3
Toledo and .Forest 6.7 miles In length
is now open for traffic,, Davis added,
"and south of Toledo, the Pacific high
way, although not all paved, is in good
cfjditi"Ti. The western detour, starting
near Castlerock and crossing shortly
below to the Oregon side of the Colum
bia, is no longer necessary. There la
no reason, after the first of next week,
for any Interruption on the Pacific high
way from Portland through Vancouver
and Olympla to Seattle." -
Has Four Fine Bridges
Wenatchee, Wash., - Dec 18. Chelan
county has expended more than $100,000
on bridges In the last yar. It now haa
four of the finest crncr-,w ' ' "
anywhere as part of a paved road sys
tem which will eventually connect all
the principal points and resorts in th
county. i
, Better a sour stomach than a sour dis
position. I . '
LICENSE PLATES IN COURSE OF MANUFACTURE
OREGON TAGS-ARE
' .-.4
IE
. ii ii .i. , an . . . i Mil I III III I i in. i i I
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING. DECEMBER 19, 1920.
WASHINGTON AND
- urn i imwiiiiiii immpniTirnr-r i 1 1 i ' m i '
Zfr- - -- '5
MAD
N PORTLAND
Process of Manufacture Is High
ly Interesting From Start to
.Finish New Plates Are Green.
- Who makes the automobile license
taps? How is it iono?.
These questions are uppermost in
the minds of curious automobile and
truck owners this time of year,
when, their ood money paid for the
privilege of operating their vehicles
during: the coming year, they: receive
long slim envelopes from the secre
tary of stat-from which pairs of
tags are pulled in all their verdant
!ory. ,( "' ,
The Irwin-Hodson company, printers
jtnd lithographers, have for the past
five years' made license taga for the
Oregon automobile " owner. .This year
, they; are also' making license tags for
the state of Washington. One hundred
tons of eteel is being used for Washing
ton and 75 tons of steel for Oregon.
Knameling Washington tags will require
250O gallons of enamel, while Oregon
tags will be covered with about half
.that amount - Nearly two carloads of
Washington tags have been shipped,
hile some -. 80,000 regular sets, 4000
motorcycle sets, 1000 dealer sets and
.4000 chauffeur tags have been shipped
o Sam Kozer'at Salem.
About 2 4 hours' time is required to
: make a tag from the - time the small
plate Is cut from a sheet of steel until
It reaches its carton for shipment. During-
the process it passes through a
score, or more hands and is treated to
various and sundry changes necessary
to convert a mere piece of metal into,
a tag appropriate for Milady's limousine,
Mike's two-ton truck . or , Sam's Junk
chariot.
VThe steel comes in sheets 28x73 Inches.
'These sheets -are sliced In much the
. same . manner as chocolate fudge into
(long strips, which in turn are cut Into
shorter strips of the necessary size to
tarry a license number, m the case
-or Oregon licenses, these strips are
stamped one at a time by a heavy press
With two sets of steej dies. Washington
' tags are stamped two at a time with
one set of dies by a hammer' weighing
00 pounds dropping two feet. Both
, stamping operations strengthen the
"plates by beading those for Washington
and turning up the edges on. those for
Oregon motor Pars.
In the latter case, these plates' are
then put through another machine which"
turns the edges down, greatty strength
ening the plate and making it less easy
to bend. Oregon plates are made of
24 gauge steel, while those . for Washington-
are fabricated from a lighter
27. gauge steel. The Oregon plate is one
o,f the bestl-any state is ordering this
year and wyi - cost per pair about 21
cents. . Washington plates are costing
that 'state 16 cents a pair.
tiO TO PAINTrXO ROOM
After the' numbers are stamped in
tha steel, the edges finished, and the
holes for fastening cut, the plates go
to the painting room. Here' a primer
is. put ou the back of each plate as It
lies on a tray, , and the oven has its
turn. The primer is hardened, and then
the trays bearing. the plates are brought
forth and sprayed on the face with
enamel. The man doing the spraying
takes the tray into a cavern-like booth
nnd shoots the enamel from an ap
paratus that looks like an automatic
- pistol with two' rubber hose connected
to the 'butt. , Then to the ovens again,
where a temperature of about 260 de
grees bakes the enamel from three 'to
four hours and then we have a fin
ishe'd, shiny green plate for Oregon and
a brown one for Washington. Next
comes the sorting over, for each plate
has to be Just eo. The bad jobs are
taken out, the plates taken, of f the rack,
and the most Interesting part of the
whole ' performance Is about to com
mence. ,
Back in one corner of the paint room
fs a little machine with paint rollers
very much like a printing press. This
machine s run by electricity and has
an electro magnet to hold the plates
in place while the" white-paint rollers
run over the letters. A small cam makes
and breaks the electrical connection,
giving the operator" a' chance to pick
the plate from the magnet. While the
current is in force through the magnet
the plate cannot be removed.
