The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980, August 21, 1921, Page 14, Image 14

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    HOY THE BET CAME TO M HADE
Several baslaess men tfcro' hav
ing luncheen at a club ta Chicago
som weeks ago, and during thu
course of - the - cOnyereAM n the
ubje:t ol vacations was, brought
up. One of the men, Mr. I B.
M Her. 'mentioned drlring to CsU
lornia. Tbe time required to make
tne trip was discussed, and when
Mr. Allilor , made the , statement
that 11 dart wti pufficlent time to
make tbe run from Chicago to San
Francisco, he . was Immediately
challenged and some . one offered
m bet that It ould not be done.
Tbe result was that, before they
left, the. table $660 was wagered
by Mr. Miller that he could cover
iho distance In his car In IX days,
i The following account is Mr.
Miller's own story oC how he com
pleted tbe remarkable run of
2485 miles lit seven days from the
time he left Chicago, driving an
Hlgln Six Coupe, with, an average
casollne consumption of 20 miles
to the gallon. Mr. Miller has no
connection, whatever with the J21
s?in Motor Car corporation, and
made thetrip entirely on hl own
initiative. lie is general manager
of agency sales, of the Victor X
Ray corporation, 236 South Kobey
street, Chicago. The car he used
wag a standard . Elgin Six coupe.
No. Kb-10596, purchased from
the Northwest Motor Sales com
pany, Chicago.. , '
i Upon 'hearing of the proposed
. ..... ... ,
along tbe Lincoln . highway -dirt I
oui first slippy going at DeWitt,
'J miles out, rain having fallen
several boars prenrat, making
the going rather alow. This condi
tion we found prevailed nntit we
n eared tbe town of Wheatland, at
which i point ye ran , out of the
of gasoline used, etc. After reach-A11 " 8UU u.uu ium
i- e xiui-froads were real boulevards and we
trip, the Elgin Motor Ca.r corpor
ation requested Mr: Miller to send
a telegram each night, giving the
number of miles covered, amount
log San Francisco, . Mr. . Miller
wrote tne following lnterenting
letter,, unsolicited, which tell Us
own atory:
San Francisco, Cal.,
V J July 3, 1921.
Elgin Motor Car Corporation,
Argo, Illinois.
Gentlemen: '
In giving you a more complete
report of the performance of the
Elgin Six coupe on Its trip from
Chicago to San ' Francisco it cer
tainly is a great pleasure to have
my beliefs and confidences in the
Elgin Six so amply proven, as the
data which follows shows.
892 Bines tbe First Day
, Leaving Chicago on Saturday
morning, June 25, at 6:15, ac
companied by Mr. George L. Bush,
who is our distributor on the Pa
cific coast with headquarters at
San Francisco, we started for the
haven of the setting sun. Tbe
first 140 miles out of Chicago was
along the Roosevelt road and with
one or two detours real boule
vard to the Mississippi river.
Crossing the river we landed on
the. Iowa side In Clinton at 11
a. m. ... ., .
; . After eating breakfast and tak
ing on oil and gasoline, we started
could attain any, speed that we
saw fit. We bowled along through
Cedar Rapids and Marshalltown.
It had been oar Intention to stop
the first night at Ames, la., but
when we reached this point it was
found that our running schedule
would permit us to go on farther,
so at 7 o'clock we stopped at
Boone, 392 miles nearer San Fran
cisco .than we were at 6 o'clock in
the morning.
Kearney, Xeb., the Second Day.
Leaving oBone at 5 a. m.. we
again ran into a little patch of
wet roads for some 20 odd miles
but not enough to cause any
great amount of delay, and cov
ering the . besa roads of the en
tire trip, we rolled onto,' .the
bridge crossing the Missouri river
into Omaha, as .the good folks
were coming out of morning ser
vices at church. No stop was
made in Omaha. Through Ne
braska a great many cars were on
the road and as no rain of any
sort had been experienced for sev
eral weeks, the dust and some
sandy spots made the going very
heavy. However, we had no
trouble in pushing on through
Fremont. Columbus. Grand Island
USED
COIRS'
fGDO)
Thoroughly ; ; Pyer
haulcd and Repaired
Are the. Best Cars to
Buy Nowadays. .
Specials
t . i . lUiiU rora, ne tares
st? MIIWWIS4. .
v
1 916' Ford, new tires
1 1
Binck Six, new tires
it . . ' '
1920 Auburn
-j.-".rT' f - . -T '-:
We Have 25 Other Good Buys From Which' To Make Your Selection
; ' ' '
exchange
3U North Commercial Street
The Used Car Center
lec&i
-! All to J
Phone 666
miam a' rr-
V
f "l
t
The good IVlaxwell is being
; widely! accepted as the truly
economical and satisfactory
mode of t f a ri s p of t a ti o n
for the average family.
i
i
GINGRICH MOTOR - CO.
371 Court Street -
.Tc Good Maxwell
(p-"? wisr
4
XW ELL
and on to Kearney, where we
stopped for tbe evening, rolling
up a total of 3S7 miles for the
second day out. Drained out the
crank case, washed out with kero
sene, alemited universal joints,
third member and springs, and
was ready for an early morning
start.
