The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-12-16
Valuable Hints
 For Auto Owners
Things Which Owners and Operators of Motor Cars
 Should Know

rified roadways have been built in the western section of the country alone. The years registration of cars in the thirty-five States which require it, is placed approximately at 517,000. The total fees collected have passed $3,- FOG, ,0OO
 Colorado is now circled by an auto- | mobile road a thousand mfles in length, crossing several ranges of the Rocky Mountains and winding its way through most of the cities.
 A Cleveland firm has received an order for fifty trucks from a large express company which has been ex- perimenting with them for delivery purposes and found them cheaper than horse-drawn trucks.
 The American Automobile Associa- tion roster has passed the 51, 900 mark, with forty-two States represented and 314 clubs in the State associations. The figures show a gain in membership Of 16,000 durfng the year,
 While the number of competitive motoring events in the United States has declined aboue one-third during the past twelvemonth, the number of amateur drivers who have taken to racing for the sport rather than the prizes has more than doubled.
 It Is believed the War Department at Washington wtll act favorably on the recommendation of Colonel George DCli, WAO WdS luSpCCIOT SoHcIdl OI tIlC regular troops mobilized recently on the Texas. border, that a company of regular infantry be marched from San Francisco accompanied by automobile trucks carrying military supplies. More. than 1900 cars have been inn ported through the port of New York since the first of the year. Their value is $3, ,35O,O00. In; 1910 1871 cars were imported, valued at $3,55O, GOO, and in 1909 1881 cars, valued at $4,486, 900. Comparison shows that not only have American makers cut Adown the sales of foreign cars, but that the average price paid for foreign cars is not quite as high as three years ago.
 | renewal of the lively fight tn the New Jersey Legislature over the treat ment of outside motorists is certain as la result of the announced opposition of the State Grange to any change in the present restrictive laws. State Grange leaders, however, admit that the automobile is a positive benefit to the farmer and predict that within a few years virtually every agricul- turist in the Garden State will possess one or more.
 The Supreme Court of the United States has held that imposing a tax on automobiles by the State of Penn sylvania has nothing to do with inter state commerce. The point was raiS- ed that inasmuch as the manufac- turer is in one State and the buyer in another the sale comes under the head of interstate commerce. but this was offset by the contention that agent and buyer are both in the one State and that therefore this is interstate commerce. The question of the light to tax was argued in New Jersey some time ago and it was decided then that the State had right to license the operation of automobiles.
 MOtOr-OPlivprV ranging in capacity from 800 to 1,500 pounds and light power trucks of one ton and one and one-half tons capacity are engag- tng the attention of a majority of the makers of commercial motor vehicles this season. Heretofore the heavy and costly trucks have occupied the most serious attention of the engineer and designer. The tendency will be very noticeable at the Grand Central Palace Automobile Show, January 10th to 17th. Of the thirty odd exhibitors of business vehicles, score at least most of these will display one or more models of light wagons each.
 Efforts are being made by garage keepers in Wisconsin to arrive at a uniform scale of rates for storage, washing and polishing. The accepted schedule Is as follows: Two to five passenger, cars; storage, 50 cents; per month, $15; washing, $1; polishing, 50 cents. Seven-passenger cars; storage per day 75- cents; per month, $20; wash ing, $1.50; polishing, 50 cents. Limou-' sines: storage. per day, 75 cents; per month, s2o; washing, $2; polishing, 50 cents; use of wash rack, $1; Electric pleasure cars, per day, s1.5O; per month, including washing polishing and charging, $32.50 A uniform scale of prices for gas and oils is also to be made.
 
 has his own ideas about what is going to become of racing tn this country. 'There have been lot of statements made,' says he, "thatr some of the companies are going to quit racing and that eventually there will be only avery few left in the sport. That may be the way it looks now with winter coming on, but let me tell you it will be different when the racing season starts agatn. Some one of the little fellows will see what he thinks is his chance to get lot of public notice by racing with the other fellows. The minute he decides to try to do that some one of the fellows who has de- cided he is going to quit will decide ned have a chance to put something over if he rushed in and got a little of the glory that would be easy for him to acquire as long as all the oth- CTS stayed out of it. That, in turn, II again when racing starts''
 The gain in motorcycles is best shown by comparison of the figures for 1909 and for 1904. In the latter year they numbered 223S; in the for mer, 18,62S.
 London possesses between 1000 and 5000 motor cabs plying for hire at the uniform rate of Is cents for the first mile and cents for each additional quarter mf1e
 Cabs and specially built public mo- tor vehicles are not numerous in Italy, and the livery work is done mostly with old secondhand private cars, which are expensive to run and in elegant in appearance And yet the populace of northern Italy loves dearly to ride in a real motor-cab and great ly appreciates elegance in lines and colors of the carriage body.