THE SUMIAY OBISGOXIAX. POllTL.AND. JUNE 1, 191U.
MERGER TALK NAILED
BY HIGHFORD CHIEF
Nothing to It, Declares Gen
eral Sales Manager.
OFFICIALS VISIT PORTLAND
W. A. Ryan of Ford Company Makes
Interesting Statements at Lunch
eon to Ford Dealers.
The General Motors corporation haa
w Luc rgra .aioior company,
and It is not rofnr t n hnv ft Thid
nhatic statement wn mu h tn rninn
last Saturday by W. A. Ryan, general
tw:a jiio.uier 01 me i-ora Motor com-
van w lix, accumpanieq py u. A- Brown
ins the central and western states, their
tour including- Portland. San Francisco,
Los Angeles. Ealt Lake City and Omaha,
returning to the factory by June 10.
They left Portland for the south Satur
day night.
Mr. Ryan had never before been on
the Pacific coast and was much sur
prised at what be saw out bere. He
said be regretted he had not planned to
stay several days, and promised a
1 longer visit on bis next trip. He also
spoke highly of the personnel of Port
land Ford dealers, being particularly
Impressed by their enthusiasm, optim
ism, and the harmony among them.
STEARNS REAR-F.XD FEATURE
Rear Axle Is Single Piece of Steel
With "O" for Housing.
"One of he most aitnoying and dan
gerous mishaps a motorist can encoun.
ter on a mountain road is to discover
that grease from the differential hous
ing in the rear axle has reached his
brake drums and that as a consequence
nls drums are practically useless," de
clares A. B. Manley, of the Manley Auto
company, distributors for the Stearns
car: "Such an occurrence has happened
to many motorists and been responsible
for many accidents in mountain tour
ing. "As long ago as 190S, Stearns engi
neers discovered a way to build a rear
axle that would completely obviate the
possibility of anything like that occur
ring with a btearns car. It was an
MILLING FIRM BUYS PACKARD TRUCK. t
The truck Is the latest 3V-ton aeries E Packard. It was said Albera 1
ororn. Dj xne rortiaad Motor Car company, Packard agents here.
ell. advertising manager for the com
pany, was in the city for a few hours.
Mr. Ryan made this sweeping denial
of all rumors connecting General Motors
and the Ford company at a luncheon
with.W. A. McNamara. manager of the
Ford branch here, and Portland Ford
dealers, at the Benson hotel.
In the course of a brief address at
the luncheon, Mr. Ryan also made other
statements of much interest to dealers
and the motoring public.
One of these was that If a cheaper car
is built by Mr. Ford and he neither af
firmed nor denied that such a car will
be built Ford dealers will have the
first opportunity to sell it.
Another was that the Ford Motor
company in the season of 1919-20 will
build 1,225,000 cars, and that the allot
ment for the Portland territory will
be very materially increased.
Mr. Ryan, who was accompanied by
his wife and son. and Mrs. Brownell.
arrived in Portland Saturday morning
They were met by Mr. McNamara and
taken to the Ford branch, .after which
came the luncheon to dealers.
In the course of the morning a me
chanical clinic was held at the Ford
branch, at which different operations
were explained and demonstrated by
A. G. MacMillan. representing the Fair
banks company of New York. Ford
dealers had been invited to be present
with their shop foremen.
In the afternoon Mr. McNamara took
Mr. Ryan and Mr. Brownell about the
city, paying visits to the local Ford
dealers.
Mr. Ryan and Mrs. Brownell are tour-
axle with many other merits as well.
and as a consequence of its excellence
the 1920 Stearns model carries a rear
axle that is in all essentials identical
with the axle of the 1908 model. It has
been found impossible to improve upon
it in 11 years In any of its essential
features.
"Instead of two sections bolted to
gether at the center, the rear axle of
the Stearns is a single piece of sturdy
pressed steel with an 'O" in the center,
which accommodates a differential
housing that is a separate unit from the
axle. Between the differential housing
the axle shaft itself is exnosed for n
inch or so. If grease should escape
from the carefully packed differential
housing it would dron on the ground,
where the axle is exposed, instead of
running onto the brake drums."
