Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1919)
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 1, r 1318. MANY COUNTES DOING ROAD WORK WITH MACHINERY Example Set by Lane Followed By Marion - and Benton ) - Cost For Grader Is $32 Per Day. ( - ..., LAND LEVELER IS ADOPTED Equipment Found Efficient' In , Building Irrigation Systems Is Just the Thing for- Roads. The we tf machinery instead of timi -and hand labor is a feature of road con struction in Oregon. A number of eoun tlf have invested in a big equipment and several 'contractor on state road road work have similarly eoalpped them eel vex. Where , once was a long line of teams and scrapers is now-" bis cater pillar tractor drawing a scarifier, a , srrader or land leveler, doing the work of 19 or .12 teams. f LA5E SETS TACT . " Lane county was (ho. first county In -the 'state to get a machinery equipment. With Its equipment Marion county is preparing the base for the section of the Pacific highway north of Jeffer son which is to be hard-surfaced this summer, and Benton is using its outfit for, the same purpose on the read be tween Cor-vallle' and the Polk county line.. Contractor Kern Is also employ ing a tractor grading machine on the Pacific highway between Albany, a.nd. : Jefferson. . : j- The . operating costs of one of these outfits is estimated at about f 32 per day. Three men constitute a crew. One man " runs , the caterpillar, another " manipulates 'the machine it draws. -The third man alternate in relieving the other two at stated timest The machin ery Investment represents 110,000 or $12,000. COST WILL TART The cost of excavation varies accord ing to local conditions and the human .factor In the operation. Estimates range all the way from 10 to 40 cents a cubic yard. One of the pieces of equipment is called the land leveler." It is in reality giant Fresno scraper and has a ca 1 pacity of five cubic yards. Under cer tain soil conditions a much larger lead can be carried. It is a curious fart that the use ef this scraper in road work is not its original purpose. It' was designed in the first place to level off tracts of land for irrigation. The scraper has a compressed air attachment which low era and- elevates the blade to a point de sired. By manipulating the air pipe the operator can dump, the material where he desires in order to build up a level surface. CUTS WIDE SWATH The successful operation of the ma chine in leveling irrigation tracts led to Its adoption for road work. Preliminary to its use the earth is loosened by the scarifier to the depth of some 80 inches. In removing the loosened earth ' the Bcraper cuts a 12-foot swath. Link Playgrounds. ; With Big Highways . One of the strongest arguments for a National - highway system, is fpund In " the "work of the national parks service f the department of the interior. This department is engaged in linking up through highways to the various play grounds which are located-in different states. There is sharp need for links In through roads to take care ef-the - rapidly expanding travel to these cen ters. Motor Trucks Save In Postal Service, The annual report of the postmaster generaa snows that in one American. citv trnvprnmftht-fiu-niiH - tminlrn In ' Vi mail service were', scheduled to make isi.bze trips, and that out of these there were 132 failures, or only one failure to every 2913 trios. Tn the flnoal i -a v ending June 30, 1917, the government Ba-rea isu,uuu Dy using trucgs tn tne "postal service. JJuick Getaway Is. " Very Bad for Tires to -you think . that you demonstrate skill or driving ability by making a quiflc sejaway? .fou will have risible evidence of the inadvisability of this when you see your tire hills; hut there Is greater harm done, which you are not apt to see,. in the rear end and trans mission of your cars. Nine out f ten stripped pinions and rear axle keys can be attributed to this foolish practice, f i m i - Make Eeadingsof - Batteries First In taking battery readings with the hydrometer, the operation should be per formed before the distilled water Is added to the solution, which will other wise be diluted and a wrdng reading given. Also, after- the water has been put In. it takes some time to mix with the acid. The water being lighter, stays on top,- and if the hydrometer is used, .say an hour after the water has been added, it will take up only a weak, solu tion, which-is not the real one. If Radiator Leaks Keep Refilling It In .case your water pump fails on 'the . road, do not despair. Keep the radiator : filled clear to the top, run en high, gear as much as possible, keep spark well advanced, shut off ignition going down hills and change the water occasionally if It shows signs of overheating. . Sifting Will Show . If Beatings Loose "To test & wheel for loose bearings jack it up and take hold of top and bottom pokes, pulling and pushing In opposite directions. If no looseness is shown in this way, try lifting the hub to see if there is play in that .direction. If any play is shows -the bearings must be taken up. '' ' . , .. .'