Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-02-26

1 III IL rrlIfseN to iuIc WITH tho ar fegl-
| lator way in, the mir adjustment should
| be turned slightly. II it picks up slug
gishly and lacks proper accelcratye qual-
| ity at higher speeds, the colnterweight
adjustment should be turned small
amount in whichever direction II gives
, best results
Important rulings respecting the rights
of motor car dealers in Wisconsin IN the
Use OF dealers license plates have been
made by the attorney-general Of the
State in response To appeals Tor dehni le
instructions under the new WiscOnsin
motor code, now effective. The rulings
are TO the effect that dealers have not
the right 10 use cars operating under
dealers licenses for their own private
use or for uae by members Of their iarnl-
lies In fact, the use of dealers license
s restricted to car used for demon
stration purposes only.
Commissioner Dill, Of the New Jersey
State Motor Vehicle Department, IN his
annual report to the Legislature, declares
that laws regulating the licensing Of
commercial vehicles, instead Of proving
hardship, as had been predicted, have
been demonstrated 70 be more pro-
EffH@fFfi bEfhlt ifItfSE OF any btiAtf tNAhN~rs
The only new recommendation tho com
missioner makes is that vehicles with
pneumatic tires be licensed on the basis
of horsepower, forty cents for each
horsepower
The financial section Of the report
shows that receipts for The department
for 1917 were 81 ,923, l63 63. The total
number Of cara registered during the
year was l3i S64, Of which ll5,71 were
passenger and 10 Il0 commercial ye-
hicles
More than 80 per cent of the passenger
cars in America arc indispensable To
business, according 70 data gathered m "A
nationwide investigation just completed
A letter asking for complete Information
regarding the individuals use If his
passenger car was mailed IN 900 owners
living in all states
Manufacturers, jobbcrs, farmers. buy
| ers, zllesmen, physicians, attorneys, con
| Tractors, hotelkeepcrs, executives, ac-
| cordlin0 to the replies received, are repre-
| sentative Of the busincsscs which find the
| passenger ear necessity Of The les
| than 20 pcr cent who DO not hOld their
/ cars as necessary to the conduct of husi-
| ness, many say that without them their
| efuEffhfy Wonid - i''At''h gi't't'1t
Estimates II The cars sold on the floor
| during The Detroit show Indicate that
/ tabor $50 600 worth 0f cars were dis
pose = of This includes about $50 pF
worth of trucks.
The third annual Lyons Fair ~
| LYONS. France, will be heid this wear on
| March 10 B. The first two fairs were
1 held in 1916 and 1917 N the full tide oi
| war No American concern was repre-
! sented az the first show, while N 1917
thirty-three concerns displayed their
wares in response u an extensive publicity
| campaign.
The fair il strictly a commercial prop
! osition, not merely an exhibition. he
! booths are permanent structures and 50
| arranged that the exhibitor may have a
| showroom and salesrbom No goods can
be sold at retail, orders being booked in
wholesale quantities from samples dis
played
There are approximately 400, 600 motor
vehicles in Great Britain today, made up
as follows
Trucks. including delivery wagons 10. 00
Cars . 250,0W
Notorcycles 200,0O0
These figures include vehicles IN govern
ment use as well as those IN private ser
| vice A considerable percentage nf these
/ vehicles are not in operation due 70 the
scarcity of fuel a. well as legal restric-
lions. Il ~ estimated that the percent
ages of these vehicles not IN use due 70
these causes are:
| Trucks, including delivery
wagons. ......-- tOIo 41le
Cars .-..........-.. So ldle
/ Motorcycles .-....-.... cO~ lule
These figures are not official but are the
! best estimates obtaInable. II Is difficult
getting the exact figures, because annual
registration Of vehicles IS not required and
hence many So-called dead vehicles may DE
included in these figures. The percentages
OF vehicles not permitted to operate are
substantially correct.
Figures gathered by the Detroit Auto
mobile Club show s8,3l6.666 was lost
through car thefts in 1917 Careful
checking Of figures from all parts OF the
country show that between Jan. ! and
Oct. /, 1917 in fifty Of the largest cities
| of the United States, 22,750 motor cars
, were stolen, and OF 5000 no trace has
| ever been found.
Figuring the average cost ot these ai
$50 per car, the total value Of lost prop
erty would be $500. 900. The 5000
ears represent at least per cent OF the
total number of cars manufactured IL
1916.
There are at least 125 cities more whose
population is between 25.OOO and 100000
and. which can well be taken into con
sideration. Is records have recently
shown an alarming loss by theft, thes'
losses NAV we'll be considered, as thei
total population Is a little over 4 third
| Estimating their total as third an,
! beginning from that basis, it would make