The gazette-times., April 30, 1914, HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION, Page 8, Image 14

8
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
AUTOMOBILES AND GOOD ROADS
A Department Designed to Help Farmers With Progressive Road Ideas.
, 4,4,4, 4, '
Logan Walter Page is director
of roads in the Department of
Agriculture and an acknowledged
expert on expenditure. This is
fr the second of two articles dealing
with his views. We counsel our
readers to study it.
fATIONAL aid road Improvement
i one of the plans proposed, and
have no doubt this plan will
be inaugurated in the near future.
State aid is already well under way,
and has been constantly growing since
1891, when New Jersey first embarked
on the plan of having aid granted
directly by the state, and a measure
of state supervision provided. Counties
and states are bonding themselves to
build hard-surfaced roads, and this is
helping to some extent, but to my
mind the primary necessity is so to
reform and revise our existing road
systems as to insure the efficient con
struction of the roads, continuous and
adequate maintenance and honest and
capable handling of our road rev
enues. I had hoped that when the states as
units took hold of the road problem
they at least would eliminate to a very
great degree the baneful Influence of
politics, but the history of the changes
in state highway departments during
the last 10 years would indicate that
politics is as active there as in local
subdivisions. During the past 10 years
there have been changes-in the con
trol of the engineering work in the
state highway departments of Arizona,
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Mary
land, Michigan, Missouri, New Hamp
shire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Washington and West
Virginia. In the state of New York
alone there have been nine changes
made In the state highway department
in the last 15 years. While it would
not be fair to characterize all of these
changes as unjustifiable, it is evident
that the tenure of office is, as a gen
eral rule, insecure; that the official,
who should be absolutely free from
political control, is almost totally un
able to act exrvpt at the dictates of
those very forces.
Civil Sorvice Advocated.
The remedy, to my mind, is the en
actment of strict and clear-cut civil
service legislation applicable to the
entire road system in the each state,
and the conscientious and wise en
forcement of such, legislation. In the
first place, a state highway engineer
should be chosen by a non-partisan
board, and should hold office at the
discretion of such a board. All sub
ordinate positions in the department
should be filled by rigid competitive
examinations, without regard to party
affiliations.. At this point I wish to
call attention to the fact that we have
recently filled the office of assistant
director of the United States office of
public roads by such a competitive ex
amination, and practically our entire
force, from messenger boy to director,
is filled In the same way. The re
suits are Infinitely more satisfactory
than the old spoils system.
In regard to county and township
road work, I think it would be advis
able, wherever the system of govern
ment permits, to have the county as
the smallest unit of administration,
and to have one county official who
Is required by law to possess a prac
tical knowledge of road construction
and maintenance, and who is appoint
ed after an examination to be pre
scribed by the state highway depart
ment in connection with the State
civil service commission. While it
probably would be necessary to give
the County Board of Commissioners,
or such officials as have charge of
county affairs, the power to remove
this road official, they should be com
pelled to appoint his successor upon
certification from the register of the
eiiglbles established by the state high
way department and the State Civil
Service Commission.
Fair Compensation Urged.
This would prevent removal of road
officials for the purpose"of substitut
ing local politicians, and would tend
to permanency of office on the part of
good men and the easy removal of In
competent men. There should be pro
vided by legislation and regulation
sufficient compensation for the county
road officer so that efficient mon
might be attracted to the work. Con
stant employment should be given,
and his subordinates should be cap
able men, supplied in accordance with
the spirit of the merit system.
The objection has been made to the
employment of county engineers that
some counties are utterly unable to
pay a salary such as a competent en
gineer would require. This difficulty
can be overcome in two ways, first by
legislation so framed as to permit two
or more counties to jointly employ an
engineer, or, second, by making the
civil service regulations sufficiently
elastic as to enable a practical and ef
ficient superintendent to be employed
rather than a high-salaried technical
engineer where conditions appeared to
warrant It Only when we arrive at
the state of development where we
recognize in the fullest degree the ne
cessity for the application of the merit
system in road administration In every
unit of government will we attain that
standard of excellence in our public
roads which would make them com
parable to the roads in Europe.
Oil Is Important Factor With Auto
Sixty Per Cent of Motorists' Troubles Are Due to Faulty
Lubricants, Says Fred J. Wagner
By FRED J. WAGNER . ;
j XPERIENCE of oil experts has
' proved that about 60 per cent of
- the troubles to which motors are
subject Is due primarily to faulty lub
rication. The remarks are based on
my own personal experience In the
oil business and not merely from hear
say. Faulty lubrication can be subdivid
ed into several classes among them
improper lubrication, insufficient sup
ply, over-lubrication and, most im
portant of all, the failure to use a
pure oil drawn from the welt section
of Pennsylvania, which state produces
the best crude oil; the failure to use
a lubricant free from acid treatment
or one with a high-firing point, good
viscosity and, in short, one which will
lubricate under all motoring con
ditions. The supply of Pennsylvania crude
oil is so limited and the demand so
great that there has gradually crept
into the field of automobile lubrica
tion the use of cheaper products,
commonly known as "mideontlnent
oil," having heavy asphaltic bases, and
coming from the fields in . Indiana,
Illinois, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas
and through to the Pacific Coast.
Pennsylvania crude, having for Its
base paraffin, offers the best oil for
the lubrication of the automobile
motor, considering the exacting re
quirements of high speed, long-continued
runs, the high heat generated
in the explosion chamber, etc.