PLATER ARE SORTED
When the letters have been painted,
the enamel is baked and then all is
ready for wrapping. In the old days
i fa$&&y sj1 scsl A a 4
I t; ; P
- - -- - . r Mini,,,,,,! n II
1 v' lJ - -1
I X " ' III
this lettering was done by hand. A
man and a woman on the press now
do more work in an h,our than five men
could do in two days with the hand
method. - Fred Bronner, department
superintendent, who has been with the
company 20 years, andis now In charge
of this plate work, remembers those
days well.
In the wrapping room a number of
young women sort out the plates, put
pasteboard between them, and pair
them off. Others take the.plates, wrap
them neatly in waxed paper and pass
them on to a man who fills the cartons
and glues- the covers on. The office of
the secretary of state puts' the plates
in envelopes and mails them to . the
licensees. These envelopes are also
printed by the Irwin-Hodson .company,
a hand press on the first floor taking
care of thousands. Washington gets
240,000 regular automobile and truck
sets this year,'-6000 motorcycle eets
and 3000 dealer' sets. Oregon needs
120,000 regular sets, 4000 motorcycle
sets, 1000 dealers' sets and 4000 for
chauffeurs. It has been said that Ore
gon plates have cost the state so , little
during the past three years that 81
cents out of every dollar .paid by
licensees for their numbers and for
taxes has gone to good roads.
Bulldog's Offspring
Said to. Be Even
Prettier Than Dad
. Who his seen the Bulldog's puppy"?
No, it hasn't been lost, but rumor has
it that the Studebaker Bulldog hath an
offspring of considerable beauty which
will, when full grown, look even more
handsome than did his daddy at the last
automobile show.
It's said to be a real puppy, a blooded
canine, a pooch with all the earmarks of
blueblood, a y el per with a long, line of
famous ancestors.
Leeston Smith of the W. C. Garbe
company Is really and actually excited
about it. He dreams of dogs, and nightly
a line of bull pups parades across his
pillow. - ' - -
, Few know what It Is. But it will be
out at the show, "probably leashed. But
then, it's said to be a mild-mannered
hound and not likely to- harm anyone.
It's a curious animal.
Here Is where Oregon and Wasldngton automotive license plates are be
ing mode this year. Scenes In the work rooms of the Irwln-llodson
: company show some of the steps through which a license plate has
to pass before Sam Kozer gets a chance to mall out the tinware. The
top view shows the heavy stamps where Oregon plates are Impressed.
Center Insert The stamping room for Washington plates, and when
plates for, both states are packed In their neat cartons. Bottom
Lettering Oregon plates on the electric press, which lias taken the
place of the old hand operation.
Gentralia Tractor
School Will Be :
Free to Farmers
Centralia.1' Dec. 18. . Two tractor
schools of three days' duration each,, free
to every man who Is farming a piece of
land, regardless of its size, were an
nounced today by lu E. Titus, The first
school will be held in Centralia January
6, 7 and 8, and the second in Olympia
January 10, 11 and 12. The schools will
be free to all farmers, their sons and hired
men. '.and the programs will consist of
tractor repairing, the actual work, , and
lectures hy experts. -
David Hodes Company
Combines Its ACCESSORY STORE
Formerly at 1 1 1 Broadway, Near Glisan,
' ; and its ..
USED AND RECLAIMED AUTO PARTS STORE
Formerly at 11th and Flanders .
: V-. in one building at
3roadway and Couch Sts.
(Formerly Occupied by the Charlslor & Lyon Co.)
12,000 Feet of Floor Space
Devoted to the Service of the
AUTO DEALERS GARAGE MEN
and MOTORISTS
STOCK OF NEW ACCESSORIES
Largest stock of Used and Reclaimed Auto Parts. In our
new. location we are better-able to cart for your needs.
