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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (July 25, 1915)
TTTT3 RTJNDAV OTIFOOXTAT-T.' POTITT. A.NT, .JULY 25, 1915. iLLIONS SPENT IN FOR AUTOS "It's pretty hard to find anything '"V'TX better than a good promise well DOTninergpoptlancleps kept.- Mister Squeegee iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiuinii!! A I Iff - WPfl J. I - Bl I .1 ?GJr 6 1 . y OREGON 7 - V A235fes! Amount for First Half of 1915 May Reach $3,500,000, Big Increase Over 1914. 20,942 LICENSES ISSUED four Thousand Six Hundred Are for Xew Cars Bought Since Flirt of Year; Average Cost Is Es timated to Be $700. ' BT CHESTER A. MOORBS. The people of Oregon have spent be tween 33, 000.000 and $3,500,000 for new automobiles since the first of the year. At the close of business last Tues day night 20,942 automobile license tags had been Issued for 1915, accord ing to the figures compiled by M. O. "Wilklns. Last year at the end of June only 14.630 cars had been registered, and at the close of July the figure stood at 15.326. By the simple rules of arithmetic It would seem that between SOOO and 6000 new cars had been sold to owners within the past 12 months, but as a matter of fact. Mr. Wilklns says, less than 5000 new cars have been regis tered, and Mr. Wllkins knows, because he keeps close tab on every new and old car. As a result of the Jitney fad In Oregon, he says, a great many old cars that were used In other states when new. have been shipped Into Oregon thi3 year and have served to swell the registration totals materially. But Mr. Wilklns has records showing that at least 4600 new cars have been sold to owners In Oregon since January 1. 1915. Average Cost Is $700. A conservative estimate of the aver age cost of all new cars would be about $700. A multiplication of 4600 by $700 gives a total of $3,220,000, or, If the total of 5000 Is used for the registration, an aggregate sum of $3 500.000 is the result. Approximately 21.000 automobiles have been placed in use in Oregon this year. It is enough to shock a person to recount that 10 years ago. when the automobile was just beginning to come into practical use, Oregon had only 218 motor vehicles of all kinds, according to the figures sub mitted to the Secretary of State at the close of 1905. It stands to reason that each of these 21,000' automobiles has been paid for by the people of Oregon. Some of the cars now in Oregon were purchased originally In other states, perhaps, but many cars Dought originally in Oregon have surely wandered off to other states, so the rule works both ways. $1S,000,000 Paid for Cars. Because of the startling reductions made in the prices of automobiles with In the last year or two it is fair to assume that the same makes of car which now average $700 in purchase price have maintained an average of at least $900 during the 10 years Figuring on this basis, we find that about $18,000,000 has been spent for automobiles in Oregon during the past decade, all of which goes to demon strate that the automobile business is now a permanent, well-established profession. Think of the growth this 10-year-old industry has had and you will get some idea of the impor tance attached to the automobile by the American public, for the same situ ation exists in other states. In 1905 there were 218 motor vehi cles, in 1906 the number had been in creased to 360, in 1907 to 596, in 1908 to 1297, and in 1909 the number had grown to 2568. Even at the close of 1910 there were only 5061 machines in -the state, which shows that a full 15,000 of, the present total have been bought within the past five years. Moat Are N'ew Models. The earlier figures include motor cycles as well as automobiles, as the law did not differentiate between them until 1914. The total of 21.000 for this year includes nothing but auto mobiles. In this connection it should also be remembered that only seven months of the 12 - month period for registration has passed thus far, and that only 16,347 numbers .were given out for all of last year. Mr. Wilkins' figures for the regis tration made between June 16 and July 15, inclusive, give a total of 1101 cars, 675 of which are new models and 426 old cars. Of the new cars C2 are 1916 models. Next to the month April lo to May. i&. when 1161 new registrations were noted, the 30 days ending July 15 are understood to have the record for the" number of registra tions. Between May 15 and June 15 this year only 848 registrations were entered. An interesting study may be made of the automobile registration by coun ties. Umatilla County, for Instance, has a population of about 23,000 people. yet its residents Dougrnt 36 new cars last month and 302 for the year, as compared with 12 new cars for the month and only 157 for the year in Washington County, a district noted for its poor roads. Gilliam Hu 40 Xew Cars. Baker County, which, with Umatilla and other Eastern Oregon wheat coun ties, has enjoyed unusual prosperity tins year, took 26 new cars last month and its population is considerably less than other counties which took fewer oars. The 1910 census gave Gilliam County a population of only 3701, but Its residents have been prosperous enougn to buy 40 cars tnis year. Multnomah County, of course, leads the list for the year, with 1394, 198 of which were added last month. Coos County has 21,000 people, but Us roads are not yet good enough to induce more than 6a cars, while Polk County, wiLn goou rows, attracted 106 car purchases this year. The new and old car registrations for the respective counties were as lollows for the month ending July 15 County. New Cars. Old Cars .IDS . 