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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1916)
THE- OREGON -SUNDAY .JOURNAL,' PORTLAND. -SUNDAY MORNING.8 APRIL 23, 1916. .- - . HIGHWAY THROUGH JOHN DAY VALLEY MAY BE SURVEYED MajheuWand Grant Counties : ,Have, Already Agreed, and .Wheeler,. Baker Likely To ROUTE-. IS PICTURESQUE Son Parts of . Country Tannins; XmoA j m4 la Othsxs Lmugfd Uons . . tain Sirtrlctg Trav.rs.d. Definite steps are being taken for survey for a state road from the Columbia river highway to Ontario through the John Day valley. The Malheur and Grant county courts have joined in a request to the state high way department for the survey. A petition is being circulated in Wheeler county to be presented to the county court and the matter will come up before the Baker county court next month. There is also scheduled a meeting at Baker next month at which representatives of the counties inter ested will be present to urge the es tablishment of the road. As planned the road will run from Ontario through "Vale up Willow - creek to Ironsides, through Unity in Baker county to the headwaters of the John Day river. Thence down the John Day river through Prairie City, John Day and thence to DayvlUe. Sprague and to Fossil in Wheeler county; thence by - some route to be determined to con nect with tae Columbia river highway either through Gilliam or Sherman county. Each County to Kelp Fay. Each county through which the prj- posed highway runs Is to advance the expense of the " survey within its borders. It established, the road will tap a section of the state where there Is no railroad and where there Is practt vnUp no desert land. The route will bring Portland US miles nearer Idaho than any other route. State Engineer Lewis has made the following estimate of survey, expense: Gilliam county, $2500 to $3000; Wheel er county, 13000 to M000; Grant county, $7000 to $10,000; Baker county, $3500 to $4000; Jtalheau coun ty. $1000 to $1500. .' r ft. K. Donnely of the state engi neer's department, who has been over the route, reports that there would be 40 miles of the road In Gilliam county. Here the road will reach an elevation of 2800 feet and will be al most entirely in the midst of wheat rieJds except aoout iz miies mrougn Thirty Mile canyon. Parts of Route Picturesque. In Wheeler county the distance j Would be 51 miles over a mountainous ' country with many small and fertile valleys. Twenty-six miles would be through well settled communities. ' 'There, would be 18 miles of new con struction of which 12 miles are now ' under way. ' ' Grant county Is mountainous and picturesque. A good all the year ' around road could be built from Junc tion to -the summit of the Blue moun tains. The road would- run through the forest reserve for some distance. ' Baker county is also mountainous with many fine streams. Burnt river and Powder river being the main ones. The section is very prosperous, but Isolated. - The mileage in Baker county would, be about. 25 miles, of which 10 miles would be new con struction. - Malheur county Is moun tainous with many large and rich val leys. -The route from Ontario toBro gan Is through a level valley 18 miles to Vale and 44 to Brogan. Above Bro gan the road would lead through can yons to Ironside. According to the estimate of Mr. Donnely the mileage by counties would be as follows: Gilliam, 40.5; Wheeler, 6; Grant, 90: Baker, 25: Malheur, 78, a total of 284.5 miles, of which 80 miles would be new con struction, . ' ; ' ' ' Ksarly All Water Orade. Of the 80 miles under the head of new construction, 32 miles are now passable, leaving 48 miles to be abso lutely new work. With the exception of where- the road would cross the Blue mountains the entire route would be a water grade. The proposed route across the mountains Is the shortest pass that can , be found and will be only. 14 miles from timber line to timber line. ;Th road could be trav eled nearly the entire year. Court's Decision Is Virtually Nullified Governor WIthycombe and Treasurer Xay Xef use to Dismiss Cantlne, as Is Recommended by Engineer Xj.wIs. What is regarded as a virtual nulli fication of the decision of the state supreme court that State Engineer Lewis is the head of the state highway department Is the failure of Governor Withycombe and State Treasurer Kay. as members of the Btate hlghwaycom mission, to approve the recommenda tion of Engineer Lewis that Chief Dep uty Cantlne be dismissed, in order to reduce administration expense ana con tribute to the saving which was prom ised by Governor Withycombe In his advocacy of the consolidation of the state highway department with the state engineer's office. The salary of the chief deputy is $3000 per yaer, and to this is to be added a large amount for traveling expenses. In