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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 1921)
THE STJNTAT OITEG OXIA"K PORTLAND, JULY 17. 1921 MODERN STORAGE GARAGE COMPLETED AND OPENED AT FIRST AND HARRISON STREETS. JULY LOOKS GOOD poocc dxjooq I Heavy Registration Noted During First Week. I JUNE FIGURES MISLEAD Many Purchasers of Cars Held Off Taking Delivery on Account of License Fee. 10 " i CAR BUSINESS FOR ,; Yti&i i T -fr ;-T , .. ! I Although registration figures for the month of June, as published last week, indicated the month had been hut one-third normal throughout the state in new automobile business, the great volume of business for the first week of July, as indicated by the registration figures for that period, show the true situation. Total registrations for June were 2115 vehicles, of which about 889 were new passenger cars end trucks. Dur ing: the first week of July registra tions were 4200, or practically twice as many as during the entire month of June. The reason was, of course, that many purchasers of cars during June waited until July to take de livery In ord-er to get advantage of the half year rebate on the license fee.' Under the state license fee proviso there is no pro-rata of li cense fee y months. During the first six months, however, the full year's fee is demanded, while jfcfter July 1 but half the annual fee is re quired. "J une is always the biggest car month of the year. This year the people bought their cars as usual, but decided to leave them with the deal ers until after July 1." explained Ralph J. Staehli, secretary of the Portland Automobile- Dealers asso ciation. "The public was anxious to buy, but willing to leave the cars in storage for a few days to get ad vantage of the lower license fees. In one Portland agency two floors were packed solid with cars sold but un delivered. All of these buyers were perfectly willing to lose the use of their cars until the first half of the year had expired. I'ubllc ISuyinK Cars. "The public is buying cars in Ore gon. It is true that the public is buying more carefully than it did a while ago, but in turn it is getting bigger values than ever. Not only have prices declined to the pre-war levels, but in almost every case there is at least -5 per cent more automo bile than there was before the price increases. "Cars are better finished. They have accessories and features in cluded in he price that meant money before the price increases. The pub lic is nut unmindful of these things fend is buying. "Kecent figures published for the state of New York with its miles of highways and millions of people showed that Oregon sales were tar ahead. The sales for the Pacific northwest, a territory having about a third the population of the territory covered in the New York re-port, were almost double the eastern in the game period. "When we say "double we mean that In proportion to the normal sales power of the territory the sales were almost double. New York with its big congested areas has not the car owners than Oregon with its more prosperous urban population. But, comparing the sales power of the territory on the basis of present ownership, the northwest territory is double the strength of the east at this time. Kl surra Are Mlnlrading. In one other way are the regis tration figures of this year mislead ing. This is in the point of regis trations of the various makes. "Ordinarily were you to take Mult nomah county's figures for Fords, for example, showing cars registered in 1920 and subtract the total from the number registered in 1921 you would get the approximate amount of the increase or new car sales. However, this year the figures are all upset. "In ono case no less than 33 cars of a certain make have been de livered a n-d registered in one coun ty of Oregon. However subtracting the total registrations of last year of that car from the total of this year, you have a minus quantity, for there are not as many of the make In operation this year as there were last. "Theoretically, a certain number of cars should go out of service for ever each year. This annual retire ment varies according to conditions and may some day equal the total II u tuber of sales iu any community. "However, during the war every thing with wht-els under it or a motor in it, was brought back to service. The same was true in the terrific demand of 19-0 when any thing would sell. Many of the own ers who rejuvenated those junks now find it decidediy uneconomical to at tempt their furtUtr operation. It would have been cheaper for them to await the delivery of a new ear at the time tht-y took these old cars on, but now they are retired forever Th is is undoubtedly a factor in the mysterious discrepancy which occurs in some counties of the state where Bonie cars snow less than last year in spite of good sales this spring." KX POSITION" TO HE BOOSTED American Auto Association Indorses Oregon 19 2 5 Pair. Oregon's Atlant ic-Pacific highways and electrical ex posit ion to be held in Portland In P. 2 3 has been unani mously indorsed by the executive com mittee of the American Automobile asocial ion, which held a recent con vention in the Commodore hotel in New York cit y. according to word received here from 1... K. Warford, a former Oregon ian and