Evening star., 1904-03-23
ATTRACTS BIG CROWD
The Automobile Show a Rec
ord Breaker.
SOME MODEL MACHINES
BIG COLUMBIA WAGON DRAWS
ATTENTION OF VISITORS.
Unique Devices and Swift Moving
Vehicles-The Latest Improve
ments in Machinery.

More prospective buyers visited the auto
mobile show at the Washington Light In
fantry armory yesterday afternoon and last
night than the dealers were able to reach
during the whole period of the show last
year. This statement was made last night
by one of the local dealers. whose sales
are among the largest Of any in the city, to
show how firmly the automobile has taken
hold of the public and how successful the
present show has been. although 1t is still
young. The hall was thronged yesterday
afternoon and evening. A majority of those
who visited the show were those whose
means enable them to purchase machines
of the best type, and these people showed
an intelligent interest in what was exhib-
tied.
One of the things which strikes the Wis
itor to the show is the variety of machines
shown. At some place in the hall there is
representative of almost every type, from
the big twenty-four-h power Columbia
touring car to the little toy motor wagon
which Is kept running about table by an
electric motor as part of the exhibit of
Bryant & Co., haberdashers, which firm has
an excellent assortment of automobile
wearing apparel to show.
The Columbia Wagon.
The Columbia wagon is the machine that
chimes proper. This machine is the largest
in the hall. 1t Is guaranteed to develop
twenty-four-horse power, but is likely to
show thirty under pressure. The manufac.
turers also guarantee that 1t will attain q
speed of from thirty-five to forty miles per
hour, and they also state that under favor
able conditions it will show fifty miles per
hour. 1t seats six people. and it's tank will
mold thirty gallons of gasoline which gives
1t radius of 15O miles,
That this machine has not been built for
comfort only, and that the materials placed
in 1t are of the best, is evidenced by the
fact that it won the road race between
Chicago and New York October 1. 1903,
covering LII miles in seventy-six hours
without stop for REPAIRS and on October
t-lo 1t was the first gasoline car to reach
Pittsburg in the endurance run between
New York and Pittsburg, covering the dis.
tance. 1S3 miles, In fftyfour hours. This
run was made by the Columbia Immediately
after the Chicago-New York race and
without stopping for repairs of any kind
Inc machine was entered in the Pittsburg
When 1t came into New York from Chicago
Inc Columbia machine is shown by the
washington Electric Vehicle and Trans
portatfOn Company.
There are two exhibits at the nrasapt
show which are unique in the automobile
world These are the Darracq chassis of
the 1904 model. made i'm one piece of cold
pressed steel. and the Knox air-cooled en-
glne on chassis so that its operation can
be easily seen by all visitors. The Darracu
chassis is shown by Mr.. E. D. Winans. rep-
resentlng the f. A. LaRoche Company the
American representatives of the Darraco
manufacturers of Rennes. France The
chassis shown is the most improved
type of automobile frame 1t is made
OF cold pressed steel in one piece. without
a single bolt, nut or rivet with a ma n under
meath to protect the machinery from dust
and dirt. The Darracq motor is cast in one
piece, with the cylinder heads and valve
champers. these latter being all on one side
ana htted with mechanically operated
valves. The valves are made of nickel
steel The specimen of the chassis shown
IN TINS city is placed over a large mirror so
.la, , ,he visitor can see the under side as
well as the upper.
The waterless Engine.
Ihe Knox waterless engine is shown bv
the maryland Automobile Company of Bal
timore. which has an office here at III 18th
street Inc exhibition is under the charge
Vi MT u. +. Clark of Baltimore The
machihe is different from most others in
principle. in that there is no wafer tan,,
and no pipes run around the cylinder CO
mat water can be forced through them and
Tue cyiinder Kept at an even low tempera-
ture; In almost all the gasoline machines
at least in majority of the accentad
types the cylinder is incased in a water
Jacket. This water jacket is done away
with in the Knox. The Knox patent sys-
rem OF automatic air cooling consists of
corrugated pins on the exterior of the
cylinder in connection with an air bIas.
produced by a fan.
The pins. surrounding the cylinder are
Two tS lnGhes IN length and are screwed to
the cylinder. Their particular office is to
radlate the heat and make it possible to
OBTAIN 32 square inches of heat-radiatinp
surface per square inch of outside surface
OF the cylinder. The Knox was the frst
machine with air-cooed cylinders to he
put on the market and was first shown
ABOUT TOUR years ago. There are now sew
erai air,cooied machines. but it is claimed
by the Knox people that they have about
four and one-half times the heat-radiating
surface obtained by any other type of air.
cooled cylinder
The speed of the fan which .iyes tho
air blast is regulated by the speed of the
machine The faster the machine travels
the faster the fan will reyolve and the
greater the air blast in consequence. The
manufacturers of the Knox claim If will
work under all atmospheric conditions he
cause it does not overhead in summer and
has no water to freeze in winter Several
Knox machines are shown. including a
touring car. runabout and delivery wagon,
New Style Storage Battery.
An effort is being made by Mr. Fred B.
W Whitney, clerk to the House committee on
naval affairs. to interest his friends in a
new style of storage battery for an auto
mobile with which he has established sew
SAoA iOSoiuS MI. w HItuey recently made
a test of his motor and ran 121 miles at
the rate of II miles an hour on a single
charge. This was done in this city only
a month or two ago. In Chicago he ran
1S7 miles at the rate of 10 miles an hour on
single charge, and in Cleveland ran 151
miles at the rate of IL miles per hour on a
single charge. These are all worlds rec
ords and are held by Mr.. Whitney When
it Is taken into consideration that the
standard electric automobile rarely has a
guaranteed radius of more than half that
number Of miles some idea of the value
of Mr.. Whitney's battery can be obtained
Mr.. Whitney is showing specimen pair of
cells of his battery at the automobile show.
and is always kept busy explaining the
merits of the invention. The battery is
shown in connection with the exhibition
of the Baker automobiles.
Program Of Music.
One of the features of the automobile
show is the musical program rendered each
evening by Haley's orchestra. The mu-
sicians have been placed in the balcony
over the north center OF the hall and their
music adds much to the enjoyment of the
evening. The following is the program for
the orchestra tonight: March, "Regatta:.