TITE SUKBAT OREGOXIAInY rOltTLANIV MAHCII 14, 1915.
PORTLAND YOUTH CONVERTS HIS MOTORCYCLE INTO WORKABLE AUTOMOBILE.
BOY CHANGES CYCLE
10 MINIATURE AUTO
"
iv v '-..- v .. ; jcs- i
Jruman B. Cook Uses Merkel
Motor and Spare Time to
Construct Unique Car.
t
40-MILE SPEED ATTAINED
lf.Wi,R
-VrTi "VtT ri -FT
3
Ca
W
ileighls Scaled on Higl Gear by Tiny
Jlachine That Stands Less Than
30 Inches Above Gronnd.
Work Done Alone.
BV CHESTER A. MOOHES.
With an ordinary motorcycle as a
nucleus and 100. an Ingenious brain, a
liberal amount of spare time, a world
f energy and another world of pa
tience as 'stock in trade. Truman B.
Cook a 22-year-old Portland boy. has
made' an automobile that attracts more
attention on the local streets than any
other vehicle.
The car has been named "348 in
honor of Old Doc Tak's machine that
has been pulling off stunts on the front
pas; of the comic supplement to the
Sunday Oregonlan. and as soon as the
Dotty worn wu - , .
is completed this numerical name will
.a. 1. ..;,lAaa t na J" r in
be paintea acrosa mc o'""
bold detail. . -s-..t
TounK Cook, who lives at 11-S East
Salmon street, attended Washington
High School until two years ago. W hile
In school he was to be found In the
Khops of the manual training ePrt:
Thent most of the time. Later ha started
out to do auto repair work on his own
responsibility, being affiliated with a
machine firm part of the time.
Ideas Use Are Original.
About a year ago he grew tired riding
his six-horsepower 1911 model Merkel
motorcycle and resolved that he would
convert it Into a "regular" automobile.
But before meddling with any appa
ratus he set about drawing plans for a
mall motorcar and passed four .
in that process. Almost all of the ideas
Incorporated in these plans originated
In his own head. . . , . ,
For Instance, he worked 6ut a leather
universal coupling only to see the same
type announced formally to the world
a few months later in the Jeffries car.
He also devised a mechanical starter
that does away with the necessity of
having a crank on the car and which
permits him always to set it in motion
from the drivers seat. Now the same
principle is being installed on the Ford
automobiles.
After every detail in the proposed au
tomobile had been accounted for in the
plana, young Cook rolled up his sleeves
and commenced going over his motor
cycle engine carefully. He reset the
magneto and then installed a fan that
he had run off by the aid of ma
chinery. Frame Is Traded for Rims.
His Merkel bad two good rims of the
size he decided to use on his auto. By
trading In his motorcycle frame he ob
tained two more rims and sent East for
four small automobile hubs and spoked
them. . . .
Having access to a machine shop.
Cook went to work at night, after
hours, locked the doors and carried on
his experiments. Edison-like. Here he
built, entirely by his own individual ef
forts, the axles, transmission, frame
and body that have contributed to the
making of his car. Most of the parts
were welded out of crucible steel and
aluminum. For example, the friction
disc in the transmission was made of
aluminum so that it would be quieter
than the usual friction drive.
Car 34S as it stands today has a
wheclbase of 98 inches, weighs about
4 40 pounds and has a 36-inch tread. It
carries tires 28 by 2 inches in size,
tht-Mine used on the motorcycle before
its volution. The gasoline tank is in
the cowl. When the body work is fin
ished the car will have a V-shaped radi
ator resting on the front edge of the
chassis and a sloping hood.
Streamline Body Is Picked.
'Hy car is going to have a strictly
streamline body." said Cook yesterday
as he smiled in appreciation of the
crowd which had gathered in front of
The" Oregonlan building to inspect the
unusual-looking machine. The hood is
to have a graceful slope. In the many
trips I have made in 348 over the paved
streets I have never had to make an
adjustment. As soon as the roads get a
little better I am going to drive to
Salem. I think I can make the trip at
a cost of about 15 cents."
And, perhaps he can for the little car
Is" said to go 35 or 40 miles on, a single
gallon of gasoline. Its tank holds only
two gallons. As Cook stands beside his
machine explaining its points to by
standers he towers above the steering
wheel like a giant. He is a lad well
ever six feet tall, while the highest
point on the car is only about 30 inches
from the ground. Not only that but the
youthful inventor is about as tall as the
machines is long.