now in New York in charge of the touring bureau Of the A. A. A. "Our executive board consists either of the presidents or of the executive officers of pract ical 1 y all of the larger automobile clubs throughout the Cnited States." wrote Mr. War ford, "and therefore this indorsement will receive national publicity. As a former Oregonian you can rest as sured that I will do everything pos sible to Htesist in directing attention and motor travel to the exposition." The matter was brought up before the American Automobile associat on executive committee and the indorse ment secured largely through the ef forts -of Mr. Warford and W. 1. Strandborg of the Portland Railway, Light & Power company, who was in Now lork. at me ume. Road Razor Latest. Now we have the latest device for road maintenance the "road razor." Its makers claim that it will shave the roughest of dirt roads so clean and smooth that it will resemble a boulevard. K the "razor" will do this more than 9,000,000 motorists will nominate its inventor for the kail of fame. jsaw--- I ' sv. 4, , ; J ft i , - ' v -i f i y f ; : iS & f " ABOVE XEW S. S. GARAGE, Jl'ST OPENED. BELOW PROPRIETORS OF THE GARAGE, L. ST1CE (LEFT) AXD B. S3iVDER. The new S. & S. garage, one of the finest auto storage buildings in that part of the city, was opened last week at the corner of First and Harrison streets. The building is of concrete construction, 100 by 100 feet and two stories in height. As a result of the grade on Harrisonstreet, it was possi ble to arrange the building with direct street entrances to both floors. Mr. Stice is a newcomer to Portland, having moved here about a month ago from Willlston, N. D., where he had been Maxwell and Chalmers dealer for several years. He made the trip overland with his family in a Chalmers sedan. Mr. Snyder is well known on automobile row here, having been with the C. L- Boss Automobile company for five years, the last three years as manager of the Boss branch at Vancouver, BRIDGE - TRAFFIC HEAVY ABOUT 1200 FOREIGN CARS USE INTERSTATE SPAN'. June Report of Bridge Superinten dent Shows liig Growth of Motor Touring, Indicative of the tremendous growth of automobile tourist travel through out the northwest are the figures showing the number of foreign cars passing over the Interstate bridge, each month, as contained in the re port of Bridge Superintendent Camp bell. During June, according to Camp bell's latest report, about 1200 for eign cars used the bridge, or an aver age of 40 a day. The exact number, according to the report, was 1249 cars, of which ."( crossed the bridge going north, while 486 crossed the bridge going south. California was easily the leader in states repre sented, with over three-fourths the entire count of foreign cars. Other states, including many of the eastern states, were well represented, how ever. The tabulation follows: GoinK StatP . i N. S. Arizona 3 Arkansas - liritish Columbia 12 1-t California . i3 3S1 Colorado -3 9 North Dakota - 1 District of Columbia 2 ...i Illinois 4 2i Indiana 1 ...! Idaho 37 JS Iowa 1 Kansas J louislana - - Minnesota 3 - Montana 1 1 Missouri 4 ... New York 4 4 Nebraska, - 5 - Oklahoma 4 3 Ohio 2 4 Texas 5 ... Nevada 3 Utah " ' 1 Virginia , 1 AVisconsin 3 4 Wyoming - 2 1 Alabama .. 1 Honolulu 1 Mexico 1 Total 7ti3 48 PAIGE IS GLlTfOX FOR WORK Six-Year-Old Car Still Busy Among Northwest Ixgging Camps. After serving in various capacities, including that of a livery "bus," and touring over all manner of rough country, a six-year-old Paige, with 51.000 miles to tts credit, is about to be subjected to the hardest work of its career, according to word re ceived by Cook & Gill, local distribu tors. Equipped with a portable weld ing outfit weighing 700 pounds, this tough I'aige veteran of mountain trails and desert routes Is penetrat ing the logging country. The car was purchased from Del Larson, Paige dealer at Spokane, in 1P15, by Bennidict Bros, of ColvUle who used it for rental purposes. After being run more than 20,000 miles, in which it made several trips into Canada, it was bought in Sep tember, 1917, by P. C. Hansen, an oxy-acetyline welder. The new owner started atonce on a trip to California, traveling 2024 miles in 12 days. The route included Crater lake, via Topsy pass and Klamath Falls, and the car reached an altitude of 7700 -feet by way of a mountain trail as there was no road at that time. Two other long tours were also made. Mr. Hansen specializes in the weld ing of logging truck frames. As his Paige just would not wear out and remained a glutton for work he is off to the logging camps, carrying his 700-pound welding outfit with him. The Cooling Streams, Wooded Mountains tnd Seashore of Oregon Are Within the Reach of Every Motorist Who Will Partake of These Treasured Gifts H1LLAHD REPRESENTATIVE JOINS Jl VRPKR-Bl Ki, INC. 3 4 jr - . ; - i r-r i LA GRANDE PLAN'S XEW SIGNS Old Intersection 'Dummies' Xearly Destroyed by Drivers. LA GRANDE. Or.. July 16. (Spe cial.) New traffic dummies are being placed in the conges tejl dis tricts of the city, following the great trouble from the old dummies during the last several months. The old dummies were made of wood, with some cement, but when bumped into by a machine were more injured than was the auto which made the