Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 1919)
THE SUNDAY OltEGOXIAH, PORTLAND, MARCH 16, 1919. 11 IS! s OF MIS P2per by Edward R. Hewitt Is Discussed. POWER QUESTION COVERED Expert BellCTes Coat of Plowing Can Be Reduced to 60 Cents Acr With I'oner 31chlncry. Appreciating the fact that one of the means available (or reducing the cost of living; Is the crowing of crops on an intensified plan, and realizing that this molt be done with the least possible amount of labor, the Society of Auto- aa less than 7 per cent of the tractors needed by farmers In this country have been built to date, we cannot 'yet be expected to be master of every detail of the problem. E. R. Greer, mechanical engineer of the Four Wheel Drive Auto company, Clintonrllle, Wis., is not convinced that the front-wheel drive should be aban doned, for be believes It has Us advan tages, considering that 80 per cent of the work of tractors Is being done on hilly ground. This method, be' said, enables one to keep 85 per cent of the weight of the tractor on the drive wheels and pre vents rearing up. In his opinion, trac tor engines are as a rule run nearer to SO per cent load than 50 per cent. He argued, moreover, that the proper sise of m tractor must not be based only upon its use in plowing. A "small grain" farm requires a different ma chine from a farm where corn is the principal crop. In either ease the plow ing amounts to less than SO per cent of the work done on a year-round basis. BIG SEAPLAXE MAKES RECORD Xaval Aircraft Takes Flight, Carry. Ins SO Pasengers. All existing passenger-carrying rec ords for heavier-than-alr flying craft were shattered when the navy's new Riant seaplane, NC-I. went aloft at Rockaway, N. Y., with 60 persons RAR mi nFTTFR THAN M FIRM THAT SELLS IT Reputation of Dealer Merits . Buyer's Consideration. REPUTATION WHAT COUNTS Owner Who Has Car 'With Defective Axle, for Instance, Wants It Re placed Promptly by Distributor. A change In the method of selling; automobiles Is gradually but surely creeping into the business. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that dif ferent arguments will be used by sales men In convincing the prospect to de- m E3 ANNIVERSARY APPERSON THOROUGHBRED IN EYES OF OREGON MOTORISTS. . . ;. '-.- ar .v- " j. . v:. v ..- x ' -t " " U.IRRV BIRO WAGCOSER, APFEKSOS MOTOR CAR COMPASl'S LEADING SALESMAJf. AT WHEEL OF POPULiAR BIODKU motive Engineers at Its recent meeting In New York discussed a paper by Ed ward K. Hewitt entitled the "Principles of the Wheeled Farm Tractor." The society has a membership of nearly 40u0 in the United States and many members in other countries. Its membership includes experts in all the fields f application of the easoline engine, via. automobiles, tractors, motor boats, aircraft, in fact every kind of self-propelled vehicle or system of power locomotion. Kdward It. Hewitt, consulting en gineer of the International Motor com pany. New York, discussed the question of vise and capacity of farm, traotors. ile has been active In this field fof over IS years and acquired very val uable information from personal ob servation on a number of tractor-type machines. Ctrala Add Driving Power. Mr. Hewitt systematically deter aboard, according to Popular Mechanics clde on the car under consideration, for for February. This remarkable performance served to cunter International attention- on the latest type of all-Americaa plane. machine, incidentally, that is the largest of Its kind in the world and apparently pre-eminent In its field for the time beiiifr. With a spread of lit teat of 12-foot chord, and a boat body as large as a fair-sized launch, the" uew craft makes a most imposing appearance. When unloaded and without its crew, it weighs 13,0vO pounds. Its flying weight is placed at 22.000 pounds. Its fuel capacity "is 300 gallons. In official flights a speed of-about SO miles an hour has been developed. Locking Nuts. In some locations and on some cars even spring wasners do not noid tne nuts In place for more than a brief pe- muied the power required to move a rioa. ay pouring moiien iar an over ri. n.. jiir.r.,.1 i, i th t f sr. 1 Tirf'the protruding threads of such nuts discovered that the drawbar pull, or