The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, August 22, 1920, SECTION SIX, Page 5, Image 69

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    ' o
on firm ground if possible. Brakes
should always be carefully applied,
especially if the road surfaces are
wet. An automobile should nevqr be
brought to a stop In mud, clay or
sand, enow or slush, if it can be
avoided. Whenever road conditions
are unfavorable, the smooth tread
tires of the driving wheels should
always be fitted with chain tire grips
to insure having adequate traction."
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, POttTXANT), AUGUST 22, 1920
WOK
HIGHWAY
IS STRONGLY URGED
Unpaved Surface Aggregates
More Than 100 Miles,
PETITION IS CIRCULATED
Commissioner Benson Issues State
ment Placing Tersonal Approval
on letling Contract.
Completion of the Pacific highway,
the prcat trunk road through the
state frem the north to the south over
which Oregon's share of the auto
mobile tourists from California have
to come, ts being: strongly urgedand
the highway commission is to be pe
titioned -shortly to let contracts for
the work this fall, in order that
actual construction on the strips of
unpaved highway, aggregating slight
ly more than 100 miles, may begin
early next year.
C. Fagan, of the Charles C. Fagan
company, distributors for Pierce-Ar-row
cars and trucks, petitions are
being circulated, and are being signed
generally by leading business men
of Portland.
The move for early completion of
this great trunk highway has the
btrong personal backing of S-, Benson,
member of the state highway com
mission, and a statement explaining
the entire situation in fie tail and
giving the reasons for early action
in the matter of letting of contracts
has been prepared by Mr. Benson,
his personal statement being as fol
lows: j
Mr. Benton's Statement. "
The importance of expediting the com
pletion of the Pacific highway Is fraught
with so great significance to ihe progress,
prosperity and advancement of the state
thaa it teems superfluous to advance any
reasons or arguments for its accomplish
ment. The Pacific highway fs the thorough
fare of paramount importance. Running
t h rough out the entire length of the state,
with all roads leading to the coast and
io the interior branching from it, form
ing a junction ith the Columbia river
highway. It is the artery giving trans
portation for the entire state with the
center of trade and population. For its
entire distance of miles It is the
artery of transportation for western Ore
gon. Within the past three years the ex
cessive grades have been eliminated, dan
gerous curves widened and, in fact, the
entire highway has been practically re
constructed. 158 Miles of Gaps.
In addition to this 1100 miles have been
hard surfaced, leaving gaps totaling loS
miles yet to be paved. Like a chain, only
as strong as its weakest link. a. road
is only serviceable as a whole when it
is passable over its entire length, so with
its incomplete state the Pacific highway
will not give its full use until its entire
distance is complete within the standards
of modern iroad construction.
Modern transportation methods have
revolutionized road construction. The best
macadam road yet devised will not stand
motor traffic. Within an incredibly short
time it becomes rotigh. dusty and totally
unfit for traffic. The maintenance cost
is absolutely prohibitive and in justice
to the automobile vehicle owner, who is
paying the cost of road construction, roads
of first importance of. which class the
Taciflc highway is easily the first, should
be paved not only .to relieve rail con
gestion and for convenience, but to save
wear and tear on these vehicles.
lunds Are Available.
The vote of the people at the election
of June -1, when the proposition was sub
mitted for an Additional $10,000,000 road
bonds ws so positive in Its favor that It
was a mandate to proceed w-ith the work
already begun and In every act affect
ing highway legislation passed by the
ttate legislature special emphasis has been
placed upon the improvement of the Pa
cific and Columbia river highways. There
is no question as to finances, as thn funds
available for this purpose, if not diverted
to the construction of roads of minor
consequence, are ample and all that re
mains is for athe highway commission to
order its engineers to prepare plans and
specifications, and follow legal require
ments to the lotting of contracts.
It is imperative, if it Is expected that
work of paving be compleetd in 1021, to
award contracts for tnis improvement as
early as possible in the -autumn of 13-0.
By following this procedure It will give
contractors the fall and winter months
for t he assembling of equipment, the
gathering of supplies and material This
consumes a great deal of time, particu
larly the assembling of crushed rock that
enters ; largely into paving operations. -
Working Season Short.