. . Third Day Out 417 Miles. . .
Leaving Kearney at daybreak,
we determined to reach Cheyenne,
Wyo., by night, but we found the
roads although being called dirt
roads better than any boulevard
one could find any place. We
gave her the gas. passing through
North Platte and Sidney and roll
ed into Cheyenne with the sun too
high in the sky to even think of
rtopping. Than we thought we
would go on to Laramie, 52 miles
away, bflt when we arrived the
going was so good we kept roll
ing along until we. wound up and
decided, at Rock River. Wyo., a
417-mile day's drive was enough.
We camped on the municipal camp
grounds furnished for the benefit
of tourists and the edification of
the local supply of mosquitoes,
which are bred here In sufficient
quantities to stock the shores of
Jersey.
25 Honrs at Wheel, Fourth Day
After an almost sleepless nieht
from mosquitoes, howling 'does
and squawlin? youngsters in sev
eral or the other tourists' tents.
we rolled up our blankets at 3 a
m. and headed for Salt Lake City
as the destination for the fourth
day. Two hours out and having
become careless with the fine go
ing and the easy running of the
car. Btruck a chuck hole at 45
miles an hour which should have
been negotiated at not over five
or six. We put on a spring clam
and went into Rawlins. Wvo. at
9 a. m, the place we expected to
spend, according' to our schedule,
our fourth night out. (Mr. Mil-
er bad mapped out his own pri
vate schedule for makine San
Francisco in eight days, eivine
himself plenty of leeway for un
foreseen delays.) We pulled into
a. garage, called the proprietor,
and he saw "the sign , on the car
"Chicago to San Francisco." We
explained this was a record-breaking
trip and he pulled his mechan
ics off of other jobs and one hour
afterwards we were on our wav.
tickled to death to think we haa
lost no time oecause the one
hour's time consumed In outtinc
in the new snrins- had been th
hour we had made by starting
the hour earlier In the morning.
We found after leaving Rawlins
that the elevation which had been
gradual began to show more and
more, and it was interesting to
watch the altitude meter climb
steadily upward until we had hit
an elevation of 7000 feet:-thirfv
miles west of Rawlins, at which
point the divide of. tbe continent
was passed, and the Elgin did
her duty just as pleasantly as she
did when she was at an altitude
of 800 feet. But' we commenced
experiencing real before-the-war
roads west of Wamsutter, where.
new roads are under construction
e eireicn oi 21 miles taklnsr us
hours to cover. We had made
up our minds to go to Salt Lake
ror our fourth day and we landed
in Evanston, Wyo., at 9 D..m.. 81
mues out of Salt Lake, but the
car was doing so nicely we tlz
ured that physical endurance
should match mechanical endur
ance, so we stuck to our idea of
going to Salt Lake. It we had
known what Btood before us, God
snows we wouia not have under
taken that trip only in a flying
macnine or a scented Pullman
Even the Lincoln Highway Guide
says: "The Utah state hghway
department has a new road under
construction, the old trail-i9 be
ing replaced by a new route
Travel will get through while the
work is under way; the old route
will be found poor. Quite ruttv
forcing slow going." No truer
words were ever written. At 5 : 3 0
a. m. we willed ud at the New
house hotel with a total of 402
miles from the time we left Rock
River for Salt Lake. Taking the
time of putting oh the spring
clamp and the putting in of a new
spring, the driver had 255 hours
steady going, with nothing to do
but sit and drive. Leaving the
car stand in the street, we regis
tered, leaving a call for 7:30, or
dering breakfast to be served in
the room at that time. We went
up and had our first shave and
bath since leaving Chlcajro. We
had no more than pulled the cov
ers over our heads when break
fast was brought in and was en-
Joyed In our BVD's.
Ely, Nev., The Fifth lay
At 8:30 a. m., the town that
Brigham Young and his follow
ers made famous was fast being
Lake we pushed out toward the
southern shore of tne Great Salt
Lane we pushed out towaid the
Great American Desert. The i
markers of the Lincoln highway i
through Utah must nave besn i
Mormon installed oecause this
was the first and only poorly
marked stretch or road we tound.
with the consequence we found
after a few hours driving that we
were not encountering landmarks
called for in the Lincoln Htgnway
Guide. Upon making inquiry ct
a ranch house. raw upon your
imagination, please figure bow we
felt when we were told that we
re 70 miles oft the Lincoln high
ay, and here we were trying to
make time. Even as my good
friend Ring Lardner would say,
"Twas a subject the family
would not care to talk over in
company." We were told that u
we could cross the mountain
range there was a trail 'over
which it took a four-horse Peam to
pull an empty wagon, oterf the di
vide called Lookout Point. If we
made this, we could reach the
Lincoln highway In 15 miles. The
writer, .who is now driving his
fifth Elgin car, felt confident that
if four horses could pull a wagon
across this trail, it would bo eas
ier and a saving of time to go
over the range rather than to re
trace the 70 miles just passed
over, so at it we went and if any
man should serve a .sentence in
the penitentiary for injury td oth
er than a human being, I should
bo sentenced for the punishment
I gave the car, pushing: her; over
those tortuons mountain trails.
