THE SUNDAY OREGOMAN, PORTLAND, JANUARY 36. 1919.
SYSTEM OF
FAR FROM
GEARS
MODERN
Auto Transmission Is Called
"Barbarous Engineering."
EFFICIENCY IS NOT HIGHEST
Motor Car Engineers After AVar Ex
pect to Evolve Method of
Mechanical Simplicity.
There has been considerable argu
ment from time to time as to which
mechanical unit In the modern motor
car chassis is the most backward, the
most lacking in consistent develop
ment. There may be different opin
ions on the subject, but no commenta
tor could deny the transmission a fore
most place in the company of unde
sirables. The engineers themselves acknowl
edge that the transmission of today,
while it serves its purpose fairly well,
is at best a stop-gap, filling a vital
need until we can get something bet
ter. One of the most distinguished au
tomobile engineers in America once
called the conventional transmission
"barbarous engineering."
The present types of gearset lack the
simplicity of operation that should
characterize really effective mechani
cal units. That is to say, they per
form the object for which they are in
stalled, but they accomplish it with
a. tremendous expenditure of effort in
proportion to their accomplishment.
Whole Arrangement Crude,
The function of the transmission or
Crearset is to change the tractive effort
at the rear wheels in proportion to the
needs of operation. It is by means of
the transmission that the rear wheels
are Induced to run slowly while the en
Bine Is running fast, etc. This control
of the tractive effort is accomplished
through the meshing of different sets
of gears, which are contained in an
appropriate cover or housing.
In operation the power is generated
In the engine, passes back through
the clutch, which delivers it to a. shaft,
which is part of the transmission unit
Thls shaft embodies a certain number
of gears, which may be shifted Into
or out of mesh with other gears mount
ed on what Is known as a counter
shaft. These gears have varying num
bers of teeth, which condition produces
the changes in tractive effort which it
Is the gearset's business in life to sup
Ply. This is an outline description of the
modern sliding selective transmission,
which was first introduced by Panchard
& Lavassor in the early days of the au
tomobile era and which, in spite of its
obvious shortcomings, has never been
supplanted and is the type in general
use today. Of course, the gearset of
the present is far refined over the
crude creations of the early days, but
its fundamental crudity is still there.
While the sliding selective gearset,
as described, is the predominant type
In the field, there are other forms of
transmissions in use. There is the
Planetary gearset, which Is used in the
Kord car. and consecently on the score
of mere numbers is an important factor
in the situation. The friction gearset
once popular is not used today, and the
magnetic transmission is used on but
few high-priced vehicles because of
its costliness.
Simplest One Oat of Use.
In the truck field we find the con
stant mesh selective gearset in consid
erable use, but this type has not made
any headway in the passenger car
field. If we add to this the direct con
nected transmission as used in the
steamer we have completed the list.
The reader will note that of the types
mentioned only the conventional sliding
selective and the planetary as used in
the Ford are employed in modern auto
mobile design.
It is rather remarkable that the one
type of transmission that may lay
claim to really satisfactory simplicity
of operation, the friction set, has passed
out of use altogether. The friction set
consists of two discs at right angles to
each other. One of thesn is driven by
the engine and is usually of copper,
while the other is of some sort of fiber
composition and is mounted on a shaft
extending across the frame and con
nected with the driving wheels by
means of chains.
In operation this driven disc is
brought into contact with the driving
disc, and the rate of speed is deter
mined by its distance from the center
of the latter. The failure of the fric
tion transmission was due primarily
to inability to stand up to heavy work.
It was early discarded for heavy duty
and has now passed on even for light
car construction. The friction set has
the great advantage of being' cheap to
make, and, from the driver's point of
view, it has the virtue of giving a theo
retically limitless number of speeds.
Like Solar t System.