The time for these preliminary opera
tions generally consumes from oO to S0
days and as the working season in west
ern Oregon is extremely short, not Averag
. ing over 00 days, it is obvious not much
progress can be made in actual road con
sir uct Ion or improvement.
Much of the supplies and material used
in paving operations depend upon rail
transportation for delivery and it is al
most impossible to do this during the
summer months, the period of rail con-
jrestion, hence material such as cement,
ephait, crushed rock, plants equipment,
etc., is assembled during the winter
month when cars are available. At a re
cent session of rail executives an order
was passed placing an embargo on high
way material for a specified period, thus
it is obvious that if contractors are not
enabled to take advantage of time and
conditions the period when actual work
can be performed will find them utterly
unable to proceed owing to lack of ma
terial, Tourists Will Come.
I-.et the fact become known through
out the country that the Pacific highway
Is complete In every detail and Its en
A tire distance will be a moving caravan
of travelers, who, having heard of Ore
gon as land particularly favored by
nature, are anxious to verify what they
have heard by personal examination.
There are so many cogent, positive import-ant
reasons why there should be no
delay in completing the Pacific highway
that everyone having the best interests
of the state at heart should insist that
the state highway commission proceed
immediately with a project that means
t much to the progress, prosper y and
advancement of every resident of Ore
Bon. LOWER GEARS MADE TO USE
Always Shift Out of High When
Car Begins to Labor.
Always drive your car slowly and
rautiously until you are thoroughly
familiar with its control mechanism
ana the metnod or stopping it. This
is some of the advice given to new
car owners by a writer in a recent
issue of American Motorist. Among
other things, this writer says:
"When driving up grades on the
higher ratios, if the motor shows any
tendency to labor, shift back into a
lower gear ratio, which has been oro
vldcd for that purpose. Many motor
ists believe tnat the best test of
cars aoimy is to rusn an hills, or
bad spots in roads, on the direct drive.
It should be remembered that the
lower speed ratios were provided for
use at all times when employing the
third or fourth epeeds might produce
trains in tne motor.
"One should never attempt to drive
cars at high speed unless the tire cas
ings are in perfect condition and the
road surfaces good. In driving on
clay or muady roads, or on wet as
phalt. care must be taken in turning
corners, and the 'car should always
be driven cautiously to avoid danger
ous side slipping or skidding. When
driving on unfavorable highway sur
faces alwaja Keen one side. of. the car
AUTO 'CIRCUS DAYS OVER
Car, in 1896, Advertised as Fea
ture by Barnum & Bailey.
The motor car has had its "circus
days" along- with every other inven
tion that ever amounted to anything.
At one time the Barnum & Bailey
people announced that they would
show an automobile and it attracted
as much interest in 1896 as any of
the freaks of the side show. ,
And wouldn't the motorist delight
to go back, to 1898, when gasoline
sold for 6 cents a gallon, and keep
his tank full for a while? Even at 6
cents a gallon the buyers were few
and far between because the gasoline
cook stove was a terror to the aver
are neighborhood.
The first motor car chow washeld
in New York in 1900 and it was cer
tainly a motley arVay of horseless
carriages that greeted ' the curiosity
seeker who entered the hall. Tops
and windshields were never thought
of, and as for electric lights and self
starters, the man who mentioned
them would be burned at the witches'
stake.
But do not forget that with 6-cent
gasoline were "sic cent" automobiles.
That is, they ran a while and then
got tired and lay down in the middle
of the road and quit.
DAMS 5NDW UNE IS GOAL
FOREST SERVICE WILL OPES
TRAIL FOR MOTORISTS.
Work Will Begin on 16-Foot Road
v From Trout Lake Valley "With-.
In Two Weeks, Is Plan.
WHITE SALMON, Wash., Aug. 21.
(Special.) The very snow line of
Mount Adams will soon be made ac
cessible to the autoist, according: to
information furnished by the forest
service..
Unless serious forest fires interfere
with their plans, work will commence
within (tie next two weeks on
16-foot road from the Trout lake
valley section of the White Salmon
valley to the snowline of Mount
Adams.
