Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-01-21

should be so placed as to be protected by
a bumper, or at least by the spring brack-
cts themselves. The best type Of bumper
is one which has a swivel action so that,
by means of special hinges the shock of a
glancing as well as a direct blow is alb
sorbed One type of bumper may be low
cred to permit easy access to the start
ing crank, yet is as firm as any of these
devices. The police insist on ones closing
up so near to the vehicle in front in a
traffic block in the city, that II one is
behind a horse-drawn vehicle, and the
horse takes one step backward the glass or
the headlights is in imminent peril from
the wheel Of the carriage.
Recording the Pace.
Speedometers are now supplied with most
big cars, and, though not a necessity, are
of special service to the novice who has not
yet learned to guage his speed; the maxi
mum hand, which remains at the highest
speed attained until released, is always
useful in case of dispute with the police
about fast driving. In London the record
of one of these has been accepted by magis-
strates as more accurate than police tim
ing by means of stop watches, and an
acqulttal was secured where otherwise a
conviction was certain. one OF the best
odometers now made has a friction wheel
driven by the car wheel direct instead OF
the usual rachel wheels; this has the ad.
vantage of being noiseless and also OF
being so much larger than the rachel thai
the wear and tear are materially reduced
as is also the work of fitting the appar
| atus to the car.
The chief consideration in equipping a cal
for town use consists in relieving the cal
of all superfluties, which the small radius
of the work renders unnecessary. Unless
the shoes In use are much worn II is quite
needless to carry a couple OF spare ones
| which are a great nuisance in town, be
cause, when I'm the usual position on tn,
| foot board. they block the entrance to thu
front seat on one side. Headlights ar,
also superfuous I'm the daytime, though
| they are generally carried owing to thu
| finished appearance they give the car
Chains to prevent skidding are nowhere
more needed than on asphalt after
shower. so they should always be included
/ in the town kit.
In case of a puncture in the streets it Il
always desirable to get the repairs fin
ished as quickly as possihle for this pur
pose a very handy little thing to carry Il
one OF those small bottles of compressed
air. now supplied by some tire manu-
facturers, from which the tire can be in
flated in much less time than it can b.
done by any pump that is not engine
driven.
or course all such articles as speaking
tubes, foot warmers, clocks, flower vases
coat rods, ladies' companions. etc, Will
included in town car equipment, and natu
rally adding to ones comfort, are not alb
solute necessities. Another very usefu
device is the electric signal for limousines
which consists OF a number OF small dial
cut in a metal box attached to the dash
board. On these dials appear such direc
tons as: start" stop" slower,
faster" turn to right" turn to tn
left" etc. These are actuated by CORE
spending push buttons inside the car. A
night the dials are illuminated by storag
batteries placed under the seat.
The Mirror Helps.
In crowded city streets one needs clea
vision and also to know what is takin
place behind well as in front. An ei
fecuve safeguard is the drivers miro
which is fastened on the left-hand side c
an automobile, at such an angle that III
driver, looking into it. can tell what
approaching when he wishes TO slow dow
or make a sharp turn. During W,
weather clear vision IL secured by speci'
goggles made of steel with Sits runnin
in different directions so as exactly to su
the focus OF the eyes. Moisture collects O
glass goggles when II rains so that the
cannot be seen through.
In touring, the aim should be to be pr,
pared for all emergencies likely to aris
when towns and garages are not With
reach, and to carry many OF those a
most essential luXuTies as possible withol
unduly crowding the car Before dea
] ing with the emergency outfit 1t would |
we'll to see that some sort OF sit
I nal other than the bulb horn Z,
! town use is carried for II is
? necessary ont tour to have an alar
r that can be heard al a distance a 1t is
be supplied with sufficient headlight
| Whether the signal be Of the exhaust
the electric type is a matter Of choice, b
10 care should be taken that it's operation
\ free and as instantaneous as possible.
I The fun tooi-kit should always be ca
o ried care being taken to include a IN
wrench and a wrench that will lit the loo
T nut on the cone-clutch; many OF the
d clutches have a nut much beyond the ST
e OF the ordinary monkeywrench carrie
r and In case Of clutch slipping, one
70 helpless, unless provision for this troub
o has been made.
y OF extra tire-tubes one cannot have I,
4 many; four, or az the very least, thr
: should be carried, ana, OF course. ext
d shoes well covered from wet and dir
. There Is not yet In the market a. far