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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1914)
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 20, 1914. TO URGE REMOVAL OF F Legislative Committee of the American Highway Ass'n to Suggest Legislation, POLITICS IS CONDEMNED Chairman Moor Declares Good Koads and political Xachlnss to Bs a ' Bad Combination. . To meet the Insistent demand for ft ,iodl rond lav it is probable that the ajjewly' constituted legislative commit- to of the American Highway associa tion will first, direct its efforts toward outlining legislation covering the es tablishment and operation of state Highway departments, and the appor tionment of state aid. r a hasty review of. sUte aid in operation convinces me that the most important step is to take the state highway department entirely out of polities," declares Walton Moore, Chairman of the committee. "I find. says Mr. Moore, "that the most changes and the most troubles have occurred in those states where the highway departments are subject to political powers and are not conducted aa non-partisan technical depart ments." Undoubtedly the committee will urge that every 'state highway depart ment should consist of a non-partisan commission composed partly ex-officio and partlv by appointment, and that thin commission should aci in tne rapacity pf a board of trustees for the purpose Of appointing a competent state highway engineer and ior tne further Durpose of acting as an inter medlary between. him and the political branches of the state government. Experience has demonstrated that en glneering positions should be filled by ppolntment rather than election and that the term of service should be as long as good servlde is rendered. The committee also finds great ne cessltv for the classification of the roads and an apportionment of cost burdens to correspond with the classi fication. This means that one town ship should not bear the entire burden of roads which are wsed ty several townships and that one county should not bear the burden of a road that is used by several counties. Varying de tree of traffic call for Improvements equally variable In character and cost, so that the legislation wnicn win uiu tnately be found desirable and neces urv . will anDortlon to each unit of government its responsibilities, bur dens and benefits. The committee al ready has a complete compilation or all road laws and will shortly begin its further labors. ' DETACHABLES GROWING Tops Are Sound Proof and Absolutely Noiseless and Cost Reasonable. . Almost every motorist realizes that an automobile Is more of a necessity (luring the winter than in the summer months. The duties that the motorist has to. perform during the months of the year when the streets are covered with snow or ice, are just as important as the dally routine at that time of the year when touring Is more of a pleasure. For the doctors and professional men who are dally out of doors; for the social duties of the ladles and their shopping tours the motor car in win ter. Is an indispensable adjunct. But it ofttlmes happens that the motor car owner Is not inclined to afford the expense and upkeep of two distinct cars ran enclosed car for winter and in open car for summer. This - has been the main reason why the car makers. have hit upon the happy Idea of building removable tops for con verting the touring car and roadster Into sedan and coupe enclosed cars. This . winter detachables are becom ing very .popular all over the country. With the attachment of the removable tops, the owner enjoys all the luxuries of the most expensive enclosed cars, at a very reasonable cost. The tops are sound-proof, absolutely noiseless. and have a very pleasing interior ap- lpcarance, as they are lined with very nigh quality lining There is an elec tric dome light, the windows are ven tilating, and in fact, the tops have all tne appointments of luxury. Many Gars Are Sold Lean' Times Tactory Which Xecently Introduced Profit Bharlsr Plan Alms to Dispose of 300,000 Machines In 13 Months. For the first three months after the 'announcement, August 1 last, of the profit sharing plan for Ford purchas ers there were sold at retail and de livered 59,507 Ford cars. Those three months, August, September and Octo ber, are among the lean months of the year. They are preliminary to' the "closed season. Dealers, too. In those months are making contracts. And yet the Ford Motor company sold at retail ana delivered 5,607 cars. - The statement is highly significant in that the Ford Motor company can easily , materialize its stupendous plan to sell at retail between August, 1914 uu Auiiui me suu.uuo cars necessary to give Ford purchasers within that period a share in Ford profits. Auto Repairing We have opened a, department for general AtTTO KEPATJUWO SFECXAUxnra oh io vxtxov. EXXOTBIOATj UOHTXITO and BTABTIJrO APPAJtATXTS. 