But small as the car is it carries one
of the biggest numbers Issued thus far
bv the Secretary of State's office. 10.524. ,
Th's license cost Cook $3. the same tax
paid by the owners of Fords. By the
standard raring it has 7 8-10 horse
power, but it actually develops consid
erably more than that.
Forty Miles Made on Straightaway.
If you don"t believe it. take a spin in
the car some day with Cook at the
wheet A few days ago the youthful
Inventor called to take the writer out
for a Joy-ride and the speed at which
he sent that little car through the Fort
land streets shocked many of the "na
tives." It looked like an inspired fly
speck as it dodged in between street
cars, heavy motor trucks and vehicles
In general. But Cook had perfect con
trol at all times and proved it by caus
ing" It purposely to skid on the slippery
streets. At this trick he can mimic al
most any of the modern dancing steps.
On the straightaway Cook ran up a
speed of 40 miles an hour and he has
demonstrated the strength of the car
by climbing Portland Heights on the
high gear. The other day he towed in a
much larger car that had broken down
somewhere on the East Side.
Car 348 is easy to manipulate. Sim
plv bv pulling a cord the driver can
turn the motor over at any time and
.i . a,- .ncinr. in motion. A fOOt-
lll'in -
brake, foot accelerator, a foot clutcn
. 1 n mImm m v b reached
ana conifi - ,
by either foot from sitting posture. The
only agent of control located on the
steering column is the spark, which can
be touched by either hand that is on
the steering wheel.
rian Iong Trip Awheel Via Oregon.
Mr and Mrs. Dick Whitney, of Slay
ton. MJnn.. are planning an extensive
motorcycle trip. connus
mately 15.000 miles. Starting about
June 1. the Whitneys expect to head
straight for San Francisco, where they
will spend several weeks visiting the
Exposition. From there they will fol
low the coast up to Oregon and then
take a diagonal course to Florida.
After spending some time in the South
land they will again mount the two
wheeler and start for home. The re
turn trip will be made by way of New
lork fiiCC
r.j!m yjf 1,1 " .
AID TO FARM TOLD
Hard-Surface Roads Popular
in Jackson, Says Auto Man.
MARKET BROUGHT NEARER
Frank O. Kiggs Declares Farmers
Along Medford-Ashland Route
Are Enthusiastic Over Im
provement in Highway.
"If you want to know whether hard
surface roads are popular with - the
farmers when they know what they
are, all you have to do is to make a
trip down to Jackson County and you
will learn quickly," said Frank C.
Eiges. the Packard and Jeffery motor
car dealer.
"I have Just returned from Medtora
and Ashland, where I had the pleasure
the new hard-surface
highway laid out by State Highway
Engineer Bowlby autt wnicn proviues a
road like a city street from Central
Medford to Ashland, a
distance of about 17 miles. All along
the way I talked with rancners ana
farmers, who were loud in their praise
nt tiia Enipnriid inmrovement which en
abled them to get their products to
market any time easily ana uncapij.
Motor trucks and motor buses make
....nr .r-ina ninncr the entire road.
the buses making trips about every
two hours between Mediora ana Asn
land. Thn.a livinc ti r the road are no
longer isolated and living on a farm
now has all the charm or country me
without its inconveniences.
Road to Fair Improved.
a it-.a h v ihA inoulries are coming in
as to the condition of the road be
tween Portland and San Tancisco, as
there will doubtless be a large travel
between the Rose City and the Panama
Exposition this Summer. Many of the
worst places have been improved, so
that the drive should be a comfortable
one.
"On the last trip I made over the
i can iVnnrffira we found that
riiu m .
from Dunsmulr to Redding1 the most
trying but I understand that this has
now been greatly improvea prepara
tory to laying the hard-surface pave
ment That 70 miles was much worse
than any part of the road in Oregon.
. i hail HTintq in our Btate
DUL H" ' "
should be eliminated by the middle of
this Summer. Pass t-reeK canyon n
i AMMAi1 and si nn rt of it macad
amized making a good Summer road
out of what was a bottomless mudhole.