.v.. . . ROAD BUILDING MACHINERY . - . - . . .. . i r " " ' 1 ' " - 1,1 ' .' i j- m T i si. - i i i- i i.... i m mi j in ii j 4,1 - ii. .i i. -II Vv ' V. Ill I I f - - - ' , V- - " ,-..;J J I Above Caterpillar tractor hauling; i J.i - rT AUTO STANDS OR FALLS ON ME Sales Manager Says Advertising May Help for Time, but Qual ity Is" Ultimate Test. Fn spite of the fact that It is perhaps the most widely advertised article ever merchandised, it Is a peculiarity of the automobile, that It must stand or fall finally by Us reputation with car users. Is the statement of John Tainsh. peneral sales manager of 'the Mitchell Motors Company, Inc.. of Racine. Wisconsin. There are many articles the sale of which can he almost absolutely con trolled by the amount of selling and advertising effort placed behind It. Push such articles hard and thy suc ceed. Slacken your efforts and sales imemriately droop. The. article ef quality of course is easier to develop but riuality alone will dot make it successful nor will ? a cer tain degree of lack of quality make it t failure. Such articles are controlled . . - . . . . , a l almost entirety ironi raej neaoquarrers which direct the advertising and selling effort. CAK MCST MAKE GOOD The automobile on the other hand is peculiar 4n that i.t develops to its owner a sort of personality, likeable or otherwise, depending upon the car's per formance Jn his hands. The sale of a new car W a new model can be ac celerated By good publicity but in the course of a short time such efforts cease to be fruitful unless the car ad vertised makes good in the hands of its owners. Op the ether hand. In merchandisine a new model like the nex Mitchell Victory si, publicity must be used ex tensively at the start while if the car makes good in tfie hands of the public. slacking of . publicity does not show .corresponding let down In sales.. The truth of this ia conclusively proven by the history of the introduction of this model. - VICTOBT- MOBEIy SUCCESS Announcements in the leading na tional weeklies, farm papers and' news papers heralded the arrival of the new Victory- model and a pood substantial publicity compafgn has been maintained ever since. But in spite of the fact that many makes in this class are advertis ing their product in a far more expan sive way, the demand for the Mitchell js keeping up and increasing. And there can be only. one reason for it that Is the very evident quality of the new Victory model which, coupled with its low price, makes It a value no prospective purchaser can afford to overlook. The gratification in securing a bargain which experience shows to be a piece of quality merchandise is the basis upon Which it built up a fund of goodwill which is rapidly- carrvlng the new Victory model to the top of Its cjass. MOTOR TRUCK TIPS Cros-Coo8trr Wheel Equipment In cases where a motor truck is to be used in field work of any sort it is a valuable addition to its wheel equipment to have steel flanges fitted on the outside of the wheels and about three inches below the outside of the tires. When the wheels are traveling over a hard road the flanges clear the surface by several inches, but when the truck gets into soft going in the fields the-tires sink In and the flanges come into engagement and the wheels run -along easily, because of their greater bearing surface. As a combination for the market gardener, farmer or fruit grower, this idea is "ad mirable. The truck can take its lead directly on the farm and then carry it to market over the roads, Just as an ordi nary truck would. Bcmsmber Determining proper equips ment to install and approximate ten mile cost in citlea nr anvmrtMm where the roads are good the year reund-4 im comparatively easy. - .Determining the same where ordinary to poor roads pre vail is different, f especially in an out of the way place. , Not only; must the usual items, daily tonnage to be moved, length of haul, etc., be taken into ac count, but abnormal wear all around, price of fuel. oil. cost of replacements and high transportation. , Availability and cost of drivers and mechanics, sea sons, especially rainy and snowy ones, must all be taken into account. fear Wheel Drive For pulling trail ers or on difficult roads the four wheel drive principle is far superior to rear drive. - When a draught animal gets in bad going- it uses all four hoofs in try ing to extricate itself it has four chances. So has the four wheel drive truck with locking differentials. breakage ef Spring Leaves The com RITS 9 Jeve)er. Below Scarifier at work monest cause of breakage of the mas ter leaves of truck springs is lists in the loads. In this way the whole sprung load is thrown on the springs sideways and most of the weight falls on the two down springs. Road Speeds It was recently ascer tained by a comprehensive series of tests that the speed of a heavily loaded two ton truck running over a. concrete sur face was 1 6 miles an hour, while on a gravel road the maximum speed "was 9V4 miles and on dirt only 4V4 miles. This is Just another reason why every truck owner should get behind the good roads movement. Ratios and Trailers It frequently happens that the gear ratio of a certain truck is too high to permit of trailers being used, in spite of. the fact that this addition to the possible load would be obviously profitable. In these cases it will pay to have a lower gear ratio Substituted, and many truck makers will be found able to supply an alternate te the standard ratio. Ratios for Trailer Operation When the maker of 4 motor truck offers as an option a gear ratio lower than the standard, the lower ratio is advisable if the truck user Intends to employ trailers. A greater weight can he handled with the lower gear ratios. This of course applies when total ton nage rather than speed in delivery is te great desiratum. 