The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1915-05-13
FRANKLIN CAR HAS
WONDERFUL RECORD

WUINDEnFUL hEOUnU
Telling Of a record of the Franklin
automobile owned by Z. l.. MeClain,
who is connected with the Columbia
Auto q Machine Co.. the 0regonian of
Sunday. May 2, contained a column
article.
The car used was a stock machine
that has been used for some time by
Mr.. MeClain. II is exactly like the
Franklin machine driven by William
Stewart. who purchased the car from
the Columbia Auto & Machine Co.
The Oregonian story follows:
By sending a five. passenger six cyl
inder Franklin automobile 1873 miles on
one gallon of gasoline J. C. Braly, the
Franklin distributor for this territory,
demonstrated yesterday that camels
haven't anything on his make of car
when il comes to covering long dis
tances on a small amount of nourish-
ment.
Similar tests were held at the same
time yesterday by the Franklin author
tiles, in l20 cities under proper supervi-
siOn.' The official observers of the
Portland test we're Charles II. Will
ans, manager Of the local branch of
the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
whose Goodyear cord tires we're used
on the Franklin, and Chester A.
Moores, of the Oregonian.
OF course, the car did not eat gas"
during the full course of the trip. MIR.
Braly took advantage of every chance
fn hotuF oraAaC uta tba
whenever he could and ''babied" it at
every turn. Once in a while he had
good luck in getting in just ahead of
street cars and auto trucks at cOngest-
ed crossings that offered coast at the
other side and then again be had sever
al instances of bad luck. His constant
object was to get along with the least
possible engine explosion.
When the size of the Franklin is con-
sidered, yesterdays record is nothing
short of remarkable. Last year on the
Portland test Mr.. Braly made only 39.1
miles on a gallon, ranking 10th among
the "a dealers in the country. The
winning car, at Milwaukee, Wis, made
81 2 miles and the entire 81 cars aver
aged 1878 miles.
Before going into the test yesterday
Mr.. Braly satisfied the observers that
the regular gasoline connection had
been cut off and then he ran the motor
until the gasoline in the special tank,
attached at the side of the car was en-
tirely empty and the motor came to
dead stop for want of fuel. Then
gallon of gasoline was taken aboard
and the car started on its run from the
Franklin agency on Nineteenth street
near Washington.
In order that Portland automobile
owners may see how near they can
come to Mr.. Braly's record the COM
plete itinerary of yesterdays 43.8-mile
| jaunt is given:
Nineteenth to Glisan street, right to
Broadway and over bridge, right on
| Larrabee to Hassalo, street, left on
Hassalo to East Eleventh street, left
to Mutnomah, right to East Twenty
first street, across bridge to Sandy
boulevard, out to Columbia boulevard,
left through Kenton to South Fessen-
den street, left on North jersey street
through st. Johns, right to East Rich
mond street, left on Willamette boule
ward past Columbia University, right
on Patton avenue, left on Emerson
street, rigth on Kerby street past JEFF
ferson high school, left on Alberta to
Union avenue, left to Multnomah street,
left at East Twenty-first street to
Schuyler and East Twenty-fourth street
and out East Twenty-fourth street to
Regents drive.
Here the Franklin started on a trip
of four loops in the Alameda Park sec
tion. After climbing the steep Regents
drive hill to East Twenty street
and running on to Prescott street, the
car was sent TO East Fifteenth street
north and run over that thoroughfare
to Klickitat street, where it was
switched back to East Twenty fourth
street and around the same loop four
times.
The last time, however, instead of
turning off on East Fifteenth street,
MIR. Braly aimed at Union avenue and
then went straight ahead to Holiday
avenue. From here the course led over
| Larrabee street to Broadway and over
the bridge to Glisan street again. Gil
san was followed until Nineteenth
street was reached. By this time 40
miles had been covered and MIR. Braly
knew by previous experience over the
same course that his gasoline was low.
| Therefore he picked out course over
Nineteenth street to Savier, up Savier
to Twentieth street, thence to Hoyt
street and back to Nineteenth. This
loop was made three times before the
motor showed by the development of a
coughing fit that it was getting very,
very thirsty and on the next lap MIR.
Braly turned to the right at Nineteenth
and Thurman streets and managed to
nurse it along until the wheels rested
squarely across the railroad tracks at
the corner of Fifteenth and Thurman
streets.
Here the test ended with the record
ed distance of 438 miles, which MIR.
Braly claims to be record for'any
automobile in Portland. AS proof of
his complete faith in the economical
operation of the Franklin, MIR. Braly
challenges any automobile in Portland,
| including Fords and all small cars, to
equal yesterdays performance.
The car used in the test is owned by
E. l.. McClain, Jr., and'is stock car
in every particular. Standard oil gas
oIine was used. After running the car
6l0.6 miles Mr.. McClain lent it to MIR.
Braly for yesterdays trial. The test
commenced at $50 a. m. and the 1873
miles had not been covered until .55.
A great deal of the mileage covered
consisted of dirt roads and some of the
path was rough in places. MIR. Braly
chose the same course he followed last
year because it afforded all kinds of
travel with plenty of uphill and plenty
| & l.,