1 Western Electric Works 111 SIXTH ST. HIGHWAY WORK OM POLITICAL NFLUENCE MORE POPULAR NOW OUR NEXT WAR TO BE ONE OF GASOLINE One of fleet of 'Any uncertainty about the great I fight in Europe being a gasoline war was completely removed by Irvln , S. Cobb's recent interview with Lord Kitchener, in which the English army head inquired anxiously about the Ger man supplies of. gasoline. Germany's supply of gasoline is ne cessarily imported, for there are no natural oil wells in that country. Benzol, a substitute for gasoline, can not tfe made in large enough quanti ties. England's present mastery of the seas precludes the possibility of receiving fresh supplies of gasoline from America, except through Holland and the Scandinavian countries, and these sources are being rigidly super vised as far as possible by tire fleets of the allies. Russia's oil fields will naturally be conserved for the use of the czar's subjects, unless Turkey can succeed in her campaign against Ba toum. And the very fact that Germany persuaded the Turks to enter the war at this point is additional evidence of the supreme importance of a gasoline supply in a war waged under modern conditions. How fast the world is moving'is well indicated by the trend of recent wars. GOOD ROADS Clatsop County Spends Half Million in 1914 in Highway Im ' provement; Coos County Quarter Million. ; HALF MILLION DOLLARS has been spent on the construction and maintenance of roads in Clat sop county the past year and approxi- materly 175,000 remains to be paid contractors for Work that Is yet un completed. In order to do her part in construct ing the Columbia highway from Port land to the sea, the residents of the county last spring voted a bond issue of $400,000. The money has been spent in building three main-trunk lines , in the county.. Between Astoria and Westport. along the bank of the Col umbia river has been spent 1208,000; from Astoria to the Clatsop county line, known as the Nehalem route, has been spent $100,000. Another $100,000 was proportioned to the route between Astoria and the Tillamook county line via Seaside. This work was the last to be started and only one contract has thus far been awarded. This was for the grading and' clearing of the road beginning at a point 16 miles south of Seaside and extending to the Tillamook county line. The amount of the c6n- tract was $57,000. Five miles of the route between As toria and Seaside has been held up by litigation, and nothing has been done during the past summer in improving thin section of the hlehwav. With the exception of this part of the6- route there Is now a good hard surface drive way between Astoria and Seaside. From this city to one mile south or Warrenton Is the cement roadway. eight feet wide, with four feet of ma cadam on either side. This road in estimated to have cost approximately $10,000 per mile, exclusive of grading. The cost of the road was paid by an appropriation received from the state highway fund. From wkipanon to Carnahan station is the section of the road that nasliot been Improved. From Carnahan to Seaside the county has put the road in excellent shape for traveling, at a cost of $15,950. - It is Improved with a nine foot strip of "Warrenlte," with macadam shoulders on either side. - Colombia Highway Unit Eighty-four per cent of the Columbia highway between Astoria and West- ,fport has been completed. It Is . esti mated that it win require tne expendi ture of $44,661.25 to complete the road. As the amount of the general fund levy for next year will exceed $60,000, It Is evident that that section will he completed during the coming summer. Eleven bridges are yet to be con sidered. The road will be In good shape for traveling In Its present con dition about three months in the year, as it has only a dirt bed which will become soft when the fall rains begin. The road, however, will be improved with a hard surface as soon as funds are available. During the summer months a contracting firm has cleared 158.81 acres for the right of way. The number of acres yet to be cleared la !4. The grading and clearing on the Nehalem route has been completed. with the exception of one 60 root open ing, which can be either bridged or filled in the spring. The contract for this work was let on a day labor basis, owing to the fact that the bids re ceived bv the highway engineers were not satisfactory. The road is 36 miles in length and follows tbe route ot the old highway between Astoria, and Portland the greater part of the way. Activities in Coos County. a HARD surface road which can A be traveled by automobiles the year around and extending from the Coos county cities to Roseburg or some other point In the interior of the state.. Is the ultimate aim of the good roaas movement in Coos county, it is believed that such a highway would do as much as any other one tmnrovi ment or public project award placing Coos county in closer touch with the ' , ' .