The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-01-18
MAGNETOS USED
ON MOTOR CARS
More Than 100000 of the De-
vice Are in Daily Use Through
out the World.

In the carly days OF motoring, there
wcrc many recruits coming into tho
ranks OF tho knights OF the Steering
Wheel" who pronounced tho magnetic
mystery box" but years have pass
cd since and to-day il can be claimed
that conditions are quite the reverse:
for in the majority of cases, II look of
suspicion would appear on the face
OF the vcricst novice if lie were. adj
viscd that his choice might be other
than magnetic equipped
Cndoubtcdly, IL would be safe to say
that there are over 00o. coo magnetic
equipped cars running in America to-
day That condition in itself seems
sufficient proof that the magnetic has
rnadc good. And 1t has-.has more than
made good, il that can be.
Even those who have followed close
" the history OF the motor car do not
always realize the par, that tho mag
rcto has played in making the engine
efficient ana reliable. The progress
made in speed. efficiency and economy
is unthinllingly attributed to general
NanCcs in refinement have been made,
st is true, much higher powers are be-
ing obtained from engines of given
dimensions, much smoother running.
and better pulling. through wide
range of speeds; but when il comes
70 regularity OF performance day by
y,
I!cto Is scarcely given due credit.
Many motorists found that with
weak mixture the magnetic fired reg
ularly and we'll where battery systems
would fail. That this was no unsub-
Stimulated belief has long since been
clearly proven. 1T was in 1907. so far
as this. country was concerned. that the
critical period in magnetic history oc-
Cured II was no novelty. but the
great majority OF car manufacturers
and motrists did not trust ii fully
M tod lA taNt. l,.,f
ter results on the road than the bat
terry did. but ii was an absolute mys-
terry 10 them, ana they felt that ii
was an apparatus that would fail them
at any time, and one they would be
utterly unable to put right and. there
fore they. used it with distrust. and
plete duplicate ignition in battery
system, so that If the Cto them) mys-
FERROUS magnetic went wrong. they
could come home using the auxiliary
much better. OF course. an entire du-
plicate system is the safest, but with
magnctos. failure OF such is rare. In
deed, and an independent magnetic OF
the proper quality is all that is neces-
Sary.
In taking UP the magnetic as a solo
method OF ignition, motorcyclists were
over year il! advance of motorists
and u was largely through the re-
liability OF this form OF ignition on the
mo:orcycle. despite the fact that il was
all among the mud and dust, which
gave confidence 10 motorists. By the
end OF 1907. there no longer was any
doubt az 10 the reliability OF tho mag
neto, and when the simpler forms fol
lowed b. the dual ignition com binations
come into use I'm 1S0S. the inagnctu
became almost universally used. -Four
or live years ago. there were far more
cars on the road with battery ignition
than with .maGncto ignition, but to-
day tho position is reversed as not only
tho majority have magnctos. but a very
large proportion III the old cars have
been fitted with them.
IT may seem strange, at first,
thought. as the battery had such a
strong hold on the field. that the mag
neto should so quickly have oustcd
that type Of ignition system. How.
ever this Is easily explained in three
words-absencc OF trouble Given n
SoUd magnetic, IL requires practically
no attention for thousands Of miles
othcr than drop OF two OF oil and
after long periods OF use i, viii be
firing the engine as well ON the day
ii started work.
On The other hand, with tho bat
terry systems there Is not only the ne
riodical charging or Replacement of tho
batteries, bat the whole system is more
or less sensitive 10 neglect at regular
adjustment and Is seriously CoInpli-
Gated so that there is considerably
more trouble viz lit, anu IN actual
driving, 10 get even n"hrlN equal rc
suits a vast dtal' more manipuia tiou
Of the ignition lever is required thar
with the magnetic. which in no small
degree explains the latter's evcr-in-
crcasing following