3 ' , . ' Semi-Tralleri One of the great ad vantages of the semi-trailer is its small rurfelnfi radius. ' A motor truck or trac tor and seml-traller needs no greater space for turning than the truck or trac tor by itself. Backing is accomplished in just 'the same way as with a horse and wagon. Road -Oiling A power oiling equip ment, such as can be mounted on a five-ton truck chassis, will oil between 4000 and 8000 square yards of road sur face in an eight-hour day. The cost with this equipment will run around five cents per running foot. This same oil ing equipment also may be utilized for sprinkling and flushing streets. Ia I'sing Trailers For pulling trailers on bad roads where the going is heavy, the four-wheel drive principle is superior to the ordinary rear drive. Four wheel drive trucks with locking differentials have four chances, exactly as a horse has, whereas the rear drive truck might be compared to a kangaroo in that it has but two points of propulsion. Demoantable Bodies It is usually fig ured that a system of demountable bod ies enables two trucks to do the work accomplished by three trucks not so equipped. If we put the cost of the truck at J3000 and the cost of the de mountable bodies at $300, we have the measure of the financial saving effected by this type of equipment. Driver Intelligence It Is a mistake to ask the average motor truck driver to make deeply detailed' reports on me chanical troubles. A simple outline is much better, leaving detail to the me chanical department. Also report slips or charts intended for filling out by the driver should be simple and perfectly clear in their wording and arrangement. Resiliency It is old stuff to say that sprung vehicles pull easier than un sprung ones, but it seems to be gener ally forgotten, nevertheless. Add, to good springs rubber tires, roller wheel bearing and good steering gear, espe cially the wheel tracking i(ln, and the difference is 30 to 40 per ceitfc Tractor Weight Surplus power in a tractor is quite useless unless the mar chine has weight enough to keep the wheels from spinning. Means to Gut Vent For Muffler Cutout Trouble is frequently experienced in cutting the vent for a muffler cutout. A V-shaped vent prevents free movement of the butterfly valve used on so many cutouts. Here Is a way of cutting a sat isfactory vent : Cut the exhaust pipe with a hacksaw through half of the pipe diameter.' -Then saw a parallel slit and finally another ; diagonally ' across, , tn this way wq points can be bent back and sawed off., A little asbestos packing makes a tight cutout joint, Busty Kims Should All Be Cfeaned Up : When, rims are rusty they should fee scraped with a sharp tool, pounded with a -wboden mallet until all the Cakes of rust have been battered off and then sandpapered vigorously. The rims should then be painted. Shellac is sometimes recommended for this purpose but Is not satisfactory, as it peels off in a short time. Graphite paint r even Ordinary paint is much more serviceable. " Tires should not be replaced on the rims until the paint is entirely dry, as this might cause them to stick. - ' MOTOR TRANSPORT AND GOOD ROADS MOST IMPORTANT President of Teuck Manufactur- - Jn& Company Emphasizes Ne cessity of Both In Business. FARMERS ARE BENEFITED Manner in Which Producer and Consumer Are Brought To gether by Modern Methods. r By A. Williams Jn Pri4nt ef the fHrtwe Motor Trnek Crrmrwny. The truek, the tractor, good roads'. in a combination of these factors lies the solution to one of our greatest eeo nomic problems : The production and marketing of the world s food supply. With the crying need for food in the war-stricken countries of Europe and the never-ceasing demand in those lands not vitally affected it is evident that the world's agricultural resources must he worked to the utmost to meet the existing emergency. . ISaeh day we read of the seriousness ef the food situation throughout Europe. We read of the thousands of" tons of food being rushed to the stricken peoples an marvel where it is all coming from. The government food administration esti mates the demand at 20,000,000 tons, two-thirds mors than was required last year. We know that America is bearing the brunt of the campaign to feed the world We realise, too, after glancing at the "dally market prices, that every Ameri can eltlsen is making contribution to this campaign. We do this uncomplain ingly because we think the cause is Just and our duty plain, yst we are beginning to wonder just how long these condi tions are going to exis before a remedy is found. HIGH WATS IMPORTANT The truck and the tractor, aided by improved highways, hold the solution. Just as in the present war the truck and tractor came to the fore and made themselves prominent factors In the al lied victory, they are destined to become even greater factors in "the era, of re construction. The tractor with its general utility is destined to meet in no small measure the farm labor problem, to say nothing