The planetary gearset is also a cheap
form of construction and consists of a
group of spur gears always in mesh,
with a master sun gear. This forms
a rough likeness to the solar system,
with the sun in the center and the
planets revolving around it, hence the
name. In action the gears are forced
to revolve on each other. This is ac
complished by stopping the movement
of the parts supporting tho gears,
which is done by means of a sort of
brake.
When the gearset is in high it
revolves as a unit, which gives a re
markably efficient action. While it is
possible to construct a planetary gear
set for any number of speeds, in prac
tical application two speeds are all
that are used. To increase the num
ber means increased complication and
destroys one of the great values of the
type, simplicity and cheapness to build.
The very crudity of the conventional
Sliding selective gearset, with its paral
lel shafts and gears slipping into ant.
out of mesh while the shafts are re
volving at high speed, ought to sug
gest to the car owner certain obvious
facts. These facts are the need for rea
sonable handling in operation and care
ful maintenance of such a much-abused
piece of mechanism.
If the gearset is to run without
growling and clashing of gears,
the shafts must be perfectly paral
lel so that the gears will mesh
accurately. When the shafts get out
of alignment, whether it is because of
wear in the bearings or springing of
the shafts themselves, there will be
clashing of the gears until the condi
tion is remedied or until the teeth have
chipped, the gears have broken or
something else has happened to make
repairs imperative. It frequently hap
pens that the rear crankshaft bearing
may not be an accurate fit, and this
throws out one of the transmission
gears and causes a binding.
When once this misalignment occurs
in the transmission there is no help
short of replacement of the part or re
establishment of proper alignment if
the parts are uninjured. It often hap
pens that a car owner may replace
gears that have become noisy only to
find tho new set just as bad. This Is
because the shafts are out of line and
no gears will perform properly until
the condition has been corrected.
The one thing that enables the gear-
set to perform its onerous duties and'
stay on the job la plentiful and correct
lubrication. Oil is the proper lubricant
for the transmission, not grease, as
used to be thought the case. It is well
to use a heavy oil in Summer and a
thinner oil during'the cold weather. At
least three times a season, or better
still, every 1000 miles of running, the
transmission case should be drained,
flushed out with kerosene, and then
refilled with fresh oil.
In this period when It is difficult
to get new cars and replacements of
parts are slow and uncertain we can
not be too earnest in advising our
readers to give the most scrupulous
attention to the lubrication of the
gearset. Neglect here will bear rapid
fruit, while systematic care of the
gearset will probably keep it going
during the difficult period of the war.
As to the future of the transmission,
it is hard to say what will happen. Bad
as present types are, there is nothing
In sight to take their places. The mag
netic gearset has great advantages, but
they are gained at the expense of added
complications, greater weight and very
much greater cost In construction. Ths
beautifully simple fraction set gives no
promise of coming back in a more sat
isfactory form.
One ray of light has appeared on tho
horizon in the shape of an hydraulic
transmission, and while this is still
in embryo, there is a possibility that it
may be the prevailing type of the
future. At any rate, our engineers are
certainly not going to let the present
crude gearset remain "in power" very
long after they get down to work
again when the Hohenzollern devil has
been exorcised for all time.
CAR
EQUIPMENT
WORTH
Appropriations to June, 1919,
Total $886,000,000.
MORE WILL BE INVESTED
FORD PRESIDENT ONLY 24
NEW FACTORY HEAD'S SALARY
IS $75,000 A YEAR.
Detroit Plant Will Tura Out Blillion
Cars in 1919 and Million and
Half During 192 0.
Edsel Bryant Ford, wno -was elected
president of the Ford Motor Car Com
pany to succeed his father, at a recent
meeting of the directors, is only 24
years old. He has become the execu
tive head of a corporation representing
an investment of $190,000,000. His sal
ary is $75,000. His father's was $150,
000. Mr. Ford, Sr., steps out of the active
direction of the Highland Park plant to
devote greater time to his other Inter
ests, notably the Fordson tractor plant
at Dearborn. He retains, however, his
seat on the board of the motor com
pany. Every man on the Ford and tractor
plant payrolls in every part of the
world has been guaranteed a minimum
wage of $6 a day. effective since the
first of the year. This means a flat
increase of $1 a day over the minimum
fixed by Mr. Ford in 1914. for 8.000
persons. Twenty-three thousand other
workers employed by the Ford inter
ests already receive $6 a day or more.