pull available for drawing plows with the tractor ou sandy groumi, is equal to 30 p.r cent cf the weight of the tractor, or at bct 43 per cent on damp sandy ground. He found this could be Improved somewhat by the use of cleats riveted to the faces of the driving wheeU. If the "caterpillar" type trac tor were not so expensive In niainten a nee. he aaid. It would be more ad van taiceous than that having smooth .wheels with cleats. Mr. H-wut shows that for maneuver ing the power should bu applied to the rear axle, but when going up an in clino the danger of turning over Is to be reckoned with, since the weight is In effect transferred still more toward the buck. However this construction gives the tri nut possible pull for a given total weluht. fie found that with good dc sign up to 8 1 per cent of tho brake horsepower cf the engine is delivered to tho rim of the rear wheels. The. roilius friction on the ground absorbs an additional to 20 per cent The drawbar horsepower was 65 to ia per cent of the power of the engine, hen ou soft ground. Overloads Stall Eaglae. When running too near maximum load the chance of a momentary over load that w ill stall the engine is great. The engine is therefore run. as a rule at but 40 to i'l per cent of rated ca pacity. In which case, unfortunately, the fuel consumption is materially 1,-rvaier per horsepower hour than at full load. The author advocates large machines rather than small ones for the reason that either size requires one man for operation, which represents one-third the total cost, while the cost of main tenance and repairs is little greater; therefore the cost of operation, owing to the greater capacity of the big ma chine, is cheaper per acre of ground plowed. He favors buililiiiK as large machines as can be controlled by one driver, but not wider than 9 feet over all. to pass gateways and bridges, and w ith a total operating weight of 14.000 to 16.000 pounds. With this weight he figures that an ripht-piow tractor could read ily plow 2.8 acres an hour, w hile a two-plow- machine could do but 0.7 acre au hour. Karat Tractor Proves Worth. He believes Its will ultimately be possible with a well-designed and con structed tractor to lower the total cost of plowing tn about 60 cents an acre as atfair.st S3 to 14.50 with horses. Such a reduction would have a material effect on the food problem. The farm tractor has already proved a most val uable acquisition on many farms, al though theie is Btill much opportunity for improvement in its design and con struction. H. 1 Horning, formerly chairman automotive products section, war in dustries board. Washington. D. C. was especially interested in ilr. Hewitt's paper. He agreed win Mr. Hewitt and says the paper contains valuable infor mation on fundamental principles of design. Mr. Horning takes the wlew that there Is no load which can possibly in jure any first-class tractor engine. He believes that the price of fuel is not the Important factor with the farmer. It is true that the farmers are buying tractors provided with attachments to burn kerosene in case gasoline should become prohibitive in price, but tor the time being gasoline la being largely Used. lancer Ret arms Predicted. Sir. Horning agrees t!i In future tractors will have to five larger re turns than in the past, especially the mall, two-plow tractors which operate tinder handicaps in competition with larger sues, llo reasons that so long until they are filled it will be found that the nuts will be held securely for some time. SMITH AGAI 1-V CHARGE OF MITCHELL. SERVICE. i - 4i it : i v 1: i X . : t t M I: i i H ": ' : 1 1 ..- f I : I - 1! p.