To the Morrison creek ranger sta
tion this will not exceed a maximum
grade of 7 per cent; for three miles
beyond this point a portion will reach
10 per cent. At its terminal will be
found an ideal camping ground, pro
vlding close-ups to the snow fields
and wonderfully interesting panoram
ic s over valleys, mountain ranges,
with their foothills and several of the
noted peaks.
Camped at this point overnight, one
is enabled to make the climb to the
summit or the mountain with ease
and return to camp before dark.
Later it is proposed to build another
road to the snowline of the mountain
from the Glenwood approach, follow
ing close to Bird creek up to Bird
Creek meadows; also to connect the
two snowline roads at about the 4000
foot elevation.
Touring east out of Portland, Seat
tle and other coastal points, via the
Columbia gorge, a most interesting
run wilt then be from White Salmon
up the gorge of the White Salmon
river to Trout lake, where the ice
and lava caves may be visited, and
the trout fishing enjoyed; then over
the snowline system of roads to Glen
wood, at the foot of Camas Prairie
valley; then, until the autoist gets
the Yakima Columbia river highway
built across from Takima to Glen
wood, cross the Klickitat river and
out of its gorge over the new and
most scenic road to Goldendale, where
again the direct route is picked up to
Yakima and the east or westerly over
thts Sunset highway and Snoqualmie
pass to Seattle and British Columbia.
ADDING TO TRUCK'S LIFE
WEAR AND TEAR REDUCED BY
PNEUMATIC TIRES.
Garford Dealer Declares That All
Trucks Under Three Tons Will
.Be Equipped In. Two Years.
The evolution of the motor express
from a minor factor to an importan
place in the nation's transportation
system in the last few years may be
traced largely to the adoption of
pneumatic tires and the increased
all-around utility of the motor truck
according to E. N. Wheeler, secretary
of the Garford Oregon Motor Sales
company.
. "Pneumatic tires are rapidly dis
placing solid tires on motor truck
engaged in nearly every line of Iiaul
Ing activity," says Mr. Wheeler.
"One authority states that for 1920
there will be built 100.000 three
quarter-ton trucks, 100 per cent o
which will be equipped with pneu
matic tires; 100,000 one-ton trucks,
90 per cent of which will be equipped
with pneumatics, and 75,000 1-ton
trucks, 75 per cent of which will be
equipped with pneumatics. It is pre
dieted that within two years all
motor trucks under three-ton ca
pacity will be equipped with pneu
matic tires.
"The advantages of the improved
pneumatic over the solid type are
numerous and may be summed up as
follows: Reduced operating and re
pair costs, increased speed and power,
decreased consumption of gasoline
and oil and greater traction ability
in mud, sand and snow. To these may
be added the lessening of fatigue for
the operator, reduction in the liability
and lessening of wear on the roads.
"Pneumatics, it has been demon
strated, contribute materially, to the
life of a truck by reducing road
shocks. The increased speed which
they make possible is particularly ad
vantageous in the operation of motor
express lines.
"Numerous instances of the advan
tages of pneumatics over solids have
come to our attention. Aside from
the fact that trucks equipped with
pneumatics all around are capable
of greater speed, it has been found
that operating costs have been ex
ceedingly low. There are cases where
owners state that upkeep has been
reduced as much as 75 per cent."
Spring Flattening.
It has often been remarked face
tiously that a certain car has- an al
terable wheelbase. As a matter of
fact this is literally true of almost
every car, especially of those which
have Hotchkiss drive. When the
springs flatten and remain so, even to
a slight extent, the axles are further
separated and the wheelbase is
changed, perhaps an inch or two.
Measuring the distance from wheel
center to wheel center is a good
check on spring condition.
Don't bump the traffic cop.
fPR
CITY TO DENVER ON S246
TRIP FOR THREE COSTS $25
LESS 1HA.V RAIL) FARE.
12.3S Miles Made on Gallon of
Fuel Total Distance of 2313
Miles; Through Mountains.