At the same meeting the directors
ordered a dividend of 200 per cent, 100
per cent payable in January and 100
per cent in February. The payment
calls for $4,000,000. the capital of the
company being $2,000,000.
Further dividends are expected to be
declared within a short time. It is
said that more of the profits will be
turned back to the stockholders in a
few months.
Henry Ford, holding the majority of
the stock, will realize most heavily on
the dividend. The Ford family together
has 5&hi per cent, Edsel Ford holding a
small block of the stock.
There are seven stockholders. Includ
ing the Dodge brothers, who started
suit against the company a year ago
for a share of the undivided profits of
the company, which were being turned
into the construction of new plants in
Dearborn. The decision in this suit is
now up to the Supreme Court.
The big melon is divided approxi
mately as follows: Ford family. $2,
225,000; James Couzens, $600,000; Dodge
brothers, $400,000; Gray estate, $400,
000; J. W. Anderson, $200,000; Horace
H. Rackham, $200,000.
The new president of the Ford com
pany started in at tne Dotiom, ana ne
has worked through practically every
department of the institution. In this
manner he gained first-hand knowl
edge of the Ford system of production
and operation. Today he is said to be
the one man in the Ford establishment
who knows more about the factory
than his father.
It is officially announced also that
plans have been drafted for a produc
tion of 1,000,000 cars during 1919 and
1,500,000 in 1920.
Report of Secretary of War Shows
How Extensively Tracks and
Autos Were Used.
The annual report of the Secretary
of War for the fiscal year ending June,
1918. includes in its statement reports
on the Motor Transport Corps, tractors
and aviation. The Motor Transport
Corps personnel, states the report, to
tals 2700 officers and 77.000 men. This
Is exclusive of the motors and vehicle
division of the Quartermaster Corps.
hich is in charge of purchase and
procurement. Automotive equipment
carried over for the fiscal year 191S
amounted to $353,000,000.
The appropriations for motor trans
portation for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1919, totaled $886,000,000. of
which $350,000,000 has been expended
or will be expended on contracts which
Cannot be canceled. A further expend!,
ture of $29,000,000 will be necessary for
tne repair shop and equipment program
and additional expenses Incident to de
mobilization and liquidation of the ve
hicles left on hand are estimated at
$6,000,000. Equipment which will be
carried over Into the fiscal year 1920
represents an expense of $732,000,000.
Army ITsea 8a ,300 Truck.
To date, states the report. 82.500
standardized and commercial types of
trucks, 16,000 motor cars. 27,000 motor
cycles, 22,000 bicycles and a great nam
ber of trailers have been completed for
the army. There are on hand overseas
more than 55,000 motor vehicles. Seven
teen thousand five hundred motor ve
hides were shipped to American expe
ditionary forces In October, while there
were available for shipment on Novem
ber 1. 1918, 12,000 additional motor ve
hides.
The convoy service of the United
States, although formed primarily for
training purposes, states the report, has
since its organization transported more
than 14,o00 trucks overland, a greater
part of which carried freight in the
shape of spare parts and motor equip
ment-
xne Motor Transport Corps had on
hand at the time of the report a bal
ance of $501,698,824 from appropria
tions.
Truck production for the fiscal year
of 1918 totaled 82,490 trucks and other
motor vehicles amounted to 65.482.
17.0OO t adfts Graduated.
That section of the report dealing
with aviation, after enumerating fig
ures which have already been published
relative to production, states that at
the cessation of hostilities there were
17,000 cadets graduated from ground
nying scnoois, b.ozs men training as
aviators. 8,602 reserve military aviators
graduated from the elementary training
schools, and 4028 aviators who had
completed the advanced training course.