GRUSS ABSORBER TAKEN
BtKXESS & MARTIN OBTAIN
AIR SPRING AGENCY.
LIVK AUTOMOBILE 1IKV IV HtSI
KKSS FOR SUl.VKS AT THE
DALLES.
si
s v,) rf I
Pneumatic Shock Absorber Popular
in California, W here It Is Used
on Cars and Tracks.
James Burness of Burness & Martin
has obtained the exclusive distributing
agency for the state of Oregon and that
part of Washington tributary to Port
land for the Uruss air spring, a penu
matic shoes; absorber made in San
Francisco.
The Oruss absorber is very popular
in California, where it is used not only
on passenger cars, but also on trucks.
The Standard Oil company has placed
Gruss shock absorbers on 105 of its
cars and trucks In that state and also
has them on touring cars in Oregon.
The Union Oil company has installed
liruss aosorbers on 16o cars and trucks
in California.
'The Gruss air spring is the only
two-way action air spring In existence
today, having a cushion of compressed
air in the upper chamber and a
vacuum in the lower, thus absorbing
Dotn shock an recoil.- said Mr. Clem-
enson.
"The Gruss Is also the only air spring
offering a combination of compressed
air and vucuum cushion and absolutely
prevents all rock and side sway. The
construction of the Gruss is simplicity
itself, which accounts for its long life
nd guarantee.
The Gruss absorber will be carried
at Burness & Martin's, Fifteenth and
Alder streets. They will have a com
plete Installation station and are now
ready to install the absorbers on cars.
J. A. Clemenson will assist in Gruss
sales.
-"4 ' '
' V & 1
tme or the best-Known young men
in the automobile business in Portland,
A. M. Beaver, for the past couple of
years nvanager for the W. H. Wallingr
ford company. Is going Into business
for himself. He has opened a distribut
ing agency at The Dalles. Or., where
he will handle the lines in that section
for which Mr. Wallingford has the
state distribution, namely, the Premier,
Liberty and Briscoe passenger cars, the
Parker truck and the Hood lumber
tractor.
Mb. Wallingford attributes much of
the success of bis own firm to the hus
tling qualities of Mr. Beaver, and he is
co-operating with him in giving him
these lines to handle in the eastern
Oregon territory.
Associated with Mr. Beaver at The
Dalles will be William R. Earl, who
has been shop superintendent for Mr.
Wallingford. He will act In the same
capacity and will be in charge of serv
ice lor .Air. Aieaver,
BIG SAFETY FIRST CAMPAIGN
Council of National Defense Favors
Nation-Wide Movement.
A nation-wide campaign will seek to
place before the people of the country
the imperative need of traffic regula
tions which will make safe "life and
limb on the road, will shortly be Inau
gurated by the officials of the highway
transport committee of the council of
national defense.
In preparation for the movement a
series of regulations have been drawn
up which summarize the best thought
of the country on the subject of safety.
Hundreds of authorities have been
asked to take part in ths movement,
including all of the national traffic
associations, state highway engineers,
many chiefs of police, governors, sec
retaries of state and other officials
who come into contact with the traffic
problems, and it is believed that the
national campaign will serve to har
monize all effort along this line.
The work will be initiated this
month by the council of national de
fense through. Its highways transport
committee.
A particular effort will be made to
place basic suggestions as to safety
regulations before the municipal au
thorities of the country, with the idea
that they in turn may incorporate them
nto the regulations governing traffic
in the particular districts within their
jurisdiction. The work will also reach
traffic over rural highways, but the
congested condition of traffic in urban
centers necessarily lends first impor
tance to this phase
Hundreds of thousands of safety bul
letins will be distributed broadcast and
officials everywhere will be invited to
lend their aid to the effort.
The enormous growth of highways
traffic together with its interstate
phase, has made the movement one of
vital importance and experts are agreed
that if traffic regulations can be stand
ardized the dangers of accident from
misunderstanding of signals can be
practically eliminated and injuries
from other causes appreciably dimin
ished. So widespread is the interest in the
subject that Mississippi . has already
adopted suggestions mule by the high-
Y aLwTrrS
EllrrTi-r'' "il. ''T. "T J- j" r
Announcing
si
Tiic
Micvv Akl
1 illllik
The undersigned have taken the distribution
for this famous line of Trucks for the State
of Oregon and Southwest Washington and
are able to make immediate deliveries
"In Five Years None Has Worn Out
99
PERFECTED Stewart design eliminates from 600 to 700 parts in
Stewart trucks.
