Evening star., 1909-02-07

their state motor vehicle law A new
measure has been drafted for preSenta-
tiOn to the legislature, and its sponsors
have every hope for favorable action by
Meanwhile the constitutionality of the
present motor law is being attacked on
the ground that it discrminates in proper
~ value.
j.: :;
In an effort 10 abolish speed traps in
several sections of Massachusetts, the
Automobile Owners Association of that
state has introduced a bill in the legis-
lature taking the control of speed from
town authorities and placing it in the
hands of the state highway commission
ers A branch of the state constabulary
is provided for. to patrol the roads and
watch for the violation of the laws and
regulations as prescribed by the commits
sion.
Listing for this years Glidden tour is
extended even to the tools to be used.
Penalties will also be exacted for the
time spent by driver and mechanlcian in
repairs, except on tires, which, before,
cannot be the cause of any downfall.
Club teams have been abolished and all
cars will he classified according to price.
in five groups. and the running time is
regulated to correspond with the pre-
sumed qualities Of each group. The toy
tonneau or double versatile car is now
officially recognized as an official class.
A hich-preSsure hose. wagon is now IN
use in New York city. built on a five-ton
chassis equipped with Go-horsepower
motor There are two plugs each side
of the wagon, four in all, allowing four
high-pyessure lines to he coupled on.
These lead to large. high. pivoted nozzle
in the center of the car, which. except for
height answers all the purposes Of fire
tower. The body of the wagon is ar
ranged in the form of bins, three being
provided, to hold a total of twenty-one
lengths of fifty feet each OF three-inch
high pressure hose.
If in selecting leather for upholstering
a car, the material is hand-buffed 1t will
show it, not only in appearance but In
pliability If it looks faky. and if it is
not firm. then it is sign that the leather
is not of a desirable grade.
Sheet steel is now much i'm vogue for
motor bodies Ii the panels of sheet
steel are properly made, they will add
much to the strength of the whole, al
though it may be true that sheet of
steel, unsupported, has but little stiffness.
1t is the Hanging and the curvature that
adds the strength. and it is at almost no
cost, nor does the weight increase ma
terially.
The test case commenced last summer
to test the validity of the New Jersey au-
tomobile law popularity known as the
Frelinghuysen law. has now reached the
supreme court of the state. Judge Reed
of that court recently granted writ OF
certiorari. thus permitting the case to
be argued within the next few weeks.
The case has been through the police
court and the court of common pleas.
but neither undertook to pass upon the
constitutional questions involved, but sim
ply ruled on the facts of the case and
the wording of the statute.
The case originated with the arrest of
r. II. Johnston in the city of Trenton
because no New Jersey license number
was displayed on his machine. An at
tempt was made to bring the constitu-
tional questions at once into the federal
court but that court sent the case back
into the state courts for adjudication.
The principal contention is. that the
state of New Jersey has no power to tax
a nonresident citizen. Freedom OF in
gress into and esress from the several
states is guaranteed to the citizen of the
United States and has been sustained by
many decisions of the United States Su-
preme Court.
Despite the fact that the Glidden tour
will not start before July. Frank 3.
Hover. chairman of the a. a. A. contest
board, reports that he has obtained a
number of voluntary entries. and he is
confident of a larger entry list than has
ever graced the tour. Everybody who is
interested is trying to find out from Mr..
Hover what the route will be, but he is
preserving this as a secret. 1t will be the
sixth annual contest of the American
Automobile Association. In 1904 ii went
from New York to st. Louis: in 1905 to