Frank C. Webb, -who just recently
returned to his home in Denver after
spending a few days in Portland on
his way from San Francisco to Colo
rado, tells of the economy of this trip.
The distance of 2342 miles, much of
it through mountainous and difficult
country, was made by the Webb party
of three at a total cost, including
hotel bills, and all the incidental ex
penses of travel, of $246.96, which is
$25 less than the actual railroad and
Pullman fares would have been for
the three at the rates then in force.
The actual gasoline costs were
much higher on this Journey than
they would have been ordinarily, for
at some places gasoline cost 40 cents
a gallon and the average price was
nearly 35 cents. The mileage of the
car, a Marmon 34, figured 12.38 miles
per gallon of fuel.
A more remarkable exposition of
automobile travel economy s found
when this 2342-mile Marmon journey
is compared to the cost of the rail
road trip aa it will be when the. new
The Times Now Demand the
ACTICA
Which the Franklin Has Always Given
Steady service, without troubles or delays
Unlimited service , free from seasonal restrictions
Thorough service, covering most miles per day
Enjoyable service comfort over all roads
Economical service, saving gasoline, tires and car.
1920 will increase the total number of Franklin owners to
over 65,000 an increase of more than 22 since last year.
The reason behind this increasing popularity is the growing
importance of Franklin standards of performance on account
of the times. Practical service, as defined above, has always
been the aim of the Franklin.
As proof , witness the economy which Franklin owners have
enjoyed . for eighteen years, and which now averages:
20 miles to the gallon of gasoline
12,500 miles to the set of tires
50 slower yearly depreciation
- ............. '.,- Nttitntl Averages)
w FRAK
FRANKLIN MOTOR CAR CO, The Dalles,
Or.
MRDFORD A1TO CO.. Med ford. Or.
WILLAMETTE MOTOR CO, Albany, Or;
rate increases are in force. ' In a
short time the total railroad and Pull
mac fares for three from San Frarr
ci:o to Portland and then to Denver
will be $342.50, or J95.64 more than
it cost Mr. Webb, his son and friend
who did the journey in the Marmon
roadster with a great deal of pleas
ure. Though a railroad supply man
himself, Mr. Webb is very enthusiastic
over the economical transportation
ability of the motor car, and particu
larly of the Marmon 34.
DIRT WEARS OCT GEARS
Loosening of Holding Nuts Fre
quent Cause ot Trouble.
Around the engine and other parts
of the car there are supposedly tight
joints in addition to actual openings.
Take the front .end cover, commonly
called the timing gear case cover. Vi
bration may loosen a few of the hold
ing nuts, allowing the cover to move
away from the crank case a small
fraction of an inch. With, an accu
mulation of dirt over the cover some
of the dirt is bound to get to the gear
teeth. " Dirt and lack of lubrication
of front gears are responsible for
rapid wear and noisy operation.
78,789 Trucks Haul Products.
Haulage of farm products is first
among motor truck uses, requiring
?8,7&9 trucks in the rural districts
last year. Manufacturing concerns
used 65,028 trucks and retailers used
64,486. The figures are vouched for
by the highways transport commit
tee of the council of national defense.
BRALY AUTO COMPANY
601 Washington St., Portland
DEALERS i
MTtIOr AtTO CO, Salrm. Or. .
ROWAN. SKYI.KS ALTO CO, Aortat. Or.
LIBERTY ALTO CO, Vancouver, Wash.
NEW TRUCK IS DEVISE0
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER
COMPAN Y ANNOUNCES PLAN.
Model S Speed" to Be Name
Latest Addition to Line;
Plant Also Will Rie.
of
It was announced recently that the
International - Harvester company is
to erect at Fort Wayne, Ind., the
largest motor truck plant in the world
to increase its truck manufacturing
schedule. It is now known also that
other f the company's plans which
have long been under advisement for
enlarging International motor truck
manufacture have now come to a de
cision. The company will add a new
truck to its lines, known as the
Model S speed truck, and the big
works at Springfield, O., will be
turned over to the exclusive produc
tion of this new model. Although
business in International motor trucks
has increased 1500 per cent since the
year 1914, a sensational growth in it
self, it is estimated that the develop
ment of this new model will double
the company's production as soon as
capacity can be reached.