-- , - : - a- it IT - i I Lute 3 Earl Smith. Mr. Smith, who has long been in charge of the local service department of the Mitchell. Lewis & Staver company, returns to his post after an absence of 14 months, during which time he was a sergeant In the 870th aero squadron. Smith enlisted in the aerial service in December, 1917, and soon after was sent to Kelly field, where he acted as instruct or in the motor division. He says the experience he gained in the service will prove of great value to him. as he came in touch with some of the foremost automobile mechanics of America. that is really where the change Is coming. Heretofore an automobile has been sold on the basis of speed, power, de sign and quality. The time Is not far distant when the principal arguments will be centered on the reputation of Its builders, coupled with the reputa tion of the dealer. Eventually the principle may be extended, or con densed, whichever way you want to take it, to the conclusion that an auto mobile or truck is no better than the firm that sells it. Such is the opinion of W. J. McCallum, the new manager of the Northwest Auto company, whose opinion is based on the results of many years' experi ence in the selling game. "This state ment may seem more or less radical at first sight," says Mr. McCallum, "but second thought will reveal many logical reasons in support of it. Parts Often Sell Car. ' The tendency has been, and Is yet, for that matter, in selling a car to dwell upon the fame of the different parts which each manufacturer as sembles from speciality manufacturers. tor example, few, if anyi motor car or truck builders make the carburetor, bearings. Ignition and lighting system besides many other, parts. These are made by separate manufacturers each of whom have so widely advertised their products that they have become familiar to the motor buying public, and the dealer and salesman have capitalized this fact to the extent that a car has often been sold more on the reputation these parts' have attained than on any other fact The design is. of course, a matter of the prospect's choice, the speed and power being a matter of demonstration. But when a car Is purchased and. due to a defective part having eot by the inspectors at the factory, say. for example, the rear axle gives way. where does the owner look for redress? Does he take the matter up with the firm who made the axle, the factory who built the car or with the dealer? Naturally be looks to the dealer and right then he discovers that his car is, to a great extent at least, no better than the dealer who sold it. Delay Lays Ip Onto. "It sometimes happens that the dealer is not on a sound financial basis or that be does not care to take the responsibility of assuming the cost of THE UNIVERSAL CAR The reason there are so many Ford cars in use every day is because the Ford car is the most useful utility in human activity today. If you want one, place your order with any one of the dealers listed below, as soon as possible, because the factory hasn't reached normal production since the war, and we are not getting as many as we want, and first come, first supplied. Runa- hnnt. $500? Tnurino- Car. $525: Coune. $650: Sedan. , - 7 T y O 1 T 7 X 7 T 7 7 lOUclV $5 Truck Chassis, $550. These prices are f. o. b. J Detroit. Get Busy Any of the following; dealers will be pleased to take your order and make as prompt delivery as possible. Because of present conditions it is suggested that the sooner you leave your order, the. sooner you will get your car. Francis Motor Car Co. E. 13th and Hawthorne Portland, Oregon Wm. L. Hughson Co., Broadway at Davis, Portland) Oregon Palace Garage Co., 12th at Stark, Portland, Oregon Robinson-Smith Co., 6th and Madison, Portland, Oregon .Rushlight & Penney, E. 3d and Broadway, Portland, Oregon Talbot & Casey, E. Ankeny at Grand, Portland, Oregon Vick Bros., Salem, Oregon Simpson Auto Co., Pendleton, Oregon Automobiles, Trucks and Tractors that are built for wear have ROLLER BEARINGS making the axle good for the fear that for some reason or other the factory will not reimburse him. Consequently he gets around it by telling the owner that he "will take it up with the factory." This probably means a mat ter of a couple of weeks' time and in the meantime the car Is laid up and the owner is out the use of It Again, the dealer may not assume this atti tude merely from financial straits. He may be in sound circumstances yet short sighted enough to not realize the value of building up his reputation and establishing good will by standing squarely behind the article he is sell ing and for this reason pass the re sponsibility of adjustment on to the factory. "The two weeks' delay may be ex tended by the factory replying that "they have taken the matter up with the axle manufacturers," while