- 1 . -i quad The British-Boer war In South Africa witnessed the Introduction of motor trucks on a small scale, although the automobile was very much of an ex periment in those days. The recent Balkan wars emphasized the desira bility of motors along a battle front extending upwards of 100 miles. The present war leaves no doubt whatso ever about the absolute necessity for motor trucks and automobiles. Horses are being purchased by the tens of thousands, It is true, but main ly for the use of the cavalry. The most anxious inquiries are for motor trucks. The chief demand, ; however. Is for Quad trucks, which, because they drive, break and steer on all four wheels, can operate on the actual fir ing line over the -roughest kind of country. In places even where horses cannot pull a load. It is significant, in this- connection, that the United States army is rapid ly adding Quads to 'its transport serv ice. Armored Quads, and ordinary supply wagon Quads are going Into service every month. There is no secret about this among well informed people, for it is a fact that the Ignited States Is far better prepared for de fense against foreign aggression than PROGRESS tourist travel and people in general in other districts of Oregon. It has been impossible to bring about this expensive; improvement all at once, so in the meantime the county has been making road improvements throughout the county, where they are needed, and to put work on the main trunk lines which will not be wasted when it comes to building a main high way to the interior, j Up to December i during - the year 1914 there has been expended on good roads in Coos county $99,500, which was apportioned to districts, and $58,500 out of. the general road fund, the latter amount including that which was expended for bridges and ferries. For new bridges, repairs and recon struction of old bridges the county has spent $10,900, which money came out of the general roadfund. About 30 per cent; of the district road appropriations was expended for maintenance of ' old roads, or about $29,850. M For new routes, relocations and re ductions to grade, about $44,000 was expended out of the special and dis trict funds, with some assistance from the general road fund. Eight districts levied special road taxes, the amount thus raised aggre gating $46,001. Expenditure of Quarter XUUioB. This makes a total of $222,000 which has been expended for old and new roads and for bridges and ferries dur ing the year in Coos county. The road levy for next year is $199,006. The work on the roads of the county this year has been under the direction of P. M. Hall-Lewis, who holds the title of roadmaster of the county, and whose duties are those of highway engineer and general superintendent of county road worltj The policy of the county in doing road work will be to continue to reduce all main roads to established grades, as the funds are available, and as soon as this has been accomplished there will probably be some move set on foot to pave the main arteries of the county and thus have a hard surfaced auto route to the interior water Douna macadam which was laid during 1913 and 1914 Is giving very satisfactory results. The native rock thus far exploited is not of a character to produce a good asphalt bound macadam. The macadam roads of the county are of; five inches ulti mate thickness and are intended for capping with bitullthlc wearing sur face, j Coos county has approximately 900 miles of public highways. The county Is endeavoring to maintain in traversa ble condition 688 miles of county road. maintain ferries . and bridges, and gradually reduce to grade and final alignment a large percentage of the total mileage, on less than $150 per mile, exclusive of the amounts raised by special taxes. The county is rapid- ly standardizing the roadway sections and methods of construction, and con sideling the amount of available funds the county officials think 'that during the past year they have accomplished much in the way of securing ' better and more- permanent highways for Coos county. j. Construction Is Expensive. Road mining has In manv nartn of the county been exceedingly difficult and expensive. Particularly is this the case through the mountain regions, where there are many landslides in tne winter season, and where' the con structlon work has been hlghlv exnen sivo Many of the worst difficulties however, have been overcome. Th farmers who live in the more Isolated districts are coming to a greater reali sation of the Importance of a good road to the market centers, while the people of the cities of the county . are now more man ever anxious to have high ways of a first-class kind which will connect with the Interior, and thus give a route which . autos can travel ana reach the beach, mountain' and irucus usea Dy me leaerai government. i . . ' ' lak reaorta of Coos county. certain alarmists give us credit for. There are signs, moreover, that in spite of President Wilson's carefully worded statement about depending upon a citizen soldiery, the! United States regular enlisted army will be j increased at an early date, probably to the 205,000 men recommended : by Major General Wotherspoon in his final report when retiring as Chief of staff of the American' army,! Is not improbable, too, that by, a sys tem of reserve