Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-05
operator OF an automo-
bile is required TO pass an
examination in the District
traffic laws before he Is

traffic laws before he is
zsA permitted to run a mach'n,
on the streets. Why should not tho driv-
ers of teams be compelled to pass a sim
liar examination? 1t would be the only
fair and just thing for everybody said
Edward l.. Wittstatt local automobile
enthusiast, YESTERDAY
Every person riding bicycle. driving
team of horses or otherwise teaversing
the streets OF the District should be en-
hghtened as TO the traffic laws II the
drivers CT horse drays, for instance. were
compelled to understand more about the
traffic laws it. would reduce the number
Of accidents very considerably The cause
Of at lea .S0.per cent. of accidents is due
TO the i: rance of drivers
Most II them turn to the left and
never look to see If anything is behind or
beside them. and. if SO. the driver of the
vehicle approaching is compelled TO turn
out. taking great chances Of colliding
with other approaching teams: If per-
son is waiting for car there is danger
of his being struck As a result of the.
neglect of drivers of teams. This often
happens
The law requires vehicle when APP
preaching another vehicle which is travel
ing in the same direction to pass on tie
left. but You have the right to turn to
the right without giving notice to the
object ahead that you intend turning
1t Is required that you notice if anything
is coming up or going down the street.
and If SO watt until II passes before turn
ing. to your left. The, average driver is
not aware Of these regulations. and the
more one is-on-t he streets the more evil
dent this ignorance becomes, endangering
human life. ''''.v' - -~~--
IAN autcist often breaks the speed laws
because In passing a vehicle which is
going in the Same direction as he he
speeds his car in order to pass the team
before ID can turn and cut him off. If
regulations he would always signal his
intention OF turning and approaching
objects could, feel that they would have
ample time to stop. and avoid collision as
result. This would greatly protect pc
destfians from possible injury The tend
ency seems to be to run as close to the
car tracks as possible. The law should
prohibit this and compel the drivers of all
vehicles to Keep as close to the sidewalk
as possible, of course always. keeping to
the right. thus giving the approaching
team ample room without running on
the car tracks.
"If the drivers of teams knew that the
vehicles travelling north and south have
the right Of way over teams travelling
east and west this would help materially.
The law requiring the carrying of lamps
after dark does not compare in impor-
lance with the street traffic regulations.
as few accidents can be traced to the
lack Of lamps.
while it may seem difficult to make il
possible for drivers of carts and the like
to pass these examinations. yet the en-
ployer of these drivers could instruct his
men in these simple matters, and the
safety Of our citizens in the streets
would be greatly increased.
ut Is about time that these conditions
were taken up and duly considered"
Spring trade among local auto dealers
Is still OH the increase. Thrty-fiv sales
were reported from various agencies dur
ing the past week. mostly among the
ably half Of the sales are for deliveries
the latter part Of next month or the LIST
Of. May. Statesmen are enthusiastic over
the prospect of breaking the record of
past years. They predict the sales in
the runabouts and smaller touring cars
will be greater by at least a hundred
than last year and 1909.
There seems a dearth of orders of de-
livery trucks. The sales have been few
and infrequent, despite what statesmen
describe as educational demonstrations
on their part among prospective buyers
in the local business world. They say the
Gay OF Ine~ neatN ueIEeTN TUCK HdS not
yet reached Washington to the extent it
has other eastern cities.
Word has reached local autoists in this
city of another turnpike condemnation
case in Washington county. Md, destined
to add still another f1rst-class highway
to the already increasing list of non
tollgate roads. The present case is that
of the road known as tie HagerStown-
Conococheague, turnpike. running from
Hagerstown north across the Pennsylva-
nit state line to Greencastle and Cham
bersburg The distance between Hagers-
town and Chambersburg is twenty miles.
The condemnation proceedings apply
only to that portion of the turnpike lying
within. the state Of Maryland. Indica-
tons that toljeates will be taken off the
Pennsylvania half before the end of the
summer are bright. Automobile associa-
tions in western Maryland and the south
central sections of PENNSYLVANIA have
Gals with this end in view. The toll
gates on the turnpike i'm question from
Hagerstown to the Pennsylvania state
line will be removed about the second
week in April.
.Blasphemia'' is the name of wind
sled which has been built. at Saranac
Lake. N Y, by three young men who
mounted a acknowledgements, six-cyl-
inder, air-cooled Franklin motor on sled
of light and resilient construction and
now have a vehicle which has made sixty
and seventy miles an hour over the ice
of the lake.
The propeller is like that of an aero
plane. and is back of the sleigh. The ice
thus far has not been the smoOthest, and
the young men fully expect to realize in
he neighborhood of niuety miles an hour
sh.a conditions are advantageous.
The idea Of the sleigh originated with Ii.
Webb Hyde of Boston and Carl Palmer:
and they, assisted ny J. E. Marvin of
Louisville. Ky. built the craft. 1t is
twenty-three feet long and is of durable
IRON throughout Its lines are clean. the
i'm being to do away with any contriV-
ance that would interfere with speed.
The. drive shaft runs from the motor
Under the seat to the propeller at the
REAR of the sled. Steering is through the
fear runners. AS q matter of fact the
machine has two sets of runners and two
Dropellers One set of runners which are
rounded is used when there is a firm
layer of snow on the ice. The other run
ners are skate-lke and are used on glary
Ice One propeller. seven feet across and
with a small pitch. is used when there Is
snow The other propeller is smaller and
is used when the ice is smooth.
The springs are semi-eiliptic in front
and coil i'm back. The designers Of the
sled believe the use OF these spr ngs will
enable them to make better speed on
rough ice than they could with more
riyidly constructed machine When neces-
sary a wind shield can be placed on the
sled.
That completely submerging an air.
cooled motor in water will not incapac-
itate it was recently demonstrated by
rohn L. Burns of Syracuse. n. r., while
a. H.