The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-22

| prlatlonS Tor the past year IS no"
 estimated at $11O,932,s00 New
 York State furnished 27.5OO,OOo and Texas s25,OoO,ooO. while Pennsylvania appropriated 11,5OO.O .O0O. In Cobra do there is bond issue of 10000, 900 pending. and in Pennsylvania there Is one of $5O,oOo OoO.-
 | The Big Four Railroad Company is | considering competing with the cleo
 trio lines in various parts of Ohio by | operating a gasoline car service on | short stretches of its track TWO | gasoline cars. it Is argued, could be operated more cheaply and with bet- | ter service than steam trains Man agers of the company have seen sew cal of it's officials to Detroit to wa,ch l the operation of gasoline cars on tfe | Ann Arbor inc.
 | Muffler explosions and back firing still are apt to be confused in the lay mind. Muffler explosions, be 1t un- derstood, result from the discharge | from the cylinders of quantities of un- | burnt gases, while back-firing invar- iabiy is caused by the ignition of a | body of gas in the intake manifold which is on it's way to the cylinders. | The two difficu ties are caused by con- ditons as directly opposed as are their manifestations.
 | In England many. of the larger mo- l tor concerns retain a mechanical en- giheer, who makes close study of par ticuIar delivery problems, investigates various industrial motor vehicles, and
 
 sulting engineer becomes a delive-y specialist in the field of Business Doc tors and not only picks the fleet. but gives 1t regular inspection, and Is paid percentage on all purchases he puts through.
 Taking ten feet as the average wheelbase, if all the automobiles in the country were placed in straight line, frame to frame, they would ex- tend over 1,2S2 miles and would reach from New York city to Des Moines, | T- C -@T.- Tw,N- ~v-Ie5 of twenty feet they would form line 3,S6O miles long. This would stretch from Portland, Me, to Monterey, Cal, or from New York city across the At ops as far as Warsaw, in Russia.
 Popularity of the coupe Is bound to increase, because it affords a style Of car at a moderate price that the own CT can drive and still enjoy perfect protection in any weather. Steering wheel and operating levers are all in side the body, which sits on the chas- sis midway of the axles, with the bon net in front balanced by the deck be- hind That this feature of inside drive. is favored is indicated by the sines and berlins in which the front or chauffeur's seat is entirely closed tn. or vestibuled.
 Storage batteries never should be permitted to remain in discharged con- dition- The effect is certain to be the sulphation of the plates-meaning l that an improper chemical reaction $ taking place-which causes the active material to swell, buckling, the plates and causing them to shoft-circuit in the end. but primarily cut,Gng down the capacity of the cells short circuit of the terminals or even in the wiring near the battery, or a too high rate or discharge due to any other cause, may bring about the same re- sut. If the sulphat.on has not pro- gressed too far 1t may be remed;ed by giving the battery a. long charge at very low amperage rate.
 The gradually increasing number of
 makers who have adopted the GUS om l of trying out their new models at the , season of the Glidden tour. and the necessity of advancing dates for the laying down of production plans and the Ardering of materials in order to have cars ready for early spring de- livery in the remotest agencies grad ually has brought about an advance ment in the period of disc ostng the details of new models. This circum- stance, courled with the general aban- donment of dating models by the year of nominal production has reached is continuation this year, when, for the first time, practically all models on view at the trio of national shows the two in New York and the third in Chicago-a ready had more or less general presentation to the public. A marked argument in favor of mounting the gear shifting and brake levers in the center of the footboard IS that arrangement frequently per mits of direct connection with the sliding sets in the gear box without thus el minating number of connect ing parts. It does away with troubles due to the binding of telescop'ns s Ia ts and the improper registry of gears which arises from the straining or bending of rocker arms and shafts: 1t gets rid of lost motion and dit simpli- fies and cheapens assembling. Even without the advantage of rendering it possible. to gain access to the seat from either side without exceptional agility, or the protection of the con trols which the inside position en- sures. these would be points well worth considering.
 Philadelphia is planning to buy a new automobile for its new Mayor The machine used by his predecessor Is so badly worn as to be discarded.
 The total value of motor manufac- turing plants in the United States has now reached $70,0O0, 900. The va ue of the land occupied and used is $6, 500, ,0H0. Each rlant has Its officials and clerks, and these total. 11,080. The number of employees ranges all the way from 25 to almost 10000. The workmen number over 100. GOO.
 Colorado is building one of the fin est systems of roads in the Union. Its commission, which was organized in 1910, has designated twenty Official highways, with a combined length of 1,645 1-2 mi es. covering the State. The States uses its convicts both in quar- ries and in road construction, and is planning to spend $10.OOO,0OO in State aid.
 One of the big tire compares has communicated with it's agents and distributors. asking whether they be- lieve a reduction In prices adVisa ble Whether the replies will affect the company's decision is still to be de- termined, but if yone or two of the large companies make new quotations nearly all of the others will have to take corresponding steps for self-pro- lection.
 The most noteworthy development of the past few months in motor equip ment has been the landslide for self starters From d bare haIf-doz makers who a year ago employed ore means or another for starting their motors without manual cranking, the number has 1eaped to probably thir- ty or more. So rapidly has the idea taken hold with the public that some makers have been forced to admit de- vices which the market affords, with out having time to develop systems 0f their own. are continuing