Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-02

u H. a.
photo by STAFF Photography
but is also dangerous to handle on the
roads of this country, and he Is now de-
manding lightweight cars.
Generally speaking. manufacturers are
not prepared to meet this demand. They
are equipped to make the heavy type or
car; change means revolution for them
| "a revolution in their methods and in their
construction: a complete turning over OF
every theory they have advanced in favor
| of several automobiles, which will be light.
fuel and tire expense. These cars must
, also be built with a view to long service,
| and for those who develop their cars along
this line success Is certain
With a total membership of 1,241, OF
| which 1000 are on the active list. the Au-
tomobile Club Of America at It's annual
meeting drew up policy of broader and
| more effective work in the cause of motor
| ing along various practical lines than has
| ever been attempted before. The garage
| and chauffeur problems are to be seriously
dealt with and q strong effort Is to be
made to secure the passage OF a city ordi-
| nance making 1t misdemeanor to emit
| Objectionable odors and smoke from ma
chimes in the streets, which Is chiefly caus-
| ed by opening of the muffiers
The drawing up of a national code of eth
les which might be accepted throughout the
| country as a basis of management for own
| ers, chauffeurs and garage managers was
advised In order to formulate such code
| it was suggested that committee Of three
| be appointed, consisting Of a re. resentative
| of each of these classes. and that they
| should draw up fixed set Of rules to be
| used as trustworthy guide and which
might be binding in all disputes arising
| between the different parties. The idea
met with general favor, and If it can be
| fin cal cd
| way for many beneficial improvements in
the existing garage and chauffeur difficult
| ties.
| The officers of the club clearly realize
| that in the management of their garage
| they are likely to encounter opposition
| from chauffeurs who have established the
! pernctous system of demanding commits
sions for the storing of cars as we'll as
| for supplies and repairs. No commission
| of any sort will be allowed ~ the club.
| Mr.. Morris advised that the garage COM
| mittee be empowered to exclude from the
! club house any chauffeur whom it believes
undesirable Unless the rules are rigidly
| enforced and the members do their utmost
to sustain them it was pointed out that the
| efforts to improve conditions would be a
| failure.
| In commenting upon the automobile fam
| lily tree it has been said that just how
great a debt the automobile owes to the
|
that it was the bicycle that made the mod
| ern automobile possible. Magazine writer's
and others who spend their spare time in
| looking up presidents that have been peace
| fully buried for years have been hard put
to establish the descent of todays car from
| the clumsy English steam road vehicles of
| ninety years SO ago. In this case there
| is just about the same analogy that can be
| traced between Noah's ark and turbine
| liner
| The real parents of today's car are the
| bicycle and the gasoline motor and the
/ family traits seem more pronounced on the
| wheels side. The one which comes to mind
| there are many more, from ball bearings to
| seamless tubing. The earlier almost
invariably were fitted with the wire-spoked
Wheel and while this gave way before the
! solid artillery" type, still 1t is true that
| for certain models Of cars, the wire wheels
| will be used again this coming season.
| But where the bicycles influence has
| been most effective Is along educational
| lines. Until the advent of the wheel moth
ing was known about cones. stresses, tool
| STEEL bearing metals, the trade secrets con-
nected with the yulcanizing of rubber and
many other things that the bicycle has
! taught.
| When the automobile came along-and it
looked more like the bicycles big brother
| than it does today--there were two three
million of people who knew the names Of
| X
The interest aroused among military men
when the bicycle was first utilized for
scouting has been heightened by the ap
pearance Of the motor cycle. The most
striking feature of the maneuvers of the
Italian army, which took place among the
Alps and which have just ended. was the
wonderful scouting work done by Sergt.
! Federico Violate-Tessart on his motor cycle.
| The reports of the maneuvers describe him
| as veritable thunderbot. flashing here,
there and everywhere. He rode his power
| full machine UP mountain trails that were
| thick with dust, encountered with rocks
| and as steep as 10 in 100. Tne possibilities
bearers was fully demonstrated in the
| opinion of Europe's leading military critics.
! Percy Owen, one of the pioneer automo-
bilists in this country, who drove an Amer
lean car in the Gordon-Bennett interna-
| tional cup race in 1908. made a surprising
| statement at a meeting in the Hotel Bres-
lin of some of the exhibitors in the show
in Grand Central Palace. Illustrating the
| tremendous growth of the motor car in,
dustry in America he said that seven years
ago only three gasoline cars were in use
| In New York city. Today over eighty diff
| ferent makes are sold here. Over IS, 600
cars are now registered in the state, and
new registrations are being taken from the
Office of the secretary of state at the rate
of over LOCO a month
! c. w. Kelsey, in brief speech on the de-
| velopment Of the industry, gave the infor-
nation that the capital invested In the
automobile business in the United States
is more than sl50,OO0.OO0. More than 100-
900 men are employed in the business, and,
according to the most reliable estimates,
| more than 100000 cars are now in use
throughout the country. In the American
factories 135 different cars are made, and
in addition twenty-five foreign cars have
j branch houses and agencies in this coun-
try OF those various types ninety-six diff
:! ferent cars will be exhibited in the show
to be held next week. and in addition to
] tbie aiphfean varietiaa of foreign cara