But not a murmur, not a com-.
plaint, bampety-bump over rocks.
down Into chuck holes, drr wasa
es, through cacti " brush, grease
wood and sage, we finally came
out into view of a great wide ex
panse or white, dry alkali land as
far as the eye could reach, with
another mountain range in the
distance, and, God be praUed. the
most glorious s'ght .we saw on the
trip was a red. white and o;ue
sign with a big capital "L" Lin
coin highway marker out in the
middle of tie desert. We wete
happy because We knew we were
once, more cn the right rocd. We
had lost something like five
hours in time, but headed for
Ely, Xev.', which we had deter
mined upon being our stopping
point for the night. We rade up
our minds we would reach there
no matter whether it required all
night driving or not. Proper
pressure was brought to bear to
compel the state highway officials
to close for traffic ibe passage ol
cars across the cut-off that has
been put in and which is admit
ted is not yet fully completed.
This admission is not necessary.
This grade across the cut-off is
nothing but one trail or ruts so
deep that tbe front axle is drag
ging a good portion of the time
and It would tase a car wun ac
least an 18-inch clearance to not
hit and grate its innarcs on
many of tha high points. Some
idea may be gained of how awful
this stretch is for passage when
you know that it took, us one and
one-half hours to cover eight
miles. It was terrible runlsh
ment to give my machine. Just
ahead of us was a big, high-priced
car beine towed by three cars
hitched together. It had broken
out a rear axle, still our Elgin did
not make any complaint at all. We
pulled into Gold Hill, Utah, 107
miles away from Ely, at 6:30 p.
m.. and we had to make Ely to
prove to ourselves thai we could side of the roaa. cuni up u
ctck to a fixed point or detina- car and went to leP- At -lion
each day. Th going was olwk we rxUled ont and s,artea
h. op and govts on our way again anu i
r-
a. in
still mighty rough, op
r-rnrls rnnninr into many r
royos and dry washes which nec
essarily made speed out of the
question. About 11 ociocs "
lure ut?Bim uciuvj-"."o , tnlA
ot'Faiion, wnicz pomi
i i 5 . ; . T J L a
bv the Lincoln hiEhwav garage at
Elv . Kev.. at 4:30
2S9 Mile the Sixth Pay;
Ate breakfast at the Popular
rafp and left Ely at 5:30 a.ni
for
Kiy ve wouia not ow uo j
under a day, and a b.&lt. as, we
would nave seven summKa or
mountain ranges t crop, that the
roads were . rough, ; the, flats we
would find rutty, full of chuck
holes and in places wo would' not
be able to make over five or six
miles an hour. The garage men
mechanical force had the best
the argument, we pulled upon one
(ContTnned on papei8r
We J I (c2kS) IL r:
New Tires
PUT ON
Baby Carriages
Go-Carts
Tricycles j
Hand Cars
We have recently in
stalled the latest and
most improved machine
for re-tiring baby car
riages and tricycles and
are able to give the best
of service..
.Mew Tires Put On While
f; You Wait
: Our Prices Are Beason-:
i able
.
Harry W. Scott
( "The Cycle Man"
3r" A li.".
New Price
F.o.b.Ponttac
Although' prices of all Oakland
models were reduced 3250 in May, no
part of the car has been lowered in
quality to make possible the reduc
tion in price. '.
The Oakland Six as built today is
the greatest value in Oakland history.
In no other car at the Oakland price,
can you find so much power in pro
portion to weight so long a wheel
base so high a mileage on gasoline
so deep and staunch a frame so much
.room in front and rear compartments.
No other car at any price has so low
a center of gravity, msuring maximum'
safety on the road, ' ' J ' "
Examine the Oakland Six Jnj our
show rooms. Ride in it. , Test tare-"
fully every essential quality that estab-.
lishes the worth of an automobile. '
Prove to yourself that Today Oak
land Six gives you the greatest Value
for the dollars you invest, j
Six Features of Value
; : GYiinch frame' ' "
115 inch vsheelbaM
8,000 to 12,000 mile on tires '
1 HJP. per 53 pounds of car wight
Six cylinder, overhead valve motor
.18 to 23 mile per gallon of gasoline
VICK BROTHERS
High and Trade Streets . ?
To-day's
Oak
Unit efCenrral Motor Curyomtitm 1 . - -
The All ready Perfected
Ghievrolet
Further (Improved
Heavy ring gear and pinion in rear end, practically indestruct-
M f ,bVf t J.'' "j,
X aoie. Aajustaoie irom omsme.
New propeller sfyaft bearings consisting oi New Departure
double race, lower, and single race upper, which
practically indestructable feature. .
is
another
a
1
Improved clutch construction, no grabbing. 4 4 ' '
7 - Timken bearings in front wheels. . J .
' Emergency brake controlled by hand lever
Baked enamel bodies giving better and more lasting finish.
Better finished and constructed all through, and the price, $75
Salem Delivery
Salem Automobile
Company
F. G. DELANO
SALEM--DALLAS
L I. E0FF
5
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