The Model S. Internatfonal will be
a 1500-pound capacity truck. 115-inch
wheel base, equipped with 34x5 pneu
matic truck cord Urea and electric
SBR
J
lights and starter. The list price of
the chassis will be $1500 f. o. b. the
factory. The Model will be assem
bled from approved standard units
and will have an average speed of
from' 25 to 30 miles an hour. The first
sample models are still being grilled
ruthlessly by International engineers
under the severest carrying and road
tests which can be devised for de
veloping strength and disclosing
weakness.
TAKE EXTRA HEADLIGHT BULB
Useful if Lights Go Out on Long
Automobile Tour.
The question of what spares to take
on reasonably extended tours is one
that bothers most motorists. Here
are a few useful spares that are fre
quently forgotten. For instance,
extra bulbs or the headlights ought
always to be carried. A few dry cells
may be invaluable in emergency. Two
or three pairs of pliers instead of the
customary one should certainly be
carried. Spare tire valves and a hand
tire pump for emergencies will be
friends in need on occasion.
Dry Bearings.
One cause of insufficient lubrica
tion in the bearings is found in ob
structions in the grooves in the bear
ing holder. Sediment often collects
In these grooves so that they cannot
perform their appointed function of
carrying lubricating oil to the bear
ing surfaces. An excess of graphite,
if that be used . with the oil, some
times produces this condition.
VIC
E
W. W. McCORM ACK, Eugene. Or.
CLACKAMAS COUNTY ALTO A TRACTOR
CO, Oregon City. Or.
ACKLEV Jt MILLER, Tillamook, Or.
TIMELY ADVIGE GIVEN
OWNERS TOLD HOW TO GET
MOST EFFICIENT SERVICE.
During Hot Days Attention Should
Bo Given Frequently to Radi
ators, Says W. L. Garbc.
Timely hints are contained in the
advice given to motor car owners by
W. L. Garbe, local distributor of
Studebaker cars. In an interview on
service he tells particularly how own
ers can get the most efficient service
from their cars during the summer
months when automobiles generally
are subjected to hardest and most
persistent usage.
"In general, motor car owners
should bear in mind that the heat of
summer, combined with the greater
use to which they put their-cars at
this season of the year, causes more
evaporation than at other times," says
Mr. Garbe. "This applies not only to
the water in the radiator, but also
to oil.
"During the hot weather months at
tention should be given frequently to
the radiator; at least, the owner
should see that it is kept filled, and
at intervals it' should be flushed out
and filled with clean water. In con
nection with efficient operation of the
cooling system,, fan belt adjustment
Should be made, for the fan is needed
1
' ' 1
in Slimmer. The position ot the span;
lever should be watched to see tha
it is kept in an advanced position
thus assuring better cooling of the
motor.
"Careful attention should be di
rected to the brakes to see that they
are kept in as nearly perfect conrii-
I inn -i n nrNuciKlA f ,1 1 1 i ,1 . tKo ftlim.
mer months they get greater usase.
with more traffic to contend with and
more cars on the road.
"Tire pressure should be watched
more closely on tires that rruvc been
in use i'or a long period because tires
expand mor(e in hot weather. Tha
owner should have a tire gauge and
use it in inflating. In taking long
trips the owner should be provljded
with a good spare tire, and should go
over all tires during the' trip to see
that they have no defects.
"Every owner wants to have his
car in the best possible condition dur
ing the summer months, for it is then
that he uses his automobile most. To
get this maximum efficiency, he must
exercise greater care in going over
the car."
Uunoticed Leaks.
In. summer, when the heat causes
rapid evaporation of gasoline, tiny
leaks in the fuel line often escape
discovery. In some cases this will
be enough to account for a sudden
cutting down of the mileage per gal
lon. So In- cases where the relative
mileage shows a sudden drop it Is
well to inspect the fuel line for email
leaks. ?
' i n-11 111 inii.i nit wiug USCU HB
the base of roadway instead, of cob
blestones hear London, England.