Omaha daily bee., 1920-02-29
LESLIE v. SPENCER
In Motor Life MaTaxipe,

LESLIE v. SPENCER
In Motor Life Magazine.
We can all remember the day
when the word accessory" mean
very little in the life of the averag,
motorist. He bought car withou
windshield, top. speedometer ant
many other ftments that 60 unno
ticed with every car sold today, ane
if he wanted any Of these "acces
sories" he sought the good Office.
OF the dealer from whom he bough
the car. The dealer kept few
things tucked away in one cornel
OF his show room or service station
in order to supply the buyer with
whatever extras he wished to pu
on his purchase, but as for taking
the accessory business very serious
ly, well, he was seller of motor
cars, not extra equipment for which
there was indifferent demand. Wha
did fellow want a windshield Oh
speedometer for, anyway:
Perhaps Is years back, when one
bought car as much for notoriety
of the thing as for the good one de.
rived from its occasional periods oi
activity, it wasn't at all necessary tc
trouble much about extra fittings tc
add to the convenience and comfor,
of the vehicle, for it was mainly 8
matter of keeping going rather thar
considering ones comfort too Sc.
riously.
Due to the agitation for the elinli.
nation of glaring headlights, there
has been much impetus to the de-
velopment of devices designed to
cope with this condition. The prob
lem has been attacked from both
the standpoint of making the driver
proof against the dazzle of the
lights of the oncoming car withou,
sacrificing any of his necessary road
vision, and from the other side oi
the matter, by eliminating the dazzle
danger at its source-the headlight
itself.
Many Colored Lenses.
All sorts of colored glass lenses
that diffuse the reflected rays have
been produced, any many devices
with some form of shade over then
have been brought out. Recently
saw lens with violet coloring, and
due to the fact that violet light is a
soft illumination, no doubt the idea
of this device is a good one. Much
scientific research has been made to
eliminate the dazzling rays without
sacrificing the primary purpose OF
the headlights-to light the road
ahead.
All manner of schemes for lock-
ing the car so that the willy car thier
will be foiled have been offered,
and this past year several new types
have been added. One very clever
type has a rugged steel collar that
goes around the steering column
and another piece that attaches to
one Of the arms Of the steering
wheel spider. These are per.
manently affixed, but in no way in
terfere with the steering. There is
a third section which dovetails into
the other two and which contains
a Yale lock The screw which
holds the parts going around the
spider arm and the steering post are
covered by the intermediate lock
piece, so that when in locked posi-
ton there is a substantial reason
why the car cannot be steered, and
with the screws covered, the lock
is removal-proof. The only way a
thief could get away with a car so
locked would be to tow it on a
wheeled jack, which would be a
rather conspicuous operation, to say
nothing of the trouble.
Jacks Are Plentiful.
An inspection of tthe accessory
shops reveals that much ingenuity
and inventive ability has been de-
voted to the matter. of jacks that
can be operated from distance. By
that | mean devices that do not re-
quire the operator to almost get
under the car to work them. There
is the kind that works with a chain.
allowing the jackee to stand upright
a few feet from the jacks position
under the axle, and by pulling the
chain to turn a pinion that raises or
lowers the jack. Another clever
style that is new is operated by a
long handle which folds into sever
al sections when the tool is to be
slowed awaN under the seat. Still
another has an extension shaft with
a folding handle at right angles to
the main part. You operate this in
the same fashion as you would .
corkscrew.
The electric clock also has come.
1t is perhaps one of the newest of
automobile htments. We are all
familiar with the electric clocks in
public buildings and Offices, which
are wound automatically and can be
set by the operator at the telegraph
office where the time is received
hourly by wire. Much the same idea
is used for these new automobile
clocks. So far as the dial goes. they
look just the same as any other
clock and are just as compact, but
instead Of having the standard type
OF clock works, they enclose small
magnet the periodic movement OF
the armature of which actuates an
escapement wheel which in turn con-
meets with the hands through suit
able mechanis. 1t is very simple,
and the beauty such a clock is
that when connec, to the storage
battery or a few o. cells it keeps
time accurately and indefinitely with
out any attention, since winding IS
automatic. The amount of current
consumed by the little magnetic
mechanism is almost negligible.
Advantages Of Clock.
In explaining this new timepiece to
me, the salesman SAID that it is un-
disturbed by jarring such as the au-
which is operated by and in exact