there will be provided a mobile force of 500,000 first line troops equipped for a six months' campaign. This was also recommended by the former army chief. s But if this were done, the trans portation equipment would be far from adequate. Only by a system of sub sidy for army type Quad trucks, such as obtains in Europe, could Uncle Sam provide against the contingency of war, Into which we might be plunged at any time during the present disturb ance abroad. And we must not forget that every horse killed in Europe and every horse exported from America makes it just that much more certain that our next war, too, must needs be a gasoline war. j T ND1CATED BY LARGE SHIPMENT OF AUTOS Train for Forty Cars Due in Near Future, Another 100 Month Later, s of A special trainload of 40 cars,' con taining 200 automobiles, for dlstrlbu tion in the Pacific northwest, would Indicate at least some prosperity in this territory at this time of the year. Mel Johnson, manager for the How ard Co accompanied by bis business associate, A. 8. Eldridge of Seattle, returned last week from a flying business trip to San Francisco, where- they met C. S, Howard and s secured an allotment of 200 Buick cars of assorted models, which will leave the factory on Christmas day. for . dis tribution in the Pacific northwest. These cars will be loaded in 46 freight cars, which will be run as a special train from the factory at Flint, Mich,, to the Pacific northwest. This will be the first of the special trains for the season of 1915, a sec ond train of 100 carloads having bees promised for shipment Washington's birthday. j The first special train of automo biles, a 40 car train, ever brought to the Pacific northwest, was ! shipped from the Buick factory March 4 of this year, and created a real sensa tion. 1 The shipment of a special train at this early date, and particularly at the time the pessimist. is abroad in the land, will, no doubt, create a still further sensation. f Europe Demanding Commercial Cars October, In Bonn a Flgnxes, Saw A porta tion of 600 Mora Can Than 8am Month Tear Ago. ! Washington, D. C, Dec 19. The large demand, for commercial; cars as result of the European' i war Is shown in the October exports, made public today by the Federal bureau of statistics. In that month 672 com mercial cars, valued at $2,286,964, and 733 pleasure cars, valued at $768,387, were exported, as against 79 com mercial cars, valued at $139,506 and 1697 pleasure cars valued at $1,663, 716, exported in the same month last year. The exports for the lo: months enaed octODer last were, 1309 com merclal cars valued at $3,353,509 and 20,362 pleasure cars, valued at $17. --' m - i ' Tire Company Is In New Quarters Kepubllc Moyaa Prom Burnside. Street to Back Building; Broadway De clared ogldal Location. The local branch of the ReDublic jttuDOer company or California, for merly located on Burnside street, has taken up quarters in the Beck build lng, 71 Broadway, next door to the White company. The Republic was one of the first tire companies to es tablish a branch in Portland and him been very successful in Its operations in this territory. John O. Leslie, local manager, in speaking of the change In location, believes that Broadway is the logical location for all tire con cerns In Portland, due to the width of the street and the great amount of traffic using that thoroughfare be PRESEN PROSPERITY . , -. . - , i rrn r nin in nnrrii I UNIX uAK Id ulVtlj UNSTINTED PRAISE BY -MOTOR ENTHUSIASTS Machine Has Been Center of Attraction Since Intention to Market It Announced, EXPECTATIONS EXCEEDED Authorities Unanimous la Assertion Tht Haw Standard Sat la Pop ular Priced Field. Several thousand people visited the salesroom of the Covey Motor Car company during the past week In specting, tbe new Dodge car that was placed on exhibition a week ago today. Out of all the .motor enthusiasts not one had a word of disparagement for the little car that has occupied be center of attraction In the. low car price for the past 12 months. Ever since Dodge Brothers an nounced -they would place on the mar ket a small car, every possible con jecture as to the size and price has been set forth. Naturally, every one was greatly pleased when the car was finally placed on show in Portland to find that it was far beyond their ex pectatlons. Contrary to the expecta tions of those who expected freakish design. Dodge Brothers' car is a full grown automobile with a four cylinder motor. 