his recommendation to reduce overhead expenses, Engineer Lewis said that the work of the office at rrefnf dlri not fustifv the nresent ex- Ipenditure. About the only work that Chief 1 Deputy Cantlne could be assigned to, Is understood, is the making of a recog nizance survey of the state for the pur pose of adopting a system of state roads. This work properly should be done by the head of the department. If done by a subordinate, the head of the department would have to go all over the ground before he could ap prove of it. This would be a duplica tion of effort and expense. Governor Withycombe said recently: "Personally, I think that Engineer Can- tine should continue in his present ca pacity, and should be employed in mak ing a recognizance survey of the high ways of the state. This would be a splendid field for his activities." It has been announced by Governor Withycombe that no .final action will be taken on the recommendation of Stat Engineer Lewis until the Mb v (meeting of the state highway commis- I sion; which is to be attended by the advisory Doard, composed or .Leslie Butler of Hood River, J. H. Albert of Salem, and S. Benson of Portland. TRAFFIC LAW IS NOV SHINING TARGET FOR A SCORE OF CRITICS California Speedway ization Forms Present System Said to Be' Inadequate" to Meet Needs Now Found Apparent. . SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE Declaration of O. X. Measles That Portland Trafflo X.aws Are All "Bui Starts Something. MT BIG MEN THINK OF. PREPAREDNESS Preparedness means that you have taken precaution to equip yourseir with those things which give you pro tection from an impending disaster, but you must also consider others, for if you are not equipped with the Ritelite Dimmer it may be you who could have prevented a car from gotner over the bank, or it may be you who blinded the other fellow so he could not see a pedestrian who lies at death's door as a result of your lack of consideration. Would the price f a pair of dimmers of the right kind mean anything to you if tomorrow you find yourself in one of these or in many other predicaments which may result from negligence? Would you advise the Nation to wait unril they were defeated before they pre pare? Would you smash your car be- j fore you Insured it? Some people .do. No preparedness is equal to that which prevents human suffering and the sav ing of human life. There are a great many who procrastinate until the in evitable has occurred, then comes the expression often spoken: "If I had only bought a pair of R1TELITE DIMMERS this, would never have hap . pened." The following men believe in pre paredness and that is the reason they are top-notchers; they lead and others follow: Griff Steele. . X A. King, 'h S- e.onv A- R- Porter. K' lK,?by- W. B. Doane. Wan'erPHofman. 5" l"neyman It C. Humphreys.,- ",r.ton Jacob Rosenthal. R- R- GUtner. Palace Garage. M. O. Wilkins. Fire Chief DowelL. E. C McLean. F. L. Warren. L. E. Sauvie, Winton Company, E. Ehrman, ;W. J. Burns, O. E. Overbeck. J A. Randall. . K. J. Jeffreys. Frank Lucas. E. B. Hazen. 'Dr. R. L, Benson, F. Frledlander, Helen I Corbett. F. M. Parks, J. C. Ainsworth. B. F. Boynton. A. A. Bailey.- I. M. Starr. John Eells. -V E. Elmore Grove, A. L. Finley, . H. R. Blauvelt. . - and -many others. Stiff Stock Car Sets 70 Mile Pace Pat. Applied for. It is a pleasure to go (or a drive either day or night with Rlt elite Dim mers on your car. In the daytime they are an ornament and at night 'yoJiT Ms reflects without dimming. 3J&f,S? .1 wlthout - diminishing, Th Rltelite Dimmer meets all conditions either In the city or In the country. We guarantee satisfaction or money refunded. - . . -" SITXUTE DDUZB CO., with factory'and offices at 543 West Madison street, comer 17th street, near Jefferson. Telephone. Main' 9392. Seventy-One Utile Hour Is Teat of Harmon Jnst Out of Trelght Car; Joe Bawion Driver. Seventy-one miles an hour Is a lively pace for a stock car, especi ally so when the car has just come from a freight car and is as stiff as an old-fashioned boiled shirt. r That speed was set by a Marmon last week and was tnade without preparation of any kind further than substituting a 75 mile speedometer instead of the 60 mile with which the car is equipped. The driver was Joe Dawson, of In dianapolis fame, winner of second place in the fifth 50o mile race. Daw. son is a Marmon racer and it was he who a year ago slid wff the track and laid in the hospital for months with an injured back. Dawson arrived in town here just about the time of the first real ship ment of Marmons which have now been delivered to a dozen Portlanders who waited with expectation for more than a month. Dawson looked them over, found a few refinements and declared that he simply had to take one of them out and see