DAVID HODES CO.
Broadway at Couch
' Southern Oregon
Roads are In good condition, according
to the tourists who pass through Rose
burg every day. "We use chains only
occasionally, said one of the party
who stopped In this city last night,
"and if there were no worse places
than the roads through Southern Ore
gon we would have no complaint to
make."' The sections of road over which
slow time Is made are short. Beginning
at 'the northern boundary of Douglas
county and going south, the slow and
muddy spots are a few miles just south
of the county line at Comstock. From
there to Leon a the road is macadam.
Between Leona and Drain is fairly
good. Drain to Toncalla, chains' should
be used, as the dirt fills are pretty
slippery, but no deep mud is encoun
tered. From Yoncalla to the beginning
of the new pavement, about two miles,
the road Is pretty rough on account of
crushed rock and gravel fills. It is
good afjec the paving is passed until
a short distance north of Wilbur ; the
roads are in fine shape. From Wilbur
to Roseburg the roads are considered
to be the worst of any place in northern
Douglas county, and there are no deep
ruts or bad places in this section, but
the entire length of the stretch has
been rebuilt on new grades, and It is
rough and alippery and chains are
needed. From Roseburg to Winston It
is rough, but solid roadbed. Winston to
Dole Is paved, and from there to Myrtle
Creek is rough, but good time can be
made. From Myrtle Creek to Canyon
ville via Riddle the road is good. Can
yonville to the county line south of
Glendale the roads are all in pood shape,
and good time is made. Smith hill is
negotiated by use of chains.
- The Pacific highway over the Sis
kyous, which waa -temporarily closed
last week a day . because of 18 inches
of snow having fallen during one night,
is open for travel - as usual and the
state highway department plans to keep
It that way all winter through employ
ing a crew with a snow plow to be
on duty daily. The state highway de
partment is also aiding automobile
travel between here and Portland by
keeping Smith hill, 10 miles north of
Grants Pass, in as. good condition as
possible, and when the mud gets too
deep by furnishing men and automobiles
to pull cars over. , . .-
Inland Empire
Walla Walla to Portland, through
Umatilla county. Thirty-eight miles
paved from Walla Walla to Pendleton;
good. Pendleton to Echo on Co
lumbia f highway, complete ; splendid
condition. Echo te Blalocks via
UmaUlla, ' good. Pendleton to La
Grande' old Oregon ; trail), snow
in mountains r very poor, almost Impas
sable. Pendleton to Pilot Rock, in con
struction, rough and muddy. Pendleton
to Helix partially complete, some good,
some - bad.. - Cold Springs : market road,
from ;Cold Springs landing on Columbia
to Pendleton, will be started soon ; $185,
000 for construction. ' .
Umatilla county roads in better condi
tion than ever before, with SO miles of
new gravel construction complete.
. Three feet of srfow In the Snoqualmie
pass, which has fallen this week, has
made the only route directly from here
to SeatUe impassable and Is shunting
all auto traffic between here- and that
city around through Portland over the
Columbia ' river highway. Commercial
travelers In numbers have used that
route from Walla Walla to Seattle ac
cording to reports by autolsts to W. S.
Parks of the Tri-State Automobile club
of Walla Walla.
Continued fair weather has kept the
roads in this section in good condition
e-enerally speaking, making the, route to
PorUand via the Columbia river high
way, such that several women motorists
have made the 278-mile trip during the
last week alone. The only stretch which
gives any trouble along the Columbia
river route is from the John Day ferry
to The Dalles. Necessity of making use
of the old road via the John Day ferry
from Arlington takes the motorist over
some rough and muddy spots. The new
Columbia river highway is recom
mended after The Dalles is reached.
The detailed report of the Tri-State
Automobile club for this section follows:
Walla Walla to Spokane Via Lyons
ferry and Ritzville: Walla Walla to
Waitsburg, good. " Ten miles pavedr
Waitsburg to Lyons ferry, fair. Ferry
to Washtucna, fair. Washtucna to Spo
kane, excellent.
Walla Walla to Spokane via Central
ferry: Walla Walla to Waitsburg,
good. Ten miles paved. Waitsburg to a
point 10 miles north of Dayton, good.
Following 10 miles poor owing to con
struction work. Balance to Central
ferry, excellent, new road. Central
ferry to Spokane, good.