attack. As a result careless drivers at tempted to demolish all of the dum mies in the city, and very nearly suc ceeded. ' 1 The new Rummies will have a con crete base 15 inches in height. The base will be painted white, and from the center a blue rod about three ftet high .will stand up. On top of the road will be two intersecting discs with the words, "Turn to the Right." These can be seen from all directions, and the dummies are of sufficient height in the concrete base to iure any machine attempting to straddle them being stopped. With the assistance of the state of ficers traffic in La Grande has been given a good clean-up, a large num ber of speeders being arrested. whileH old licenses have practically all dis appeared. raiNrock road under way Xew Grade Over Thompson Moun tain Only Five Per Cent. EUGENE. Or.. July 16. (Special.). Work is progressing on the road over Thompson mountain connecting Rain. rock, on the main road to the Siua law, and Indian Creek valley, and when construction is completed a maximum grade of 5 per cent instead of 25 per cent as at present will be had on that route, according to R. S. Shelley, supervisor of the Siuslaw na tional forest, who has charge of the work. The farmers of Indian creek levied a tax of 10 mills for this work, and the forest service matched the money. The county J also furnishing some funds. The work that is now being done Is all on the north side of the mountain, the south side being cov ered by the state highway , project, this side being a part of the Eugene- Florence highway now under construction. Luggage Carriers . Special $ 595 A black enameled luggage carrier with end agates. Fits any running board. Can be stretched full length of running board. Held on by three thumbscrew, clamps. Quickly put on and quickly removed. Just the thing for campers, vacationists and tourists to carry a tent" or other luggage and still have room in the car for passengers. Come and see. Our Special Price $3.95. How fortunate we are. that we can enjoy our vacation and rest right in our own state within a half day's motor trip from home and with practically no expense. Surely you are going to take advantage of these wonderful summer days to recreate with nature. We can help you on the road. If there is anything you need in the way of . Auto mpphes OR Campers' Equipment you will find it in our store without hunting, and our prices are always the lowest. We invite you to come here -and rummage around for the things you may need on your trip. Radiator Cap Special $ O50 It's the very latest style cap that sells ordinarily for ?4 to $5. The cap that motorists have gone "wild" about this season. Extended rod and ball design. Made of brass, nickel plated. We have them in sizes to fit almost all cars. Our Special Price ?2.50. Do You Need These? Extra Spark Plugs for emergency use. Hydrometer to t e s t your batteries and prevent overcharge. Tire Repair Outfit. Tire Tools. Oils and Greases. Skid Chains for wet places in the hills. Extra Light Bulbs. , Spotlight. Goggles. Radiator Cement. Motometer. Extra Inner Tubes. Extra Fan Belt. Tire Carrier. Air Pump. Grease Gun. Pliers. Thief Lock Chain. Bumpers. Air Gauge. Horn. Grease Cups. Oil Can. Jack. Extra Wheel. Windshield Awning. Lenses. Tool , Box. Tire Boot. Any Part or Accessory you may want is here. Repair parts for all cars t CaT,ES.ment NOTE THIS SIGN ON OUR ROOF Auto Beds. Tent Beds. Multiple Unit Poleless Tents, like style in above illustration. Folding Tables. Folding Chairs. Comfy Cushions. Searchlights. Oil and Water Carriers. Tow Rope for emergency. COUCH STREET PORTLAND, OR. Mail Orders Given the Right of Way IUTKEHZIE WORK PUSHED XIXE MILES NOW GRAVELED OX BELKXAP SECTION. Announcement was made last week by Harper-Burp, Inc.. local Wlllard etorape battery agents, that R- P. Unvm a n a w a I l.knn n- i hattort- m n n t In this section, has joined the firm I In the capacity of assistant manager. Mr. Bowman has been associated with the Wlllard company for the past four I years as representative in charge of I the northwest territory. WELLER CO. IX XEW QUARTERS Elgin and Westcott Dealers Xow In With Apperson Company. The Weller Motor company, dis tributors of Elsrin and Weetcott auto mobiles throughout this territory, has moved its quarters and is now main taining display rooms with the Apper son Motor Car company. The move takes the company from the south west oorner of Fifteenth and Wash ington streets directly acroes the street. The move gives the Elgin and Westcott distributors half of the Ap person company's' display space !n one of the handsomest of the display rooms of the city. The Apperson i continuing to occupy the corner of the building, while the Elgin and Westcott is occupying the other half. There will be no connection between I the Apperson and the Weller company Deyona joint use 01 me aispiay room, it was stated." More than 4,000.000,001) gallons of gasoline are required to supply power to- motor vehicles fox a single year in the United States. Present Contracts Will Eliminate AH Bad Grades Except Two Miles at Summit. -EUGENE. Or.. July 16. (Special.) C. H. Purcell, district engineer of the bureau of public roads, from Portland, made a trip over the McKenzie river highway to the summit this week to inspect