3 Inch bore by 4 Inch stroke, developing 30-35 horsepower. It has a wheel base of 110 inches. For the present, the car will be available In five passenger touring car form and as a two passenger roadster. Motor authorities who have exam ined and ridden in the new cr are unanimous in stating that Dodge Brothers have established a new standard of value in the popular priced car field. In point of commod iousness for the passengers, service, sturdiness and general appearance, the car exceeds the general acceptance of what can be purchased in the open market at a figure in the vicinity of the J 800 mark. No sound suggestion for the , improvement of the car's equipment, whlcfy Includes electric lighting and starting, one man top, ventilating : windshield, and other features, has been offered by a single automobile expert who has seen the car. t Worm Driven Truck Ready. The Gerllnger Motor Car company has Just been advised by the Federal Motor Car company that they now have ready for distribution worm- driven models of one and a half - ton capacity. This company- has hereto fore built only chain driven trucks. The worm-driven truck is being taken up by a good many of the truck makers and it is said that the pleas ure car makers will soon adopt this method also. t. HAYNES LIGHT SIX MAKES NEW RECORD ' IN LOW GEAR TESTS Distance of 180.4 Miles Cov ered of Which 166.1 Were Made Without Stopping, STOCK MODEL IS USED Car Was XiOadad With Pull Equipment and Carried Pour Pasaangers Watar Did Hot Boil. All former low gear tests were far outstripped by- the Haynes light six at Newark, N. J-, December V when a demonstrating car was given an all day low gear run by Clarence li. Schuyler. The total distance covered was 180.4 miles, of which 166.1 miles were covered without stopping the motor. It has only been a few, months ago that tbe Franklin people were point ing with great pride to the fact that no water cooled automobile would dare attempt to perform a low gear test such as they performed when they ran their car 100 miles on low gear, with in a 10 hour limit. Now; comes the Haynes and nearly doubles the Frank lin performance, making the 100 miles in less than seven hours. The car was driven 100 miles, non stop, in 6 hours 52 minutes, and the distance for 10 hours running was 151.2 miles, a little better than 15 miles an hour. The consumption of gasoline for the whole 180.4 miles was 23 gallons, 7.8 miles to the gallon, and the oil used was 7 quarts. 25.7 miles per quart. No water was added to the cooling system and the car returned at the end of the run with the radiator practically as full as when starting out; the actual drop of the water level was less than a quarter of an inch. A motometer showed that the temper ature did not rise higher than 160 de grees Fahr. at any time; the average was about 115 degrees. The water did not boil at any time and the water jackets were not too hot to lay the bare hand on even, .at the tops of the worst of the many bad hills. -The touring -car used was a stock model used as a demonstrator and had been run about 1000 miles. It was loaded -with full equipment and four passengers, and weighed en route, scaled 3800 pounds with and 3230 pounds without passengers. The low gear ratio is 11.75 to 1, intermediate 7 to 1 and high 4 to 1, When the report of this wonderful performance by the Haynes reached Portland. Henry Mann, the local rep resentative of the Haynes, insisted that a representative of The Journal be shown a few of the stunts the new six would perform around the hills of Portland. Leaving The Journal the car was taken up Hall street hill faster than the writer had ever been before. The car made the entire hill on second at a rate greater than 20 t miles per hour. All of the other dem- "Each in a class by itself " 1mm. ' Our Challenge SSSSSSBSBi SSsBsBsssssssssiiBi We challenge any competitors Ue to show the same combination of real anti-sldd protection and low cost per mile j that is given by either i "Nobby Tread" Tires or. "Chain Tread" Tires. onstratlng hois of the city wera taken on high without the least exertion, on the part of the motor. Mr. Mann says he may repeat the low gear demon stration In this city In the near fu ture.. . " MULTITUDE OF BABY CABS Here Is an interesting bit " of In formation which offers food, for thought. Think of a procession of 88,- JUST A Save IS to 35 on Gasoline or Distillate With ' a Master Carburetor 10 Days' Trial . Store Open Evenings Until Christmas ARCHER AND WIGGINS h OAJC STBXST, COSITU SIXTH - -'MJ; AUTOMOBILE SUPPLIES No Cold FeetV WHEN YOU USE Clark Foot Warmers BALLOU & WRIGHT BROADWAY NORTHWEST AUTO CO. Factory Distributors of Cole, Reo, BROADWAY AT Main 8887 AUTOMOBILE AND SHOP SUPPLIES ; 'A. Spark Plugs TOOLS BrakoUning , MOTORCYCLES AND ACCESSORIES Preer Tool and SupplyfCo. 74 Sixth and 311 Oak ta, Vboass Main lta. A ISO Diamond TraraECS I Vulcanizing (SKetreadin R.E. - Vmm mm ..!' : . n Anti-Skid Tires . . . ; ! 060 baby carriages, each wjth Us pra cious burden requiring fresh air and -sunshine every day In the. year when the weather will permit It requires -some stretch of imagination to reatiia what this means. Nevertheless. In formation comes to us from the Rub ber Manufacturing company that dur ing the month of October its -output X of baby cab tire rubber was 200 miles, which figuring 12 feet of i rubber for each cab, would make comfortable 1 000 babies. ' i MINUTE! r SPORTING GOODS:: AT40AK Lozier Curs COUCH STREET 0-'.v: !A-4959 BLODGCTT. 19-31 Worth 14th, r Couch Vnoaa Mal?7O0S. 1 R3I tween the east and west side. - . f , : ... .. .. ' . .. , . asa iar ,