In order that this mldcontinent and
Western oil having an inferior base
may appear pleasing to the eye and
compete or compare, at least when of
fered for sale, with the purer and
higher priced oils which come from
the restricted fie.lds of Pennsylvania,
the refiners of the asphaltic oils resort
to a number of practices, none of
which tends to improve the quality
as a lubricant.
The practice most frequently resort
ed to Is the treating of the oil with
an acid; then the attempt later to neu
tralize it with an alkali salt, and by
washing free the oil from both the
acid and the salt. In theory this is
accomplished; in practice there remain
a number of salts entirely foreign to
the oil as a lubricant, but all of
which) as they are foreign products,
tend to break down the oil under high
degrees of heat generated In the ex-A
plosion chamber.
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plished Musician
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at home.
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Everything furnished except the
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Write us today.
AMF.IUCAJf SCHOOL OP MUSIC,
616-517 Commonwealth Bldg.
Portland, Ore.
These acid-treated oils, if' their use
Is long continued, also have the effect
in time of attacking the metal sur
faces with which they are brought
into contact. The use of the right oil
for the lubricating of the motor Is
vital and the car user must to a
certain extent rely upon the fidelity
and honesty of the manufacturer of
that lubricant.
If the product used in the motor is
not suited to the purpose the damage
done is gradual and Insidious. This
damage being of a gradual character,
cannot be observed from day to day,
as can the wear and tear on the tires
of the car. The viscosity, which, In
other words, means the fluidity of the
oil, is also a factor In its affording
proper lubrication.
Where the motor is worn and there
Is an appreciable play, either. In the
bearing or between the piston and cyl
inder walls, the purest oil that can be
obtained and of a heavier grade is re
quired. - When the motor is new and
the bearing and wearing parts fit
snugly and properly a lighter oil
should be used, that the best results
may be expected.
The system of lubrication used In
the motor Is also a factor which should
help determine not only the character
but the quantity of the oil used.
The service rendered by the motor
is so vital and the expense Involved in
its overhaul and upkeep so great that
it behooves the user and owner to see
that he is not handed "any old thing"
for his oil tank, but should Insist upon
getting the right oil for his type of
car.
We -will be pleased to correspond
with you In relation to any condition
pertaining to dental work. Twenty
years' practice In Oregon.
DR. M. A. JONES
245 V4 Washington St.,
Portland, Oregon.
I WANT A REPORT
on produce conditions In your section.
Write me and I will advise YOU on
markets. s
FRANK TEMPLET0N
Produce Expert,
126 Front St., Portland, Oregon. .
WANTED FARM LANDS
We have city property to exchange
for farm lands. Tell us what you have.
We will consider livestock, with or
without land. Will exchange western
land for Eastern land or city property.
SWANK BKOT1IKHS, t
611 Northwest Building. .
Main 4180. , Portland, Oregon.
Have the trimmings on your auto
nickel-plated. Also all other kinds of
finishes on ' any metal. Write for
prices. Mall orders promptly tilled.
OREGON PLATING WORKS
16th and Alder Streets,
Portland, Oregon.
YON WANT A WEALTH OF HAIR
Of course you do. I can get results
for you, so let me tell you how my
treatment will cure dandruff and stop
falling hair. Write now for infor
mation. LRU A GRIMES.
389 Alder St., Portland, Ore.
Highest Cash Prices Paid
for dressed meats, poultry, butter,
eggs and fruits. Potatoes and
onions handled in car lots. Prompt
Returns. ,
Write us for our regular market
letter,
BURNETT & SONS
General Produce Merchants,
143 Front Street, Portland, Oregon
Merchants, Mention!!
There Is Honey in Tour Old Freight Bills, but You Don't Know
It Let the Trans-Continental Traffic Association Find
It Out for You
If you are a merchant who pays railroad or express charges we can
greatly benefit you and your business as a member of this Association.
It Is the aim of THE TRANS-CONTINENTAL TRAFFIC ASSOCIATION
to embody all of the shippers and receivers of freight within the states
of Oregon and Washington into one strong shippers' association.
We are a permanent Institution for the benefit of the merchants,
with general offices maintained at Portland. This association is pre
pared at any time to handle and give expert service and information .
on freight routing, tariff rates and classification, overcharge, loss and
damage claims, Interstate Commerce complaints and rate litigation, in
fact to protect and assist the shipper from every standpoint of his tranj
portatlon.
We have proved that an association of thts kind carries strength
and commands respect of the railroads, especially In the filing of claims
for overcharges, etc. It Is a well known fact that auditing companies,
operating on a percentage of the amounts recovered as overcharges,
have little respect or standing with the railroads, and that a larger
percentage of the claims filed by them with the carriers are declined
due to lack of necessary evidence and knowledge required to present
claims of merit in the proper manner so as to reach the higher authority
over the regular clerical help of the railroads.
To any shipper or receiver of freight the services of this association
are Invaluable and no operating business can afford to be without It.
We earnestly urge every merchant to take advantage of our
SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER. Our regular membership fee Is
Ten Dollars. For thirty days we will deduct this fee from the over
charge fund In your freight bills and return to you 50 of the balance,
thus, without any cash outlay, you are made a member of one of the
strongest and most efficient traffic organizations In the West.
Write Us Today
The Trans-Continental Traffic
Association
411-412413-414-415 Panama Building
Portland, Oregon