Crater Uke Visit Crged.
rk. Etafa Mitrhwftv DeDartment has
announced this week that it has ap
propriated $20.000 to regrade and sur-l
face Cow Creek Canyon, which was an
other hard pull. The new grade over
the Siskivou Mountains has been com
Dieted and will be opened for traffic as
soon as the weather is settled enough
to warrant it, so unless we have - a
lot of wet weather later in the sea
son, the road should be in excellent
condition by early in June. No motor
ist should hesitate to make the drive
after that time, and it will be found
a beautiful and enjoyable one.
"By all means spare time enough to
visit Crater Lake and enjoy the beau
ties and wonders of that delightful
country."
Cycling Possible in Alaska.
In spite of the popular belief that
Alaska is snowbound for a large part
of the year, word has Just been re
ceived from E. E. Beattie, of Juneau,
the capital, that only for a few days
at a time has motorcycling, been
stopped by the snow this Winter.
Beattie says that the roads in Alaska
at this time of the year are in excel
lent condition for motorcycling, and
that the temperature is not too low to
make the sport a real pleasure. There
are many riders in Juneau, where there
is also a live motorcycle cluo.
Automobile Trade Associa
tion Honors President.
Silver Cigarette Case Presented H.
R. Bert) RonVrta by 50 Asso
ciates on His Retirement.
rT,HIS is positively the second time
X in my life that I have been so
overwhelmingly surprised that I am not
responsible for what I say. The first
complete surprise came when I pro
posed to my wife and she accepted me."
This was the declaration of H. R.
(Bert) Roberts, retiring president of
the Portland Automobile Trade Asso
ciation, at the luncheon meeting of the
association at the Commercial Club last
Tuesday when his rival automobile
dealers presented him with a handsome
solid silver cigarette case as a memen
. TTnfpal of their appreciation of his
work for the association.
F. C. Atwell, local agent lor me macK
and Saurer trucks, in a presentation
nAAor, tniri hnw.a. "Quorum" of eicht
members about a year ago had elected
Mr. Roberts president of the associa
tion and how the organization had
grown in size, in importance and in
spirit through the influence of Mr.
Roberts. Mr. ttODerts reai-uuoe wtm
greeted with an ovation.
Tk. Aliravatt rARR WAS bOUfht With
a fund contributed to by 60 prominent
automobile dealers ana acuconui jr men
of Portland, w. u. uaroe, ina-imser m
. i r.-Aa-r.r. Wntnr Par Comnanv. the
originator of the plan, who "passed
the hat, reports mat evciy muii nu
a good word for Mr. Roberts, as he
quickly flipped over his subscription.
At the time Mr. Roberts was elected
i Af t Via oHunniiiffnn he was the
Portland manager of the Winton branch
but he has since affiliated himself with
the Frank C. Riggs Company and is
now the sales manager of that con
cern, i
Every 24 hours there is ponred Into the
Harlem River 99.000.000 gallons of New
York City's sewage; Into the North River
132.000.000 gallons and into the East River
2tU.000.Ono gallons.
NEW RULES GUIDE
Notary Is Eliminated From Li
cense Proceedings.
LIEN STATUS IS CHANGED
Legislation Entitles Owner to Notice
and Itemized Statement 'Latest
Figures Show 13,0'ft Autos
Licensed in 1915.
Although the fact is not generally
known, the recent Oregon Legislature
passed several laws which affect the
public status of the automobile owner
and the management of his car.
Originally when an owner wished to
obtain a license to operate his car he
was compelled to marshal the as
sistance of a notary public and make a
formal affidavit pertaining to the speci
fications of his car. This usually cost
him about il every year. But, in con
sequence of a law passed by the ism
Legislature, an owner is required sim
ply to sign a statement without the
"O. K." of a notary.
Prior to the passage of another new
, nwro- had the ontion. upon
the sale of a car, of selling the license-
tag with the car or Keeping u w w
transferred to another car. The new
, tliof transfer DTlVt-
lege and made a standard rule that the
license-tag must always follow the car.
Lien Proceedings Changed.
mr- - T .l.lntit.a alsn TASSed a 13-W
prepared by M. O. Wilkin publisher of
r a.. conrrf of Portland.
CUB AUIUIUUMWC , -
which amends the proceedings In tne
foreclosure of liens on auim.
. c.nr.arl a car owner could
repixiris. 1.... . j
not dispute a repair bill and had no op-
portuntty to aeiena nnucu - 71
f, ha KVi.riff nermitted to
lien nut - , . .