3 4 . 2tt B . H 7 , 85 17 . 4 . 3 4 . 2D 25 .11 1 . 4 . 21 1; . 2 -i. . 2 1 . 13 1U . I . 2 17 . 6 -2. . 5 b . 9 8 .8 s . 25 is .13 lo . 1 3 . 8 . 6R At . 8 0 . 12 7 ..6 4 . 8 ; . 38 21 . 12 6 . 0 t .20 t .12 V . 5 4 . 17 V "naker lieDion Clackamas i'latsop . . . Columbia . Coos Crook Curry . . . . . I'ouglas ... Gilliam ... Crant Harney . . . Jackson Josephine .. Klamath . . . Lake Lane ....... l.lnn Lincoln .... Malheur .... Marion ..i.. Morrow Polk fcherman Tillamook . . Vmatllla ... Vnion ...... Wallowa ... Wasco Washington Wheeler .. . . 1'amhlU .... NT watchful observer two months ago might have noticed automo bile men flocking in and out of the Portland Postoffice building like bees in and out of a hive. And the funny part of the thing was that they didn't seem to be mailing or receiving letters. The truth was that Frank S. Myers, postmaster of Portland, was in the market for an automobile and he WONDERS ABOUND ON AUTO TRIP TO MOUNT ADAMS (Continued From Page 6.) ver. with the majestic Columbia in the foreground, is worth going up a hundred hills to see. And if you have car that thrives on mountains like the Cole Eight you can sit back and smile all the way. Orchard Country Fascinates. Soon after reaching the summit and tarting on the main road for Husum we passed through some orchard coun try that was framed by fascinating andscapes. Looking up the valley in ne dirtction we saw the great white form of Mount Adams piercing the sky and looking backward we saw the smaller form of Mount Hood guarding the hills on the Oregon side. Husum is only six miles from White Salmon and we reached it after about 0 minutes of driving. By this time a wave of unanimous hunger had swept the entire party and when we beheld the charming little White Salmon River dashing over the rocks riht at Husum postoffice we overpowered Chauffeur" Menzies and called a halt for lunch. Perhaps it was something in the atmosphere or maybe Mrs. Menzies is a surprisingly good cook, but anyhow that fried chicken served on the banks of the White Salmon River was about ROAD AT MITCHELLS POINT DELAYED. Those who have been delaying their motor trip to Hood River and The Dalles until the new new A Mit- I will tunnel through tho rock at chells Point Is completed have to wait until September 1, unless they alter their plans. The official announcement was made last week that the new road will not be open at that point as soon as expected and that it will be necessary to use the old road until September. The present road around Mitchells Point amounts to a 28 per cent grade, but a car with a good engine and strong brakes can make the bill going either way. At the bottom of the hill on either side a telephone is sta tioned, and all tourists are re quested to call the watchman at the summit to determine whether or not the road is clear. This climb is one of the stiffest tricks in this part of the country, but dozens of cars are making it dally, and a good driver with a dependable car is equal to it. The new road, which will skirt .the river, will have only a 6 per cent grade. the most howling success ever staged at Husum precinct. The stream was so alluring that the "kids." of course, felt compelled to go in wading and since you have already been told that only one of the party was young In point of years you may craw your own conclusions as to which of the grown ups slid back to the habits of boy hood and girlhood. Anyhow the banks of this stream are ideal for a picnic luncheon no matter how hot the day may be. for the water Is colder than unmetered Bull Run. As we pulled away from our picnic grounds we crossed the White Salmon over a bridge located just this side of a beautiful waterfall and then fol lowed the west bank of the river while it plunged through deep gorges well below the level of the road. Way Smooth and Interesting. Ana that road was about the mos consistent exclamation-provoker of the entire trip. It is not only a much smoother article than the road leading to .Mount Hood, but it is more interest FRANK 8. was kept everlastingly busy until ha finally bought a Hudson Six. - Postmaster Myers has driven a car for five years his first machine was a Maxwell and he has never been ar rested for any violation of the law and has never run over anything . except roads. "How the deuce do 'you keep from going a trifle fast when you have all sorts of power under your hood and a ing. As your path winds back and forth through the great pine trees-and over an. irrigation ditch he remand there, it is hard to realize that you are climb ing. Our good-natured "chauffeur" in sisted, however, that this was because we were in a Cole Eight which, he seemed quite willing to announce, could not tell a hill from a hardwood floor. But Mr. Menzies was not the only member of the party who was talking in superlatives, for, be it known. Henry Bergcr. Jr., the man who delighted the Shriners recently by his marvelous natural color pictures of the Colum bia River Highway, was In the party, as was Fred A. Routledge. whose pano rama sketch of the Columbia River Highway won a grand prize at the Panama-Pacific Exposition. r-ven after knowlnir cvrrv inrh .of the Columbia Highway and picturing its wonderful color effects in hundreds of pictures Mr. Berger was thoroughly enthused by the artistic compositions of landscape and color In the Mount Adams country and time after time he literally leaped from the car to catch some particular combination of light ana snaae oetore the format Ion changed. Kxhlbit of Picture Plaaaed. If Mr. Berger keep up his good work in color photography, which has already cost him a lot of money, h wm put Oregon on the map as It has never been done Defore. and he will some day be recognized as a public benefactor. Mr. Berger hopes soon to travel all over the country showing his private collection of Oregon pictures in natural color, and if he does California will have to take a back seat for all time to come. Those who have been privileged to see Mr. Berger's pictures have been hypnotized. ' It is a wonderful inspiration to tour through a scenic country with a man like Mr. Berger. who will introduce your unappreciative eyes to every whit of art in the landscape, and with a raan like Mr. Routledge, who can offhand draw a map of every up and down grade in this Oregon country. But it doesn t require an artist to recognize the beauty of the country leading up to Mount Adams, for every lew minutes some landscape looms up to compel praise, and another beauty of this ride toward Mount Adams is the fine quality of the road and the seeming nothingness of the grade. You will be surprised by both when you get around to take this trip. You will also be surprised to discover how much larger Mount Adams is than Mount Hood, which may almost offend you at first. Elevation at Gnler la SOOO. It was well after 3 o'clock when we arrived at Guler and our speedometer showed that we had traveled exactly 99 miles since leaving Portland. - The town of Guler has an elevation of about 2000 feet, and it is some IS miles from the snowline of Mount Adams. The citizens in that locality are pro posing to build a road as close to the mountain as possible, and It may not be long until automobiles can go with in four or five miles of the snowline, according to Thode Brothers, proprie tors of the amusement hall at Guler. From Guler it is only about a half mile to Trout Lake with its waters a mile long and a half Ule wide, and It is less than two mt.es to the lava caves and seven miles to the ice caves, natural wonders that have not been advertised in proportion to their sig nificance. The lava caves are formed by mam moth chunks of clean, black lava, said to have been spit forth by Mount Adams some 1000 or 2000 years ago. In some places the caves- extend three fourths of a mile underground. While in these caves it is a good thing to watch your steps, for when you first plunge Into the dark recesses you are MYERS. good way ahead?" he was asked. Well. Ill admit that 1 don't believe in getting choked with anybody's else duet and that I never come home from country trips dirty for that reason." he replied. I believe in keeping my eye on the road and watching the other fellow." He couldn't explain satisfactorily, however, how he managed to keep out of the other fellow's dust and stay apt to be blinded and lose track of where you are going. lee In Cave Not So Plentiful. They say that It Is possible to crack ice from the walls of the ice caves and make Ice cream right on the spot, providing you have the other Ingre dients with you. The peculiar atmos pheric condition In these Ice caves makes you Imagine you are in a re frigerator. It happens that the caves this year are not as fully lined with ice as tn former years, but another hard Winter will put them back in their prime again. When you go to Guler ask them to show you the sleeping beauty, another wonder boasted of in that locality. Then, all you' will need to do is glance toward the mountains and see the great etone form of a woman lying on her back across the ridge of the muun- M AN FROM T1RK FACTORY SEES GREAT KIT IRK FOR ACCESSORY BUSINESS. V - j I fcM,, tldianV it ;tv:i.j.: I II. A. Lane. H. A. Lane, factory representa t tlve of the accessory depart T ment of ' the Firestone' Tire & J Rubber . Company. arrived in I Portland last week for a con l ference with the local manager. F. W. Thatcher; and his sales organization. Promoting the "greatly increased -distributing J facilities of the Firestone acces- sorles department, Mr. Lane, on his visit to the principal cities X of the country, has been suc- cessful in lining up some of the t largest dealers in the automobile Industry. t "The accessory business," says I Mr. Lane, "although still . In its I infancy, has aumed propor- tions that . warrant the same careful sales and service atten- tion thst Is given to tires. The automoblllst. thoroughly alive to f the important part that Flre T stone accessories play In adding I pleasure and comfort to motor I ing, is responsible for a demand t that has taxed our factory to the utmost." t From Portland Mr. Lane will I go south, visiting the branches I in California before completing I- the trip that has taken him from coast to coast. C. P. Smith, the factory man on Firestone cycle I tires. Is with Mr. Lane on his I present trip. within the speed limit at the same time. Mr. Myers and his family spend every Sunday in their Hudson and use it to acquaint themselves with the various sylvan retreat near Portland. They have taken several longer trips, but the postmaster says the people of Port land are too busy mailing letters to permit him any transcontinental tour ing. tain range. After a moment's study you will be able to see her as plainly as the woman In the moon. They had another treat In store for us last week in the form of a ball game between Trout Uke and Glen wood. To use the expression of a Gulerlte, Glenwood "skinned "cm a mile," 12 to 1 being the score. This story would not be complete without reporting that there are good fiNhlng holes scattered all along this country and that hotel accommoda tions at Trout Lake are adequate. To St-e all the wonders of this trip prop erly and enjoy all the scenery en route perhaps It would be best to stop over at Guler or one of the other towns for at leat one night. The round trip can be made from Portland to Trout Lake In a day with a good car and a skllliul driver without any difficulty, but the trip, for the trip s sake, would be more enjoyable If a longer time were paksed. Route Retraced Portland. When we had finally persuaded our selves to return home it was about 5 o'clock, and rather than experiment ny further we decided to retrace our steps all the way to Portland. This re tracing is not necessary. From Guler and Trout Lake one may go past to Laurel and enter Husum over a branch road. This distance is 10 miles farther and includes more climbing than the main road. but. as is the rule all through that country, the roads are good. Or. before reaching Laurel. It is feasible to drive north to Glenwood and circle through the beau tiful alfalfa fields east of Camas Prai rie and return through Fulda to Hu sum. s-tni farther east are Appleton Lyle. High Prairie. Goldendale and Maryhlll, which are connected with a network of roads running in diagonal directlona All of this country affords scenic driving. No particular events marked our re turn trip to Hood River except several superb sunset pictures taken by Mr. Berber, one in particular taken back of White Salmon showing orchards and the Columbia River in the foreground. the City of Hood River In the center and -at the top Mount Hood, crowned with a pinkish tlnt- llrief Stop Made tor Dinner. "We passed so much 'time wrestling with balky tires and faking pictures that we didn't pull Into Hood River until S:30. and then our hunger com pelled a brief stop for dinner before we proceeded on our way to Portland. Those three and one-half hours passed on the Columbia River High way after dark, when the moon was shining from behind the trees and across the waters of the river, were wonderful. After being whipped over 130 miles of road the Cole behaved bet ter than ever and not one circumstance marred this leg of the trip. When the Cole came to the long Crown Point It wasn t even necessary to leave hlsh gear, which is some trick. The moon rolling along in the sky Just ahead of us seemed to draw the car toward It as if by magnetism, and the setting was enough to inspire poetry in the deadest roul. When we passed oppo site Castle Rock a great bonfire lit up that wonder on the Washington shore and the river was spotted inter mitlently with the lights on the boats of gUlnetters. Home Is Reached After Midnight. We reached the outskirts of Port land soon after midnight and It wasn't long until Mr. Menzies had delivered each and every participant in a day's outing that Mr. Berger pronounced the greatest day In his life. Figuring our start at 7:40 and our return to Portland as 12:30. our tots running time for the 20J-ml!e round trio was 1 hours and 50 minutes. By actual count 7 hours and 21 minutes should be deducted from this total for Men's greatness is measured, not by the things they promise to do, but by what they accomplish. So it is with all things in this world. Many men have announced their inten tion of doing greater things with electricity than Edison has done. They, have not made their promises good, and Edison remains the wizard of science. The popularity of Diamond Squeegee Tread Tires is due to their merit in giving cheap mileage and fulfilling service require ments with unvarying regularity. Great promises are made for other tires promises that in many cases are never fulfilled. More than 99? of all Diamond Squeegee Tread Tires