Stewarts endure no need to turn them in for a new truck after a short period of service. In
five years no Stewart has worn out.
THE Stewart internal gear drive applies more than 90 per cent of it$
power to the rear wheels, saving tires and gasoline.
More than 200 different industries are using Stewarts.
Many have large fleets. In 25 foreign countries they are giving daily service. Stewart
trucks sell for $200 to $300 less than the average truck of the same actual capacity. This is
possible because they are built in large quantities and sold at a small profit per truck.
Red Seal Continental Motor and other standard units of a high grade.
Panel Body Design
We Have an
Attractive
Dealers'
Proposition
Write
for Territory
Stake Body Design
Stewart
Trucks
Are Built
to Stay
in Service
and ,
Out of the
Repair Shop
zt3i lea
Stewart
Sizes
-Ton
1-Ton
1-Ton
Every Part
Oversize
Open Express Body
The Stewart Truck Distributors, With the
AlteAmry Track
343 Oak Street
TRUCK SPECIALISTS
Broadway 354
ways transport committee and incorpo
rated them into legislation, while the
committee has been deluged with in
quiries about the worK irora numbiuu
other sources all over the country.
PROBLEM OP EARLY AUTO DAYS
Balanced-Crankshaft Haa Reduced
Vibration to Minimum.
In the early days, when the problem
of the automobile manufacturer was to
make a car run at all. rather than run
economically and smoothly, balanced
crankshafts were unthought of. But as
the buying public began to demand cars
with, smooth-running engines in order
to reduce the unpleasant effects of ex
cessive vibration, the automobile en
gineer bad to devise some method of
equalizing the power Impulses trans
mitted to the driving shaft of the auto
mobile at each cylinder explosion.
And so he hit on the method of
weighing all the pistons and connect
ing rods, and classifying them accord
ing to their weights, in order to be sure
that the reciprocating mass of each cyl
inder was equal to that of any other
cylinder in the same engine.
Alabama Cars Increase.
Nine thousand more cars are in ser
vice in Alabama now than was the
case at this time 12 months ago. The
increase in commercial cars for this
period Is 1113; for private cars. 7902.
There are 38.29S private cars in Ala
bama. In the three leading counties
the number is as follows: Montgomery,
2081: Mobile, 25S7; Jefferson. 7249.
Commercial vehicles in the state total
7022.
GEXERAX. MOTORS GROWS FAST
Board of Directors Plan to Make
Billion-Dollar Corporation.
NEW YORK. May 21. General Motor
probably will become a billion dollar
corporation. At the meeting of the
board of directors in Wilmington re
cently. President W. C. pur ant aoatod
that the board of directors had recom
mended an increase in the debenture
stock to 1500.000,000 and in the com
mon stock to 1500,000.000. The increase
will be passed upon at a special meet
ing to be held on June 12.
V. P. Chrysler was elected firet vice
president and H. II. Bassett was added
to the board of directors and appointed
general manager of the Buick division.
Both, Bassett and F. W. Hohensee. gen
eral manager of production of the
Chevrolet division, were elected vice
presidents. ' Belt Dressing: for Clutch.
Car owners should get Into the habit
of using beH dressing for the clutch
leather to swell It and act as a. remedy
for slippage. In dlsingaging the clutch
it wm oe wen to notice whether there
is a ridB-a in the lMnthor. Knrh KAndl.
tion prevents the clutch from engaging
as xar as tt ought to and the only wav
w i emu., ciio riaga is to taae out
the clutch and then trim, dawn tha
leather with a rasp.
Danger of Changing- Battery.
On motor trucks equipped with elec
tric starters operators sometimes try
the experiment of changing their stor
age batteries so as to nave nine volts.
Instead of six. This Is a mistake, as
the motor will not etand un under a
higher voltage than the one It was
lntended for, .
4