a load on the way home. The milk which these trucks bring each day amounts to 300 ten-gallon Cans, but in the Spring three times that amount will be handled by the autos. The fruits and vegetables, will increase accordingly until some trucks will make two trips a day and the imports will far exceed the "exports. Recently the company put on a truck in Clarke County, Wash. This has been in operation about two weeks and has already been declared a boon by the- farmers. However, trouble with the Road Supervisor may cause its recall. Other people who are doing a heavy freight business are Williams Brothers. of Oregon City. They operate six trucks between here and Oregon City, taking in the Clackamas County towns. Trade Amounts to Thousands. Other firms are the Pioneer Auto Truck Company and Parker & Gerber. These people all have regularly estab lished routes, which mean thousands of dollars in trade to Portland which would not come here otherwise. The truck business Is looked on by such men as Amos Benson and J. B, Yeon as the biggest arguments for bet ter roads. "There is an impression that we go only where there are railroads, with the object of bucking them," says Mr. Harder. "They are fighting us and trying to close the roads on us, as they have done In Washington County, are now trying to do in Clackamas, and have in a measure done In Clarke County. . "Most of our business comes from territory where there are no railroads, or where our customers are -far re moved from the railroads. Tracks Aid Farmer. "The truck business will make farm property of every description more valuable, as it enables a man to make more out of his farm, and since'' the productiveness is the basis for taxa tion, we may naturally expect a more equal distribution of taxes. In that way, the arguments of those who still fight good roads or to keep trucks and commercial vehicles from using those that we have are hurting their own in tereftts. "The produce which we take away from Portland is from merchants of every description. We carry every thing from livestock to. nails, and NEW MODELS OF THE NATIONAL AND HUPMOBILE WHICH ARRIVED IN PORTLAND DURING WEEK AND TWO OTHERS THAT WILL BE HERE SOON. t.1 III r ' A II II ' Tt -i t - . - - II II I sn -7,"-" --y --11111 . U- i (r .-s !t onaaj -j irs4?xx " ll J" n iihlji yf 'jjT JIs.'s 'ill 1 Your Sense I of . Values and the Franklin Car ' I 'HE critical automobile buyer, especially the man who has ' used up one or more ordinary can, has learned sereral things that are not in the book And when he selects the Frankjin he does it in the light of his mature judgment about automobiles. Now let us give you a few facts The Fraakua is ths only recf-air-coU engine m water, plambinj, bo overbemtiof m Sumner, bo fmzing in Water. The Fraaklia has a wood tZL, instead of rifid, heavy sted. The Franklin always kas ihi fmll eUiptie mprimgu Tks Fraaklin is essapned with xfrw-iii tmn rssslUas in wners' aswsca si 8,000 to 10,000 miles UlHtaf tires. We re the ezxlushre Frankhs dealers in this city can show you the Car, and right now are in shape to defiVer a limited namber of cart before January first possibly, before Christmas, if you order quickly. Come see the FraakBn. Sx-TJnrtT Franklin Taarutj Car. 2750 IW, $2300 BRALY AUTO COMPANY 31 North Nineteenth St. Main 4880, A 3881 MiLiLE :2jlejs;e:q inuLH s s rrnu. Annonnciii The Opening of mm Battery Repairing Battery Chargingr SERVICE STATION Chanslor & Lyon Co. 627 Washington Street (Near Twentieth) leaver It anywhere. In that way we have- opened new markets to the deal ers and from the farmer's end we are giving him new markets, too." TRIP IS OFFERED WITH CAT? Studebaker: Dealer - Breaks Record With Unusual Offer. Notwithstanding the enterprising methods of city automobile dealers In pushing the sale of their respective lines,: It has remained for a small but mighty enterprising: country dealer to put all past efforts In the shade by of fering to a club of five customers a free trip from the Northwest to Detroit and return, all expenses paid. The maker of this offer is Henry J. Tarmance, Studebaker dealer at Water ville. Wash, who has advertised that within 60 days from date of ad all per sons purchasing a Studebaker "six" at standard price will be griven a free trip from Wenatchee, Wash., to Detroit and return transportation, board and lodg ing paid by him. He makes this offer providing five such sales can be made in that period. He states his oDject is to rive th purchaser an opportunity to see Ktu de baker automobiles manufactured ana becomo more familiar with the Stude baker policy, stating that everyone of these Studebaker purchasers will be a booster for Studebaker cars ever af ter. . A deposit of $300 Is required on each order, to be credited when car Is de livered. February 1 is the date for the trip fo start. Second SOO-MlIe Tropliy AVon. At an average speed of practically 60 miles an hour, Lee Taylor, of Mld dletown. O., flashed around the Grand Prize Automobile Course, at Savannah. Ga. and succeeded in capturing the second annual 300-mlle motorcycle classic. His time was live hours two minutes and 32 seconds. This smashed last year's record, made by Bob Perry, by 20 minutes. At the last lap, Jo a Wolters, of Chicago, was leading the, field when he blew out a tire and was forced to ride the last five miles on the rim. - He finished second, and Irving Janke. of Milwaukee, Wis., was third. The event proved an ex citing one, nine of the 33 machines en tered crossing th tape within IS minutes. Brttlaai Women's) Rifle Corps. London Globe. The women of London do not confin themselves to knitting socks, sew ing shirts, making bandages and at tending the wounded. Mrs. Haverfleld, wife of a British officer, has formed a volunteer corps for homo defense, and the women are drilling, rifle shooting and marching. If the Germans come, an enthusiastic and capable body of women fighters will be offered to the War Office. JUST A MINUTE: Save 15 to 35 on Gasoline or Distillate Viih a Master Carburetor Ten days' trial STORE OPEN ETESISGS UXTII, CHRISTMAS ARCHER AND WIGGINS OAK STREET, CORNER SIXTH. AUTOMOBILE SUPPLIES SPORTING GOODS NO GOLD FEET If you will use Clark Foot Warmers BALLOU & WRIGHT BROADWAY AT OAK BOWSER GASOLINE and OIL TANKS STORAGE SYSTEMS POR PUBLIC AND PRI. VATE GARAGES. S. D. Stoddard. District Sunt. Sale. 415 Corbet Bldaf. alaJn 1470. DIAMOND TIRES YBkaxiziBg&Relreadias R.E.BLCDGETT. 8l&h?0c,wk "rr r 7Tnh'i .rA.-r- xt". -Pit: II II I - - ... - . i