. at- nn A. bond SiVBTl DV
the owner pending litigation that might
settle the dispute.
Now when a car is seizea me "
is entitled to notice and to have a
copy of the lien, and an itemized bill
showing the status of the account. He
.1 i ,i ; l n i Ma m with the
may aiso "'i'
Sheriff which automatically refers the
question to tne courts, mu, uum-s .."
7 . , i i ,. ..rirllAfr-Arl tn arive a bond
inieriiri, no r".'-'o--
and use the car' on that guarantee.
This law will prevent "i"';"""
garage men from filing liens to collect
unjust duis.
Increased License Avoided.
All three of the new laws will go
into effect on May 22. Another law
proposed for passage would have raised
the license fee about BO per cent. This
law passed the Senate but was rejected
in the House. As a result the Jicense
fee remains the same.
The latest figures compiled py mr.
' a" - - - .r.tni : A
The Tire That Was
Never Skimped
Yet Goodyear Two-Year Price Reductions Total 45
' ..You business men know, if you stop to think,
that here lies the reason for Goodyear success:
We simply gave the best
You have never in your own lines found
another road to the, top. And nobody ever ivilL
The Long, Hard Way
Years ago, when we were little and weak,
we started building a super-tire. It is now
called the Goodyear Fortified Tire.
In five important ways, exclusive to Good
year, it excelled the best rival tire built. But
it cost more to build than rival tires. And it
cost users one-fifth more.
Think of that situation an unproved tire
costing one-fifth more than the great tires of
that day. You may be sure that our road
was hard then.
But Men
Found Out
But a few men found
that these tires sp.ved
trouble,gave greater mile
age, cut down cost of up
keep. They told others.
G
, Fortified Tires
Rim-Cuts by our No-Rim-Cut feature.
" ' Blowouts by our "On-Air" cure.
Fortified Loois Tred by many rubber rivets.
Aisinst Vnaecurity-by 136 braided piano wires.
" 1 puncture, and Skidding by our double-
' thick AH-Weatbcr tread.
Our sales doubled yearly. One year's gain
was 125 per cent. Soon Goodyears reached
the top place in Tiredom, and they've held it
ever since.
Last year we sold 1,479,883 Goodyear plea
sure car tires about one for each car in use.
With multiplied output, cost cam down.
Again and again our prices were? reduced.
Our last big reduction made February 1st
was the third, in two years. The three total
45 per cent
Better Every Year
Goodyear Fortified Tires still retain those
five exclusive features. One of them our
"On-Air" cure costs us $450,000 yearly.
We have never yielded a single step.
In addition, we spend
$100,000 yearly to find
ways to better tires, and
we adopt every better
ment our experts discover.
Sir''
OODC5YEAR
AKRON.OMIO
If such tires and pol
icies appeal to you, any
dealer will supply you.
Goodyear Service Stations Tires in Stock
R. E. Blodgett, 29 N. 14th St.
Fred H. Brown, 500 Williams Ave.
General Autos Co., 523 Alder St.
Motorcycle & Supply Co., 209 4th St.
Multonomah Garage & Auto Co., 254 6th M.
Nob Hill Garage, 764 Kearney St.
Oregon M. C. Co., Chapman and Alder St.
Oxman Faull Auto Co., 1100 Union Ave., N.
RedmanJVuto Co., 1130 Albina Ave.
Rose City Park Garage., 52nd and Sandy Blvd.
Western Hdwe. & Auto Sup. Co., 56 Broadway.
Winton M. C. Co., 23rd & Wash. St.
j HANDSOME PACKARD DEMONSTRATOR IS NOW ON STREETS OF PORTLAND.
I 1
W. B. FR.CDE. AT LEFT, AND H. R. ROBERTS. Jr0"0 FOT
"Wilklns show that approximately
13,600 automobiles nave repisierou
thus far with the Secretary of State.
At the close of business for February
12,878 automobiles were registered this
year as compared with 8113 at the cor
responding time last year, 1621 had
taken out chauffeur licenses as com
pared with 638 last year ancT the
i-atin was 14B4 to 1155 in
favor of this year. The heavy Increase
in chauffeur licenses is charged against
the jitney business. Kvery man wnu
drives a car for hire must have a li
cense.
DRIVERS SEEK ItAOIXG CARS
Two Entries in Indianapolis 500
Mlle Race Having Trouble.