all this time Mr. Car Owner is out the use of his car. The deal may even be pro longed until the owner finally becomes exasperated and orders the new axle put in at his own expense. Reputation Real Asset. "It is then that the purchaser realizes that in spite of all he had been told about speed, power, design of the car and wonderful fame of the rear axle amounts to very little if the dealer is not of the type who says at first "we 11 put a new axle in for you right away." The dealer who does this is the one who has been in the business long enough to have built a reputation that he values too highly to jeopardize it and who is selling the product of a concern that he knows from past ex perience will stand behind him in his effort to "make good'' to his customer. "Looking at the purchase of a car in this light, and it is well for every prospective purchaser to give it every consideration, there is a great deal more than appears at first sight in the statement that an automobile or truck is no better than the firm that sells it." CHEAPER GASOLIXE PREDICTED 000,000 barrels by war demands. Fig ures published here recently show that, despite popular belief the greater part of British oil was derived from Mexico, all but 3 per cent in reality came from the United States, which was obliged to supply the British as well as the Amer ican armies with oiL It is stated here that importations of oil from Mexico probably will exceed (O.onn noo barrels during the next 12 .months. ' Government Turns Back to Their 150 Tankers Owners. A considerable decrease in the price of gasoline may be expected in the near future as a result of the United States shipping board's action in turning back 145 tankers which had been comman deered for war purposes and which are now returned to their owners, eays writer in Motor Age. The majority of these vessels will be employed soon to transport oil to this country from Mex ican fields. -The total dead weight ton nage of the ships returned to their owners is 1,140,000. The oil reserve of the United States has been drained of approximately 25, miflimtnimiuitiiiuniHir - TI STANDARD MAKES 3500-MILE GUARANTEE Tubes. 30x3 Plain S10.50S2.35 30x3 Non-skid .... lli.OO 30x3ii Plain 12.85 2.85 30xiVs Non-skid .... 14.95 32x34 Non-skid .... 18. OO 3.00 31x4 Non-skid .... '22.90 3-65 31x4 Non-skid 25. 20 3.75 33x4 Non-skid .... 24.65 3-S5 31x4 Non-skid 27.25 3.95 Other sixes in proportion. 6000-MILE GUARANTEE. Hand-Made Wrapped Tread. 30x3 Non-skid S16.90 30x3 14 Non-skid 21.75 32x3 is Non-skid 2-4.75 31x4 Non-skid 29. OO 32x4 Non-skid 31.00 33x4 Non-skid 33. 50 34x4 Non-skid 35. OO CORD TIRES FULLY GUARANTEED. 30x3 H Non-skid S19.50 32x3a Non-skid 3560 32x4 Non-skid 44. SO 34x4 Non-skid 49. SO 82x4 H Non-skid 49. 50 34x4 n Non-skid 49.31) 35x4 hi Non-skid 54. 50 35x5 Non-ekld (J2.50 37x5 Ribbed 51. SO Write or Call. Goods shipped C. O. D Parcel Post or Express. Money Refunded Goods Retaraed Intact Within Tern Days. MALCOH TIRE CO. 82 IT. Broadway. Portland, Or. Branches In All Principal Cities. HIGH GRADE SIXES That Are Beautiful Comfortable Economical Moon Motor Gars The Standardized Car Factory Prices $1485 $1685 ' $2500 Watch Them Increase Distributors The C. H. S. Co. Mar. 1428 63 N. 23d at Wash. St. A 2424 (B-EW0M-MXYE) Powerfully Built Low in Cost IT is not simply the low prices of DAY ELDER Worm-Drive Trucks that are responsible for their sweeping suc cess all over the country but the QUALITY and VALUE that has been put into them at their prices. It will surprise you how closely DAY ELDER Trucks duplicate item for item in the specifications of many other high grade worm-drive trucks selling at hun dreds of dollars MORE than the DAY ELDER. All we ask you to do is to make this actual comparison for your self. Call, write or 'phone for catalogues. TAYLOR'S MOTOR CAR CO. Distributors. JS5 North Fifth Street, Comer Hojt Phone Broadway 3914 MODEL A 3500 Pounds $1775 MODEL B 4500 Pounds $2075 MODEL D 6000 Pounds $2450 MODEL C 7000 Pounds $2750 MODEL F 9000 Pounds $3450 MODEL E 14,000 Pounds $4500 fiitn g q Two (2) Second Hand 3-jk-Ton Trucks Equipped With Dump Box and floist Cash and Terms " Garage East Main Street, Between First and Water Streets LA