the work being done in that locality. He reports that about nine miles of coarse rock have been spread by Seimes & Carlson, contractors, on the Blue river-Belknap springs sec tion of the highway, which is under construction, and that the entire work of surfacing the road will be com pleted some time late in the summer or early fall. Traffic over the high way now is heavy and the rock is packing down well. When the present grading contract on Dead Horse hill just west of the summit, and a mile-and-a-half stretch of the highway between Alder spring and Dead Horse are completed the last bad grades on the highway, ex cept the two-mile stretcti of lava on the summit, will have been . elim inated. Charles Neal, road patrolman of Vida. is making good progress with his grading and macadamizing job on a. two-mile stretch on the highway just west of Blue river, and the Lane county crew, whic.h has the contract to macadamize the four miles be tween Thurston and Waltervllle on the lower highway, is making good headway. A portion of this stretch is now a littl rouarh and dusty owing to construction, work, but It is not hindering traffic in the least. Some complaint has been made late ly of the detours around the Pacific highway paving work between Junc tion City and Monroe, but Eugene motorists say that both detours used at present are in good .shape and fair speed may be maintained. One of them is by way of Lancaster, turning to the right at Junction City, going north, and the other is by way of Ferguson and Long Tom river arvd the old territorial road, turning to the left, -. going north, a short dis tance below Junction City. case the job is one to be turned over to a competent repairman. Or the rim may have been tightened up un evenly so that the tire is not running true with the wheel. Evidence of such a condition will soon shoV on the surface of the tire: there is no surer way of cutting down tire mileage than a wheel which does not run true. The important points to watch in the wheels and bearings Is to see that thy run freely and are always packed with grease. The owner ought to clean and repack the bearings at least three times a year and on those occasions he should fee! for wheel and axle shaft play. Motor. The jinrikisha men of Japan have hitched their two-wheeled carriages to motorcycles. WEAK AXLE NEEDS ATTENTION Serious Accident May 'Occur as Re sult of Breakage. There are many things about a car which can be neglected with less con cern than the wheels? An otherwise careless motorist would do well to see that his wheels are in proper order, as so much of the safety and com forts of the occupants depends on them. Breakage may take place in the power plant and transmission mechanism of a car without much foa r of serious mishap, but a weak wheel or an axle that does not run true are sources of potential danger that call for prompt attention. When a wheel develops the slight est wabble it is a sign that a careful tnveatio'Atinn cVinn 1 Ho m ari. Wr W often when out driving is one's at-1 tet.tion drawn to the wabbling wheels of someone else's car! And how sel dom does an owner take the trouble to watch his own! It is a good plan to follow your own car in a friend's occasionally and watch the running of the wheels. Of course a wabble may or may not be caused by axle or bearing trouble or misad justment. Sometimes the wheel itseK may- have warped or suffered a b low, in wh i r h Sales Opportunity Here is an immediate opportunity to earn from $1,000 to $5,000 per month in a legitimate selling field. We are ready to market the GoSIo Safety Signal, a rear end automatic safety device which every automoDiie owner needs and ultimately will buy. We have untouched territory open for men who can produce results. Such men should own an automobile and be able to finance them selves for a short period. Men who know the accessory, hardware and garage field would be especially well qualified. We don't want men who expect to earn less than $1,000 to $5,000 per rnonih. The men who get territory must convince us of their responsibility and capability. The Central National Bank of Cleveland is our reference. The examination of a sample light will convince anyone that thfs Is an unusual opportunity. We will send one on receipt of $5.50 the retail selling price. Jfyoa want territory and emit qfimlifj, 'writs GoSlo Safety Signal Co. SiVrSSS . ' Giro reioxences xa your letter o inquiry WOMEN WHO DRIVE THEIR CARS- With Philco Retainers Guaranteed Two Years TTAVE usually found it unpleasant to go to an automobile repair shop of any kind. They are almost invariably mussy and dirty. 4 We have taken special pains to make it pleasant for women to avail themselves of our facilities for battery inspection and repair. Here you will meet with courtesy and neatness that will please you. l S a rule women do not understand batteries. But as far as the Philadelphia Diamond Grid Battery is concerned, lack of technical knowl edge makes no difference. The Battery is Guaranteed for Two Years. That's all you need know about it. We stand squarely behind the guarantee; so does the maker, one of the largest manufac turers in the United States. Van Matre-Howard Battery Co. - Portland, Oregon 48 North Broadway Vancouver, Wash. 403 Main Street