of Increasing the acreage for the rais ing of food. The truck will form the connecting link between farm and, mar ket. ' Good roads are an ally essential to the success of the scheme as a whole. The war established beyond any rea sonable doubt the utility of the tractor. It brought out in a moat forcible man ner the necessity for good roads. Further than that, it served to acceler ate the universal recognition ef the po tential value of the truck and the tractor ani the vital importance of improved highways. WAR SHED 1I6HT . Prior to the war the' tractor was thought of chiefly as a modern piece of machinery, no doubt most useful, , but expensive and beyond the reach of the average farmer. The importance of good roads natural ly was conceded, but the majority ap parently felt that these were something to be desired rather than acquired and which might come in the due course of .time. The necessities of war revolutionized these more or less general ideas. With Buy Your Truck Complete Why should you pay ioo or $200 to complete the equip ment of a truck? Why shouldn't the maker equip with electric starting and lighting, windshield, spot-light, bumper, etc., which are absolutely necessary for econornical, efficient operation. GRANT TRUCKS are sold completely equipped yet they are no higher priced than incomplete trucks of anywhere near equal quality and capacity. Electric starting and lighting have always been a feature of GRANT TRUCKS. The exclusive spring-cradle battery suspension makes the Grant system the best in use today. As a saver of the driver's time and of gasoline, the. electric starting system is easily worth 300 to 500 during the life , of the truck. , 1 Maximum pay-load capacity, high economy, advanced con atruction mike GRANT TRUCKS a wise investment. 18d0 Pounds ,.--, 1 H-Ton . , fc-Ton complete Chassis ; Chassis $1125 $1 885 I $2150 F. O. B. Factory Immediate Delivery MANLEY A. B. BTasley ' Eleventh aad Oak at Baratlde President "g kerne Breaaway 117 .. GRANT MOTOR CAR CORPORATION, CLEVELAND NEW SALES AGENCY OPENS AT Left to riflhtr-F. Armstrong of the Pacific Motors corporation, Seattle. E. cL Olsen, J. E. Sophy, W G. Royre and Tin circle) Boyd JLawrence, the four last named romposina the Elgin Motor Sales corporation of Pen dleton, and the Elgin ear which took them from Portland to Pendleton Wednesday and Thursday. Thl company has taken over the Elgin, llarroun and Weslcott ears in eight. Eastern Oregon counties. They will operate from Pendleton and Baker as headquarters.. the country facing the problem of in creasing food production, notwithstand ing :a shortage of labor, the tractor was pressed into, service. In a few months it enjoyed a development which in ner mal times possffiH would have covered a period of years. When the railroad proved unequal to the task of transporting supplies at a rate ii keping with production and de mand, the truck was driven into the breach. That was where the vital im portance of go'o4 roads came home. While trucks did valiant work both in this country and abroad their work after all was handicapped by a lack ef good, substantial highways, equally serviceable in winter and summer. , A statistician has estimated that mere than 100(000 tractors are in operation on the farms of the United States at the present time an increase of mere than SO per cent over those in use at the be ginning of 1918. The reputation these sturdy little machines have gained dur ing the war assures a greater demand for themin the coming year. With their more universal adoption will come In creased acreage and greater crops. This will, call for better transportation fa cilities and improved roads. TB.17CK IS COJfSPICCOtTS , - The truck is , playing, a conspicuous part in the transportation Of commodi ties. Its possibilities in this 'field have : ceased to be a matter of the future, al though it is yet in the primary stages Of development. Scarcely an article of fopd that reaches the table today, particularly in the cities, but Is dependent, more or less, upon truck transportation. Be it vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy products or what not, the truck, somewhere between the base of supply and the objective, figures in its movements. In many instances no other important factor enters into its transportation. Beef on the hoof is being transported to the packing house by truck ; the slaughtered beef Is being transported from packing house to the retail market by truck ; the "cuts" are being transported from mar ket to the utimate consumer by truck. Several of the larger packing plants operate specially designed refrigerator trucks to cities many miles distant. In one large Middle West city, a packing house has several refrigerator trucks which make daily trips to another city 60 rqiles distant. Manufacturers of dairy products are AUTO CO. C ft. neasles Manager using the truck extensively for both the collection of materials through the farm ing districts and the delivery ef their finished products to city customers. Produce and commission men are util izing the truck as never before for both incoming and outgoing shipments. fOOl) FOB TBOCOHT We know how the truck stepped into the breach when railroad facilities failed during the war and became a substan tial factor in