Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-06
MOTOR CARS AND MEN
WHO DRIVE THEM

BY NJ. v. KELLEY.

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horse on moving machine badly fright.
ened and cut I'D
All these things without redress offered
or optalnable from the man who owns the
machine. We say it Is an outrage and
II these people think Of coming here an
other year We hope the law against speed
ing and 'scorching' will be promptly and
Vigorously s enforced against every offender.
Let few of them stay In jail for two or
three days and they and all the rest of us
VIII be the better for It,
we like automobiles. We believe in
lhem ana enjoy them. We hope they have
come to stay. and We see where great ben
eft Will come to the state from their rea-
sonable use. But to turn loose a lot of
crazy montebanks. bent making a rec
ORD over our roads. is a distinct outrage,
and ought to be stopped at once and for
ALL"
Switzerland. through its director general
OF posts. has asked for tenders for carry
ing the mails in that country in commercial
motor wagons. No make of car Is barred
but 1t has been announced that preference
will be extended to gasoline machines. This
Is In line with the governmental action In
the German empire, where many motors
are used both in collection and delivery
or mail matter. Nine wagons have been
employed for more than year In Cologne
mile-per-hour rate every day. Berlin not
only has the same system. but the postal de-
partment is getting good results from a re-
Gently established parcels post within the
city's boundaries.
Once In while you will have mixture
trouble which will battle you for some time
before you discover the reason for 1t. You
can have poor mixture. which is not
weak enough nor rich enough to have any
weli-defned symptoms. but which will be
sufficient to cause the engine to run weakly.
Such things are easier to detect. of course,
II they are more pronounced. With q
markedly weak mixture. but which is vet
eXplosible. the action will take place In
the muffier On the other hand. mix
ture that Is too rich will show itself in the
extremely black smoke shown at the ex-
haust.
An Indiana salesman. who IS e. recent
motor convert, made a four-day trip en-
bracing 325 miles. during which he called
on seventy-f1ve customers and got home in
forty hours less time than he had ever
made the same trip in by train.
x \
decision just rendered by the Indiana
supreme court afiirms a judgment for dam
ages awarded In the lower courts to a man
who had been injured in runaway caused
by an automobile. 1t was claimed that the
car was moving at twenty-mile speed
The judge who delivered the opinion stated
that because the motor cars are novel and
unusual IN appearance. and for that reason
likely to brighten horses. was no reason
for prohibiting their use. But that when
the defendant that the plaintiffs
horse was frightened, and that he was In
Danger, 1T was the highest moral as we'll
as lega! duty of the defendant to stop
and remove the plaintiffs peril rather
than to increase it by rushing onward.
The use of compression as brake es-
peciauy on long descents has resulted in
much argument pro and con. The term re-
fers, of course. to the resistance offered by
the compressed gas or air on the upward
stroke OF the piston, which takes place
Just before firing 1t was long held that
an engine might be seriously strained by
employing it purely as a brake but this
Is not at all likely II the speed Is not al
lowed to become too great. 1t should be
done in this way: Either shut Off the igni-
ton and leave the gear In at top speed
without easing the clutch. or else COM
pletely shut the throttle. The latter method
will be less drastic in its effect upon the
cars speed, but more economical One
good thing that can be said for this form
Of braking Is that the pump Is kept in mo-
ton. the engine gets good cooling OF
course the compression produces some heat
also, but not nearly so much as the con-
tlnuous explosions. This suggestion is not
made in the belief that compression should
take the place Of the regular brakes. but
where hill Is so long that there is great
danger of heating them too much from the
steady pressure upon the band the use of
compression alternately with the brakes, ~
In connection with the hand brake when 1t
Is not connected with the clutch Is often
wise thing to do.
When rubber hose Is employed IN the con-
nections of a water cooling system 1t fire.
quently happens that at corners the hose
becomes wrinkled to such an extent that
the circulation is impaired. This may be
remedied by winding the hose fairly tight
with some non-corrosive wire at Joints
where the kinking is most pronounced. The
wire takes up the stain. but keeps its cir
cular form The wrapping should extend
an inch so On either side of the bend
or corner.