In addition. 14,000 mechanics had been
graduated from training schools.
On September 30, 1918, there were 32
squadrons composed entirely of Ameri
can personnel at the front, of which
15 were pursuit, 13 observation and 4
bombing.
Reports of air casualties show that
two aviators lost their lives in acci
dents for .each aviator killed In battle
The report on battle fatalities up to
October 4 were 128 and the overseas
fatalities at training fields in the Unit
ed States totaled 262. The air service
which in April, 1917, comprised 65 offi
cers and 1,120 men, at the signing of
the armistice totaled 190.000, of which
there were 20,000 commissioned officers
600 training cadets. 164,000 enlisted men
and 11,000 other flyers. The air service
constituted over 5 per cent of the total
strength of the army.
$1565 F.O.B.
Portland, Or.
1 ,,,,,,talBBS1SSSSJSSSSBSSMM
snr ss ii i us i
The Essex Made Good
Thousands Praise the New Car
Won't You Ride In It?
a notable
falsw
"i n is has DBBB
Gary.
It marks the Introduction of the new Debt
moderate priced, high quality car that has been
expected for almost two yean. The Essex made its
first showing in hundreds of cities last Thursday.
Thousands have been to see and ride in it.
The great words you have heard spoken for the
Essex are the voluntary expressions of its admirers.
The Essex is being advertised by those thousands
who now know ha qualities. That is why we urge
you to come and see and ride in the car that has
made such favorable impression.
Praised Because It Is Light. Low
Priced, Economical, Elegant
and Enduring
People talk of its bcauly and the el ganrr of its
appointment. They compare these qualities with
those of fine, large and costly cars. Its lightness
and economy of operation are noted end are com
pared with similar advantages that are exclusive to
tight cheap cars.
The Essex was built to meet the
demand for a car that would give
comfortable and enduring service,
that possessed the qualities that ap
peal to one's good taste, that would
meet every performance requirement
and stall was neither large, high
priced nor expensive to operate.
It is the manner in which it ful
fills all these demands that is excit
ing so much interest just now.
Not a word of praise has been pot
out by the manufacturer.
All dealers were instructed to let
the Essex speak for itself,
VJe wanted to begin advertising the Eases aa
i we had seen it. We knew it would be months
before it would be ready for delivery, bat we wanted
everyone to know what kind of a car they might
expect.
But tise Easex builders have been manmactnrmg
fine cars for years. Their factory is one of the larg
est in the industry. They know that no words of
praise can equal in their influence the impression that
the car itself can make. So they said we should not
advertise the Essex until there was an Easex for ths
people to see and ride in.
Now the People Are Advertising It
That is the only thing about the Essex we want
to call your attention to in this newsgsspac.
If you will come see the car and ride in it we
know what yon will do. You will join the ttmnsswrs
who are saying things in more convincing words
than we can print. Your endorsement will go farther
than anything we can say.
The appeal of the Essex is resistless. Everyone
admires it. It is making friends of all who stop to
note its appearance or who will ride in it over the
rough roads we pick out to reveal its comfort and
sturdiness. We don't need to nrom-
ise marvelous performance qualities.
When you, ride in the Essex you wul
know bow it accelerates and pulls
under load and how it glides over
the roughest roads with a smoothness
that you have thought possible only
in much larger and costlier cars.
You will know how economical it
Is and can see the provisions that
have been made to keep it free from
rattles and squeaks.
Aren't you mrr rested in
C. L. Boss Automobile Co.
615-617 Washington St.
Portland
MORE TRACTORS AVAILABLE
VEHICLES PROVE WORTH IX
INTENSIVE FARMING.
TRUCKS ENTER WALLED CITY
Breach Has to Be Made In Jerusa
lem's Centuries-Old Barrier.