transportation ef supplies. The 4t ruck has assumed almost n equal responsibility in the transportation - of feed since the conclusion ef hostilities. Without the aid of the truck the rail roads probably would have proved un equal to the task of transporting com modities during the last few months. We often lament the high price and seeming lack of foodstuffs. It might bs well to consider- Just what conditions would have been had it pet been for the utilization 'of the truek, which le dally augmenting and facilitating transporta tion. The advance of the truck and the tractor not only means the farming ef additional acreage but the release of a vast amount of land now necessary to feed, horses and mules. According to one writer, five acres are required to feed one at these animals. The horse and mule population ef the ii jjjjjj 1b ' if j It has mad cars of the world C. L. 615-617 Washington Street PENDLETON country Is estimated at 20,000,000. That means that 100,000,000 acres of land are necessary t raise sufficient food for all the horses and mules in the country. Say that 75 per cent of these animals are replaced by trucks and tractors. That will mean the release of 75.000,04)0 acres of land, for the raising of food tuffs. It U universally agreed that those famous twins, supply and demand, regu late the price of food articles. The pes. sibillties are that there will be no let-up in the demand but with the expansion of the source of supply, prices should approach a more normal basis. As time goes on newer fields will be opened up by means of the truck, tractor and improved roadways. This will take care of the ever-growing demand. 0T9EB COUNTRIES BENEFIT This expansion will not be limited to the United States. Alresdy American enterprise is Invading foreign 'fields, un covering hidden wealth. These new fields must be developed and the truck and tractor will provide the most effi cient means. Tb eanavans of Northern Africa, the oxen of Egypt and China, the jinrick shaws 'of Japan and the mule-pack trains of South America, the carabao of the Philippines are doomed to become obsolete. They already are being (re- A Hot Spot Chalmers Holds Every Drop of Gas to Account t takes gas to move weight. And in a car like the Hot Spot Chalmeae, which is 300 pounds above the "Jight-weight" class and 300 pounds under the "heavy-weight; class, gas has more than passing attention. The trick is to move this weight at the minimum effort. s Therefore, the Hot Spot and Rams-horn play a great part in the Chalmers. Hot Spot hplds every drop of gas to account. It "cracks up" into a "dry vapqr powder" the raw gas just as the gas enters the Ram's-horn and the latter dispatches the "pulverized" fuel to the cylinders with lightning like rapidity. The result is that when the spark plugs "touch it. off" every drop (finer by far than the naked eye can, detect) turns itself into power de luxe. , j There's little waste welj nigh none. And remember that this Hot Spot engine of the Chalmers is the most modern automobile engine , of the day. Chalmers one of the few great $4'jrlVt . Boss Automobile Co. EXCESSIVE SlI! Ml TDIIPIC CAT All Ull IIIUUIU) I nlML pouble Load May, ' However, Be Carried With Little increased Strain When ! Trailer Used. "Excessive strain upon trucks is one tnteg i guara against, ana ior xms reason manufacturers of trucks of given capacities insist that the trucks be not loaded te exceis ef their respective rate capacities, declares Mr. McCraken of the McCraken Motor cdmpany, dis tributers ef Utility trailers. ''It Is Important that no excessive strain be placed upon trucks. By dis tributing the load so that the excessive dead weight does j not rest upon the truck, the truck operator ts able to transport a greater load without strain. This la true in the case of trallerlzed transforation where the principle of weight distribution is demonstrated. "A three ton truck should, of course, not carry In excess of 000 pounds, but it Is easily capable of pulling additional leads without any increased strain when trailertzed. Thus by distributing, ssy a six ton load, three tens on the three ton truck and three tens on a proper slse trailer In cOnrectlon, the truck with Its auxiliary unit Is' able to carry a double load' and the increased power necessary la so slight, as to be hardly noticeable. .'Furthermore,, only one truck operator Is necessary and the in vestment that would have. been other wise necessary for the purchase of a truek to transport, the additional three tons la saved.. , j-' "Trallerised transportation is becom ing mere Important every day, and there is reason to believe that in the near future, almost every truck will ossrato with a. trailer In connection." Sudden .Stops May V Result in Bumps In crowded traffic do not apply the brakes suddenly unless it Is absolutely necessary. It may be that the vehicle following 'cannot step , as Quickly as you can. . If this Is the case a collision is sure to result. placed by trucks and tractors. Just aa horses and mules have been replaced by these motor-powered factors in the Unit ed States and Europe. . Nothing can stop the advance of the era. It is an automotive age. With the march of the truck good roads will and must come. There is no alternative. t3 4 - w C5 ;- 1 Portland IglfilJ