exceed the service that is promised for them. That comes pretty near giving you absolute certainty. Equip your car with Diamonds at these "FAIR-LISTED" PRICES: Diamond Diamond Bam SquectM Sam &cjuca 30 a 3 $ 9.45 34 x 4 $20.35 30 3U IZ20 36 a 4 28-70 32z3H 14.00 37 zS 33.90 33 a 4 20.QO 38 a 5 j 46.0Q PAY NO MORS ARCHER and WIGGINS SixtH and Oak Streets DISTRIBUTERS DIAMOND TIRES stops for this, that and the other, so that our actual running time was hours and 39 minutes. We stopped an hour and 50 minutes for lunch at Husum. an hour and three minutes at Guler. an hour and live min utes while Addling with a perplexing tire situation that Involved the taking out and putting In of three Inner tubes and endless pumping, an hour and 1 minutes necessitated while waiting for the ferry and riding across the river, and the balance of the time for dinner at Hood River and for countless slops while three separate members in the party satisfied themselves taking pic tures along the way. It requires quite a while to take color pictures, so when Mr. Berger. whom we dubbed our "colored" photographer, was working on scenic subjects the stops were of long duration. The trip to Trout Lake Is approxi mately 100 miles each way. the exact distance being determined by the mount of Incidental running done. We made It In less than 10 hours' running time, but we went faster in places than some would dare to go in order to get the full measure of enjoyment out of the trip. But If you are planning to take this wonderful trip, don't be afraid of bad roads and don't worry yourself Into the notion that it Is haz ardous. Unless you have poor equip ment and a lot of hard luck, you will sail home voting It one of the most satisfactory round trips available out of Portland. Ford Plants Centers of Interest. It Is Interesting to note how each of the 25 Ford assembly plants in as many great American cities becomes, as soon as it is opened, the center of local In terest and local sight-seeing. Eacn Ford assembly plant seems to attract visitors precisely as the huce Ford factory in Detroit attract all transients the City of the Straits. The r oril Indianapolis branch reports that about 4000 guests were entertained there In May. These Included 20o0 Oddfellows and Rebekahs. representing 760 differ ent lodges In Indiana. Indianapolis Tourist Coming. F. E. Moskovics. commercial man ager of Nordyke Marmon Company, left Indianapolis recently for a trip throughout the West. His object place will be San Francisco, and on the way he will visit Kansas City. Denver. Salt Lake City. Los Angeles and San Diego. He will also take In the Northwest on the return, visiting Portland. Seattle, Spokane and other centers in the orthweet. Announcing the Arrival FRANKLIN MOTOR CARS 1916 Models Embodying: Distinctive Qualities of Ad vanced Design. Before you buv a motor car get the FACTS. The critical attitude of the motor buying public has made the Franklin the fast est selling FINE car in America. Demonstration by ap pointment. Main 48S0, A 3SS1 Braly Auto Company Nineteenth and Washington Streets L Hi Ml m FORBIDDEN PATHS OPEN MOTOR CAR DEVELOPMENT LIFTS TOl'RISTV TROUBLES. Transcontinental Jonruera Now e creafully Undertaken Chalmers New Mx-40" Surmounts Difficulties. "Latter day refinements of the motor car have opened hitherto forbidden paths to the enthusiastic tourist," says H. L. Keats, the local Chalmers dis tributer. "Mountain .trails no longer baffle: transcontinental Journeys are successfully undertaken. "The Chalmers -.New Slx-40' Is an especial favorite of thore who wish to follow the more strenuous and less frequently traveled path. It was among steep mountain grades that this car received Us Spartan schooling be fore it was placed on the market. "The car took its baptism of fire not during the pleasant Summer months. but during the rains and snows from September to December. 1914. The setting for this ordeal was among the steep passes of the AlleKhanies of Pennsylvania, in the neighborhood of historic Valley Forne. where Washing ton and his half-starved army passed that Winter o. torture. "Day after day the car was pitted against obstacles which to the ordi nary observer would seem unsur mountsble. Cloudbursts turned the roads Into muddy torrents. Frost con gealed ruts into a surface so forbid ding that no motorist would think of driving over them. Then came the deep mountain snows, and the plucky car waded through them. Mud. ruts and snowdrifts It took as they came, with out once faltering. This diplay of stamina convinced the Chalmers en gineers that they had a car that would stvtnd the punishment of the severest lour. "Tho test was finished In LVtrolt during the ort of all Winter months. For rive weeks and six days nine en gineers and trusted testers worked In eight-hour relays, pounding the new car over l!j.pery pavements, rough country roads and deep snowdrifts Not until the car had been pronounced ab solutely flawless was it placed upon the market." Ireland ent out EH'.JII emmrams lat year, a decrease uf lo.rt:..-; Irotn me pr lous J ear ard tha smallest Lumber in any ear nnre 1 si0.