No provision was made for tho en
trance of motor trucks when the walls
were built around the city of Jerusa
lem centuries ago. The only means
then known or used for bringing sup
plies into the city were on men a backs
and by donkeys. Accordingly, when the
relief trucks of the American and Syr-
Manufacturers Now Hate Material
1 ill Big Demand . In
United States.
to
"The announcement made by Hoover
that the United States must expect to
furnish 60 per cent of the food required
to feed the world this year can only
mean intensive cultivation in a way
that has probably never been known
in this country." says T. X McNeff, of
McNeff Bros., distributors Lere of the
Cleveland tractor.
"To accomplish this tremendous task
the tractor must be used. Not only has
the supply of horses and mules been
greatly depleted, but the demands that
will be made upon labor will be far
greater than the world has ever known,
even during war. The ground used to
furnish feed for horses and mules can
be used to raise grain to feed human
ity. "Releasing 13,000,000 tons of steel
will accelerate production of all kinds,
and this change will aid the Cleveland
plant in turning out in greater numbers
this machine that has been proven in
industrial plants and in the fields. Al
though preparations have been made at
the factory to care for European trade
on a large scale, we have been assured
that this country will first be cared
for."
HUPM0BILE
EXPERTS
General
Auto and Truck
Repairing
Rodham & Vollum
Auto Co.
93 N. Park SL, Corner Flanders
Phone Broadway 609
lan relief committee began to bring
in supplies of food and clothing it was
found necessary to mane a breach in
the wall near the Jaffa gate.
Trucks have been hauling part of the
S13.000.000 worth of food which the
American public has contributed for
the starving millions in the Near East
during the past three years. A cable
received Christmas morning from Major
Trowbridge in Jerusalem states:
"Thousands of Armenian deportees
trekking from Hama across the moun
tains to their devastated homes in Kes
sab near Antloch. Funds especially
necessary to rebuild roofs, equip hos
pitals and furnish food and employment
until harvest."
There are over 4,000.000 homeless,
destitute people In the Near East. 400.
000 of whom are orphans. Thousands
are actually starving to death daily.
Their only hope for life is American
generosity. A nation-wide campaign
was Inaugurated January U to secure
130,000,000 by the American committee
for relief in the Near East, formerly
the Armenian and Syrian relief com
mittee. All administration expenses of
this organisation are privately met.
Every cent contributed is spent for re-lief.
NeW MOON s-36 I
The smart looks and unquestionable ear valum of this Moon light
Six are such that the car immediately took its place as the leader 3
in its field.
r The Moon Six-36 "was designed, built and priced to fulfil a definite 3
purpose to provide the man of moderate means -with a high-grade J
t Six that is economical to run. j
C Read these specifics tions part of the Moon Six-36 s equipment: J
- 114-inch vrheelbase Continental six -cylinder motor polished solid J
" walnut instrument board, front and rear sweeping double cowl 3
Fedder radiator stylishly extra high slanting windshield Spicer J
joints Tim ken bearings. J
- Let us show and show you what it can do on the mmAt ,
l THE C. H. S. CO.
E 65 N. Twenty-third St., at Washington Phones: Mar. 1428, A 2424 3
Claim
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Federal Trucks are below
the average in price and 1
above the average in quality
niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir:
This claim may sound like the impossible, but investigation
will prove that it is true. In a recent advertisement dealing
with truck prices, we gave comparison prices that proved
Federals of different capacities to be lower than the average
of other trucks of like sizes. A study of the standard units
that make up the entire Federal construction motor, bear
ings, axles, transmission, clutch, drive, etc complete the
proof. No other truck can offer you more in quality or service.
Capacities 1 to 7 Tons
Send for a Copy of Traffic News
William L. Hughson Co.
Broadway at Davis
PORTLAND, OREGON
Oldest Motor Car Organization on the Pacific Coast. IVith
Branches at San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland,
San Diego and Fresno.