what it could do. He knew before he started .that he would break the needle on the speedometer if he took a 60 mile one so he went around the corner and had a larger one substituted. The machine responded splendidly. He thinned the mixture a little and tried it again. The car picked up over 40 in the first 300 feet. Then she was ready for the trial. The top was lowered but the windshield was left up. Spare Tires Should Always Be Covered Season Why Extra Casings Often rail to Oive Mileage That Xs JTaturally Expected ot Them, Did you ever stop to wonder why a spare tire that has been carried for a considerable" time fails, to give the mileage you expect wheti you finally place It on the rim? If you have ex perienced short service from a spare, you will probably be able to trace it directly to the lack of care you give your spare tires at least, this is the statement made by John A. Wal ter, local distributor for Savage tires. Mr. Walter, went on to say that there are two things that would save a lot of tire expense for motorists. These are a proper rack and a proper covering for spare tires. When a tire is carried on the running board, un protected, it soon dries out consider ably and becomes covered with sur face cracks. These detract greatly from its appearance, as well as from its mileage when put into use. The jolting to which the tire is subjected on the running board does not help its lasting qualities either. System in Highway . Building JGssential rederal Engineer Telia Kosebttrg Com mercial Club Thar Mnat Be Compe tent and Trustworthy atan at Head. In an address before the Rosebnrg Commercial club, B. J. Finch, a high way . engineer in. "the United States forest service, said that it was im portant that Douglas county should adopt a aennite system ot roaa Build ing. -' Tou . must have a - central au thority." said ha,, "If you' desire to obtain the best results. - You should also guard against changes which are usually the result . f politics. Too cannot secure results -unless you vest authority' and confidence in the man at the head of the road department. By Ralph J. Staehli. When C. M. Menzies came out last week and declared . that Portland's traffic regulations were "bunk from beginning to end. he seems to have started something, judging by the number of people who have called by phone or looked up the writer person ally to tell what they thought of the entire scheme. Whether the present system has any real supporters among those who drive remains to be seen. If there are those who support it and think that it is all right, they have not been heard from, where at least 20 have declared that the system today puts too much of a burden on the police en forcing restrictions and does not give them a chance to enforce the cemmon sense measures. Subject Xs Considered. No very definite solutions have been suggested except by some who pro posed that the Automobile club and the dealers get together and meet with the Safety First commission and Commissioner Coffin and try to ar rive at a system which would be sim pler and more efficient or put more "pep" into the present one. One of the dealers who has given the subject attention and thought Is A. W. Strowger, of the Covey Motor Car company. Mr. Strowger declares that momt ot our regulations are in the amateur class, which has over looked the issue as viewed by the authorities in large eastern cities, where the issue is how to handle the traffic with dispatch as well aa safe ty; where you are not allowed to block traffic, as can be seen almost every hour on the bridges. "We dealers see this and hear more of it than a great many others," said Mr. Strowger. "We often hear the complaint from men of good mature judgment, when speaking of hind rances to legitimate speed. We are glad to have regulations; it helps everybody enjoy their car the more; hut don't get the father because you missed the son. What is wan tea here like in other places is to hold everyone strictly accountable for their own acts and relieve the police from being required to watch all the petty safety first fads. Inconsistencies Are Claimed. "The enforcement here is inconsist ent. For three or four- weeks we hear nothing but parking violators. Then that is forgotten and some new fad of the safety propaganda is forced in the public's eye for a week or two. "Why do we never hear of an ar rest for cutting corners? Every day from my office window I can see hundreds- of machines swing around on the comer as close to the curb around which they are turning as they pos sibly can get. I have .seen several accidents because of that, but I have never seen an arrest. "Instead of the restrictions on the bridges, why not put a stop to the the accidents at such corners as Nine teenth ar-d Washington and Broadway and