Walla WaJJa to Spokane via Lewiston :
Good to 12. miles north of Dayton via
Dixie and Waitsburg. Balance of dis
tance to Pomeroy poor and fair by way
of Delaney. Pomeroy to Lewiston, fair.
Several miles rough and muddy going
over hill to Alpowa canyon. Lewiston
to Spokane, good.
Walla Walia to Seattle: Walla Walla
to Pasco via Tpuchet, Wallula and Bur
bank, fairly good. Take ferry to Ken
newick. Kennewick to Zillah, macadam
generally fair. Zillah to Yakima, pave
ment. Yakima to Ellensburg, rough and
sloppy over hill. Ellensburg to Cle
Elum, poor to fair. Cle Elum to Seattle,
snow during week has made roads over
Snoqualmie pass impassable.
Walla Walla to PorUand via Pendle
ton: Walla Walla to Pendleton 45
miles, 40 miles of pavement. Take new
Columbia river highway from Pendle
ton to Echo, Umatilla to Arlington. All
good. Arlington to John Day ferry,
Wasco and The Dalles necessary to use
old road. Rough and muddy at this
season. The Dalles to Hood River fol
low new road. Hood River to Port
land, pavement.
Pendleton to La Grande and Baker
City: , Not advisable. ,
All paving work out of Walla Walla
I completed." While roads generally
throughout the inland country are good,
they are subject to immediate weather
conditions. ' -
' Pacific Highway
The Pacific highway is passable all
the way from Portland to Olympia with
the exception of the newly paved sec
Uon starting at Tumwater and extend
ing to Chain hill, near Tenino. The de
tour' running through Plumb station to
Tenino is over a country road covered
with gravel and In good confttion. ac- j
cording to James Davis, .assistant state
highway commissioner. . This , newly j
paved section will be open for traffic
by next Sunday, most probably, Davis!
states, and at the latest early next week, i
"The new stretch of paving between i
mpreme In :M
PflSOrtOTOIl ' BIDW ' ' j.
The Super-Six Has j&L !
Always Been the Mk M--Si'rX -i
Pattern Car . iMBiHMNHl f
1
Hudson Outsells AU Fine Cars
We have never sought to develop the
Hudson Super-Six as the greatest speed .
and power car in the world.
It is true that in speed in hill-climbing
in quick . acceleration no stock car
ever matched it Official records show that.
But they are incidental. They were made
in tests to prove Hudson endurance.
- . .
A Distinctive Design
An Exclusive Motor
Surely these great performance quali
ties are enough to account for Hudson's
five years of leadership as the largest sell,
ing nne cat in the world. Any . owner
would take pride in a car that none has
equalled in any worth-while perfonnance
record. x
Yet a large class of Hudson buyers se
lected it for an altogether different quality.
Thousands chose it with an eye single
to its beauty, charm and notable appear
ance. They hold none can surpass it in
distinction. For the Hudson looks its
supremacy in every line.
But it is idle to think that those who
primarily seek fine appearance in a car,
do not value the mechanical superiority
of the Hudson Super-Six.
That extra reserve power means utter
smoothness due to less vibration than
any other type ever achieved. It means
less than half load in ordinary driving.
That, too, is a matter of record. The
official proofs are open to alL
In tjie exclusive Super-Six motor
efficiency is increased 80. Motor power'
is increased 72, without added size or
cylinders. Endurance is. almost doubled.
Its type gives Hudson every advantage.
Why pay as much or more for a lesser car?
C. L. Boss Automobile Co.
615-617 Washington Street
at
B
Unusual Prices
I CYC L
FOR XMAS SHOPPERS
on
E S
TTr77Tv
have on hand a 1 a r g e
stock of , high-grade bi
cycles;; tricycles anrf supplies. .
WE
A17. never them at prof-
iteering prices.
Others may have their special sales,
butyoull find our prices lower and
quality higher. Prices from $38
to $55. Select the boy and girl a
wheel today make the Xmas
happy for them. ,
RYDMAN BROS.
EAST BROADWAY and WILLIAMS AVENUE
THE BIG EAST SIDE BICYCLE STORE
The Western Fish Co.
J . . . j !
" , Largest Crab and Fish Dealer in Oregon
Has Just Purchased a
GMC Truck
Another Truck Owner Is i
Convinced of CMC Quality
Wentworth-Irwin, Inc.
Second St., Cor. Taylor, Portland, Oregon
a