Norwich bulletin., 1915-09-21
DOlNGS IN TIE AUTO WORLD
American Made Auto Truck Carries OF High Honors European Conflict Machines Skiddins Csuse Many Accidents-Many Cars Pass Over Lincoln Hishw.yl Local Tourists.

NUG MElCUElQn or NUkGTlnaTtaU8 anu dog breeders recently has been direct ed to riding in automobiles as the cause of hitherto unexplained cases of heart disease in valuable dogs. It has also been noted that certain breeds of dogs are more susceptible to the III effects than others Spaniels are per- haps of all breeds the most inclined to heart disease and therefore the most liable to suffer i'll effects from riding in automobiles.
 The swift moving automobile with its sudden starts and stops, sharp people and things passing in rapid succession causes in dogs an unnat- ural excitement. They snin the air and watch with intense interest the people and wagons dodging out of the way ahead. This excitement is caused partly by the dogs instinct to save human life. for at every turn he per- ceives a chance for a rescue. but pri- marily this inclination doubtless is a direct result of the action of the heart caused by the strain on the optic nerves and brain
 It is a well known fact that all anil mals are uneasy and restless In being transported by mechanical means The horse and cattle cars from the far west on arriving In Chicago show good examples of animal unrest. The faster the transportation and the more open
 
 results. But the dog being one of the animals to which is attributed al- most human intelligence naturally is affected more strongly than the duller animals. The pet dogs which show great delight when starting for an auto ride with their masters. and prance into the car in excited glee are under an unnatural stimulation The dog grows to like the excitement and after long indulgence becomes thoroughly unhappy and miserable if left at home when the rest of the fam fly go out. But in spite of the dogs fondness for motoring there seems lit- tie doubt that too much of 1t will shorten his life. In this connection it Is a seriously debated question as to whether human beings are not slightly affested in the same way when slightly mobiles are driven at high speeds and whether large percentage of so-called heart disease is not really motor ists.
 An American motor truck has car ried off the honors in the European war. Singularly enough it is the lead ing British automobile magazine that gives America the palm, while the rest of the English motor journals are grieving mournfully over the Yankee motor truck invasion with alleged in ferior products.
 This significant statement appears in an editorial in the July number of the English journal. The following remarks. abbreviated from a critical article on war trucks in that number. further emphasize the triumph of the latest approved type of American mo- tor truck design.
 These vehicles" continues the Au- tomobile Engineer, were called upon to carry a load of two tons anywhere 1t could be taken by a mule team, and it is understood that before being adopted by the United States army these vehicles were subjected to this and other most stringent tests. When it Is borne in mind that, after all, me- chanical transport in it's present form has rot aimed at competing with anil nal traction on its own ground, the performance of the motor truck is un- doubtedly remarkable"
 The motor truck in question pos sesses It's unusual traction qualities from the fact of having power aplied to all four wheels and a positive non- slipping drive to each road wheel. Owners of automobiles are beginning
 to wake up to the fact that there is
 one great cause for the many road accidents which keep the newspaper columns sprinkled with narrowing ac- counts. The tendency has always been
 to lay these smash-ups to imperfect steering mechanism. faulty brakes or | other deficiencies in the makeup oi
 the cars. but now. the knowledge is be-
 coming more general that the failure | Of tires to cling to the road and the unexpected skidding at bad spots or
 the macadam cause by war the largest percentage of automobile accidents.
 The secretary of the A A. A. was
 himself recently a victim of one oi 1 these smash-ups, due entirely to skid- | ding. although at first the accident was attributed by the newspapers to faulty steering-ge Those who. have fre- Queut1y undergone similar experiences testify to the fact that the sliddine that occurred was not the more familiar back-wheel skid. but the slip ping of the front wheels which caused the car either to overturn or land with smashing force against some roadside telegraph pole or tree. ,., With the appreciation of this dan- ger. many autoists are taking the pre- caution of using tire chains on the front, as well as the rear wheels, with very satisfactory results; and some
 in mountainous sections are even mak- ing practice of using the chains for all four wheels in dry weather as well as on slippery" days To the mex perienced this sounds like an appal- | ling leap in the tire bill, due to- extra wear on tires. in extremely mountain
 ous districts; but those, who have NAlcu tue SCncln6 or uSlnk IlTG CLalnE
 in all weathers claim that the tires serve their full mileage. The theory | is this:
 Tire chains are not fastened to the tires to pull on them every time the
 brakes are applied; they have suffi- cient creep to avoid this strain
 And. instead. they take the brunt oi | the friction and assure a better grir when an emergency application of tho brakes. a frequent occurrence in brok-
 en country. The chains do not dig iu- | to the surface of tires so much as
 would the stones along a fair road way; and those who advocate this ev. | ery-day usage claim that they serve al an armor against road imperfections | which would otherwise badly bruisS
 and cut the tires. But even were tho
 cost greater, the assurance of in. | creased safety through front whee
 chains would justify their use.
 Dario Rssta at the wheel of his far. famed racing car established ( worlds record at ten miles over tn, new Sheephead Bay Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon before ten thou. | sand enthusiastic spectators. The iror
 nerved Italian hurled his steel steel
 over the line in minutes 32 4-5 sec. onds. which is just 22 9-10 seconds
 faster than the former mark, estab.
 lished by himself in the no mile rae,
 at Chicago, which he also won. twC | weeks ago