Burnside? I can't remember of anything ever having happened on the bridges which can possibly be avoid ed by the new system, while everyone can think of a dozen or so cases where lack of regulation at those corners has caused smashups. Plan Xs Antiquated. "The system of regulation was very much antiquated before we had auto mobiles, and for all that I can see, it gets worse as we progress in years. " 'Safety first' could be summed up in about five or ten sentence? and applied to traffic in Portland. Thero would be about one-fifth of the pres ent restrictions, but I wager that more people would enjoy driving and that traffic would move faster with less chance of accident." It is surprising to find just how many haye these same convictions, but were a bit timid about expressing them until someone else had expressed theirs. Strowger also thinks that the near side stop for all street cars should be adopted, so that the chances of acci dent at crossings will just be de creased by the number of stops that a car makes in Its run from one end of the line to the other, and' that traf fic across the tracks will not be blocked on the downtown streets. Such offenses as turning in the middle of a block can be cured very easily, according to the sugegstion from another motorist. Ho Arrests Had. In many cities, instead of arresting the offenders for petty breaches, such as shooting across crossings and turn ing where they are not supposed to turn, they are made to "stay after school." The traffic officer is the judge and jury, and where a man has made such a break, he is told to go around the block and do the thing right anywhere from five to 'a dozen times, a man can't very well get peevish over a thing like that, but after he has been made to waste 15 minutes or so on two or three occasions, it will have pretty much the same effect that it does on the errant school boy. It is an inpensive cure that has had a wonderful effect wherever :t has been tried, and works a hardship on no one. Uniform Signals Are Discussed at Meet Cincinnati, April 25. -A uniform system of signs and signals that may become general throughout the country for the direction of street traffic was one of the important subjects consid ered at a meeting of the street traffic committee of the Safety First Federa tion of America, held In Cincinnati Thursday. v ' Plant Most Shirt Down. Canton, : April 22. The ; Knight Tire A Rubber Co. baa announced that it, will be compelled to shut down, ow ing to the failure to obtain rubber from New Tork because of the freight con gestion. About 125 cars are tied up in the east. About 500 men are affected. ' rarpoee Xa to Bund a Modem One-Vile Speedway At or XTear San Francisco Xn Hear Znture. ' v;H'"f .X . Articles of incorporation have been filed at Sacramento by the California Speedway association, an organisation that proposes to build and maintain a modern one-mile speedway in or near San Francisco for the purpose of hold ing automobile, motorcycle and other kinds of races from time to time. The new speedway, according- to the offi cials of the association, will be con structed along the most approved lines and it is their aim to make the track one of the fastest as well as safest motor car speed courses in the United States. . The incorporators of the California Speedway association are amongst the best known automobile dealers In San Francisco. The following Is the list: Norman De Waux. r president of the Chevrolet company of California; L. H. Rose, of the L. H. Rose Chalmers Co.; Frank E. Carroll, of the ' Goodyear Rubber and Tire Co.; T..H. Wilkinson, of the United States Rubber Co., of Cali fornia; Fred. J. Linz, of the F. J. Lina Motor Co.. National and Hupmobile dealers; John T. McLaln. of The John T McLaln Co.. Franklin dealers;. N. T. Messer. real estate; Ivan R. Gates, manage California Speedway associa tion; John J. Doyle, Fireman's Fund Insurance Co.; T. M. McAuIllffe, attor ney, and a number of other equally well known auto dealers and business men.' Will Tour United States. ! Mrs. Alice Snitjer Burke and Miss Nell Richardson, of New York, left New Tork April 9 in a small yellow suffrage automobile for a complete tour of the United States. - Police to BeTaught To Identify Cars Hew , Tork Starts , Hew; School of In struction to Help Combat Evils O rowing Out of Use of Stolen Autos. An automobile school for the train ing." of policemen - to an accurate knowledge of - the different makes . of cars Is the latest New York develop ment. The courses of instruction, are given, to- members of . the, force to in crease their : efficiency. . The " imme diate objects of the school, as- stated by Inspector Cornelius F. Cohalane, who is In , charge of the general po lice training work, are: , v First, to recover stolen cars. K