The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-26
THE AUTO TRUCK ON
 GEoDETTC WORK

q
 washington. Feb. 26-An unusual States Coast Geodetic Survey, Depart ment of Commerce. during the past summer was the successful use of a. 1 and cne-hah ton automobile truck in transporting an astronomical party and transcontinentaI tourist The party was in charge of CIV. Hodgson and was in the field from May to Oc-| tobex. The trip Is the more re- markaNble when the fact is taken into consideration that the requirements Of the work prevented close adher- Observations were freQuently made. on mountain peaks. so the Journey was fro mountain to mountain, Tath- CT than along main travelled roads from city to city
 The general route followed by MT. Hodgson and his party was from Denver, Colorado. to Pecoss Texas then southwest almost to Ill Paso. where a detour was made over poor trails through Sso51fhern New Mexico into Arizona The central and south ern portions of the latter state were cludiug SolomonsviI1e, Douglas Ben son. Tucson, Globe, Phoenix, Yuma, and Parker. The auto truck was then driven across California. to San Diego and the San Jacinto mountains. thence via Los Angeles, Mojave and Sacramento to Carson City, Nevada Astronomical observations were car ried along the Ca1ifornfa-Nevada. boundary to Needles California,
 where fhe season ended During the season the truck, carrying capacity l load. was run more than !, 1000 miles under road conditions varying from I the deep mud encountered in New | nd Inc IHe sands of the Colorado river and Ne yHda desert regions. to the splendid roads Of southern and central Cali | forn1a-
 On a canyon road in western Texas, MT Hodgson's party and outfit had | a narrow escape when a small cloud burst in a few minutes transformed
 the road into river, as the water l came rushing down the canyon from
 the mountains above. There was no time to put on chains, but ropes were I quickly wrapped around the rear wheels and the truck was run up a steep slope until stalled in the rising l and rushing water. The truck wae I then noored to mesquite bushes and ] the outcome awaited with considera- ble anxiety, but the water soon ceased I to rise and the. danger was past Had i the truck remained where the water
 first struck it, 1t would have been
 almost completely submerged and l probably Overturned and damaged bS
 the drifting tfmbers.
 It was in the desert sands, how.
 ever, that the greatest difflculties
 were encountered as the truck wa
 fitted with ordinary solid rubber tire (dua1 behind) which cut in deeply s Many expedients were tried. but ths
 most successful one was the use O
 green poles placed in front of tn. duai-tireds rear wheels in as rapiC
 succession as possible. These pole
 gave traction and kept the wheel
 from sinking into the sand. Tn extreme heat. often reaching 116 de
 grees in the shade, made such worl q very trying.
 The cost sheets of the season sErov +l that the work was done at a savinl 2 of at least 3 5 per cent. from the cos had teams been used. The cost De
 mile for oil and gas varied from 2.
 cents to 6.6 cents in different section
 of the country and averaged 3.9 cent for the entire season.
 = A remarkable feature Of the per : 1 forInance of the truck and a. trfbut
 to the good work of the driver wa fl the fact that, from the time of leav ing Colorado Springs to the end c :, the season, about six months, durin . which the truck was run over 500 , miles only two hours were lost O : the road on account of engine trou s bles.
 Il An attempt of some Hoboken (N J : office holders to upset the adoption c ], commission government failed. On tn ; recount of the ballots, the majorit : in favor of the commission govern