INDIANAPOLIS, March 13. (Spe
cial.) Rene Thomas, the Parisian avi-
anri wo., veteran, who recently
cabled his entry for the next Indian
apolis 500-mile race. Is navinir some
trouble obtaining a car for the con
test, accfordiner to advices received here
from France. Thomas and his con
frere, Bablot, considered tne oniy nvai
in Europe of the prreat Boillot, are
nf.Amnr;no. tn rincn ti paTotlatlons either
for a couple of Delages or Peugeots,
but, to aate, nave naa no buuwsd.
Speedway officials here are en
deavoring to save the situation by
placing Thomas and Bablot in touch
with E. Grua, builder of Clement--Dfl.-r.-ri
ora a Rt TCHenne. who re
cently wrote' he had built three ma
chines especially for tne inaianapoiia
race, but could find no drivers because
of the war. One oi tnese cars, in
cidentally, suffered destruction at Liege.
t.,.4- .Via ntViir fwo are still JTOOd. If
Thomas and Bablot agree with Grua
all will be well. It is thought.
Polk Farmers Buying Cars.
tnoirTjir at.t. rtr Mar. 13. (Snecial.)
The temporary clearing of the weath
er has Drougm oui a irB L1 -vc
automobiles In this section during the
past two weeks. It is shown that many
residents of Polk County have pur
chased new cars already this season.
The slough gravel which was laid upon
aw auhnrov. in h i s section several
years ago packs quickly after a rain.
Farmers noia mac tne uuinua ui
toists to pass here thus far this year
is the largest yet known. Some Polk
County farmers have light cars for
Winter use and in the Summer have
heavier machines for service.
- Cameron Wins Economy.
Some mighty interesting results were
omy test of the Capital City Motor
cycle Club or sacramentu,
. i a hsiri on a five-mile course.
lest waa 7 .
The tanks of the machines were emp
tied and Just two quarts of gasoline
given each contestant, a. uun on
twin . cvlinder
covered 9 12 miles on his half gallon
Of fuel. JJUT.cn jaoiau waa a. i;ivdo
second, riding 89.7 miles before nis
gasoline gave out.
Bubbling fountains for horses are
used in Tampa, Fla. By stepping en
the stone platforms underneath the
fountains the horse starts a stream
of water bubbling up in the little
basins, and he may drink without fear
of contamination or' infection.
SANITY PUT OVER SPEED
STAUNCHNESS AND UTIMTV CON
SIDERED BIGGEST ESSENTIALS.
Overland Willys President Decries, Ma
nia of Joyrider, Who, He Soys,
In Ignored by Meker.
That safety and sanity in the opera
tion of motorcars are essential to a
continuation of the phenomenal suc
cess of the automobile industry has
been so far seems to me an idea which
is general among the loading manufac
turers. Staunch, staple construction
and the utilization of every possible
mechanical Improvement and refine
ment, rather than an effort to pro
vide tremendous speed, are, in their
minds, the demands of the day In mo
torcar building.
John N. Willys, president of the
Willys-Overland Company, Toledo, who
is passing the Winter In 1'BSSdenn, Is
one of the loaders ot the industry ho
derrirs the craze for speed. He says:
"The nped mania lias lisd its day.
Those who brll.-ve that speed is one of
the biKKest ensontlals In a csr are now
an exceedinKly small minority of thr
motoring public. Their requirements
are being conscientiously Ignored bv
the mnjority of manufacturers who
produce cars Ihst appeal to the solid,
substantial public. The need of the
present time is staunrhness. simplicity,
dependability, smoothness and esse of
operation rather than speed.
"We are endeavoring to manufacture
cars for the business and pleasure of
the great majority of Americans, rathe'
than the Joyrider or the reckless apeed
merchant. Xo business, except that of
racing, demands abnormal car speeds,
and anyone who has ever ridden at SO
miles an hour knows that there can be
no real enjoyment at more than 0 or
possibly 40 miles an hour."
Wall paper orlitlnated In China In tha
Tour-th centtirv.
MOTOR CABS
The Ideal Family Car
Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Daughtrey in their new Buick No. 37. Mr.
Daughtrey is president of the Portland Union Stockyards.
Howard Auto Co.
MEL G. JOHNSON, Manager ,
Phones: Main 4555, A 2550 Uth and Davis SU.