Second, to Identify cars used in the commission of crime. ; The automobile tempts the shrewd est criminals in both these - respects. It" represents valuable booty when stolen, and Itself supplies the means for rapid transfer to a distant point to be disposed of. :Aa a tool in the commission of crimes the automobile gives the perpetrators advantages that cannot be met by old police meth ods. Especially is this true in escap ing from the scene of a crime. .One quick glance at the car occupied by them is the best that ' can be hoped for by the policemen in most cases. The license plate Is of small value as a clue, as automobile criminals have acquired, great deftness in changing numerals by means of paint.". Aluminum . tor , AutomoMleay - Eighteen million pounds of alumi num Is. annually -used- by -the Willys Overland company sot . Toledo.,, In the manufacture of It cars. This is the largest amount used by any Individual concern , in the , world. ; Aluminum is used for crank cases.-parts of motors, hub caps, quadrants - of steering wheels, bands of aluminum on ' run ning boards, etc " sJ'. Washington County . Opens Hauling Bids Officials Szpeet to Orarel 30 Miles of Hoads la Addition to Heoresslsx Bearertoa-Torest Oroya Highway, , Bids will be opened in Washington county April 29 for hauling' rock la IS road districts. It la expected by the Washington county officials to gravel SO miles ot road this season as against 2 S last year. This -will -not include the redress on the Beaverton Forest Grove road, but will. Include the stretch in the Reedville 1 district which will close the gap and connect up the road between Gaston and Port land. Nearly $150,000 will be spent In the county on the roads and over two thirds of this amount will go Into macadamising. By fall the main road through the county running east, and west will have been completed. j n - 1. Quality First This 3400 r. p! m. Chalmers Will Last Any Man 5 Years or More. She hasn't a weakness. And the sturdiest part of her anatomy is her 3400 r. p. m. engine. Now there has been a lot of talk about 3400. I find some of my prospects come!in here a little bit doubtful about 3400. They have been told by my contemporaries that an engine turning up 3400 r. p. m. is doomed to short existence. That's absurd. Why, there are at least three cars in America that do 3100 r. p. m. of better. Ten years ago in Europe there were cars that did 4000 r. p. m. -Take the electric fan. It does around 4000. A turbine reaches about 4300. Now, the argument set forth against 3400 is the wear and tear on bearings." How ridiculous! Of course, if we had an old-fashioned engine with heavy iron pistons and armiand-hammer type of connecting rods hen, to be sure, I'd have little to say. But, to the contrary, this is a very modern engine. The pistons are aluminum, which cost a whole lot more, but weigh a whole lot less. Then the connecting rods are much lighten That takes a lot of weight off the bearings, and permits about 500-r. p. m. more engine speed. - That isn't a very big increase, I know, but it's . just enough to make a very foxy, silken affair in action. y' And then, too, in traveling 10 miles an hour her engine speed is only 500 r. p. m. At 20 she turns up 1000. At30, 1500. How often do you travel faster than 30? So unless you want to sink the little button to the floor board and hold her there all day, you're, not using 3400 r. p. m. all the time. t I hope none of my friends will swallow whole any story deriding 3400. You know you will always find the largest number of clubs under the best apple tree in the orchard. This car has doubled my sales .. As Mr. Post says, "There's a reason." One little ride and you will want to pass up your old gondola. Ask me about our service inspection coupons. They are negotiable with all Chalmers dealers every wherev This system is an important consideration in buying your car. Touring Car or Roadster, $1090 Detroit , , Three - Passenger Cabriolet, $1440 Detroit - , -a v. -( M t 1 f Colors: Touring Car and Roadster, Oriford maroon with hood to match, or Meteor: blue, with ; black -hood Cabriolet, Oriford maroon or ; Valentine green nth hoods to match, or Meteor blue with black hood. H. L. KEATS H. L. KEATS AUTO COMPANY M. A. Rickard, Corvallis, Or. George Clanfield, Dallas, Or. ' E. R. Feller, Donald, Or. Pacific Auto Co.; Eugene, Orl Broadway at Burnside Street, Portland c - - , , . S. G. Hughes, Forest Grove, Or. A..W. Walker, Medlord, On Independent Garage, Heppner, Or. T. E. Hulery, Moro, Or. ; F, H.Gaulke, Joseph, Or. Virgil Conn, Paisley, Or. L..C Smith, La Grande; Or.; ; " AE. Kent, Roseburg, Or. i. 1 f -.V Johnston Willerton, The Dalles, Or. -V V ...v Halvorsen & Burns, Salem, Or. M. Scborn, North Yakima, Wash. . . ; . ; J L. B. Larson, South Bend, Wash. -