Evening star., 1927-10-23
MOTORING
BY WILLIAM ULLMAN.
Steering wheel. frequently they've left
The ksemhiA

prenen0.
| One of the points in connection
| with this unfamiliar design, about
which curiosity is natural. is that of
steering. 1t would seem that an axle
which was called upon to fulfill the
function of driving the car would
be more difficult to steer. This IS
not the case according to race car
designers and drivers. Steering is
even simpler and less of an energy
consumer in front drive, they de-
clare. This is true even where a
separate axle for steering is not
used.
Front drive has not yet been tried
in the United States, save III racing
cars. Europe has seen it adopted
with success in several notable IN
stances-bv Voran and Rumpler in
Germany, Italia in Italy and Parville
in France.
In principle, front drive is essen
tiallv sound. Every type of vehicle.
except the automobile, is pulled in
stead OF pushed, Animals always
draw the conveyances or implements
for which they provide power. Lo-
comotivcs perform their tasks in
front of the cars they pull. Air
planes, universally. are pullers,
whereas, in the early types, planes
were pushers. The principle of pull
| ing has more advocates than the
other.
The dilemma in which motor car
designers find themselves may cause
them TO adopt this principle next
year, or at the latest, in 1929. unless
the prophets have gone far astray:
Federal aid for the country's high
way system dates from July ii, 1916.
when President Wilson signed the
Federal aid road act. That marked
the beginning of the present system.
One hundred years before, how
ever, the Government had been active
in the construction of roads. Many
of the principal links of the West
ard Middle West originally were laid
out as military roads connecting the
forts which dotted the wild frontier
country of those days. In 1871 the
Government began the construction
of the great National Pike, which
was to extend from Cumberland,
Nd, to St. Louis. Mo. This highway
was to serve for military purposes
and also as one of the principal ar
teries for the settlement of the great
Northwest Territory.
| The Improvement of this road was
carried on more or less actively until
1870. 1t was built and surfaced of
stone practically the entire distance
from Cumberland to the western In
diana line. At that time, however,
the belief spread that the newly de-
veloped railroads would entirely dis
place highways, and because of this
the National Pike from the Indiana
| line was not surfaced with stone, but
merely graded. in the belief that
eventually it would serve as a rail-
road bed.
The thought that the railroad
would entirely displace highways as
a means of communication between
the far-Aung settlements that were
springing up in the vast Western
part of the country at that time was
very strong. The last Government
appropriation for the National Pike
was made in 1888, and from then
until 1898 the Federal Government
took no part whatever in read con-
struction or maintenance.
+ y y
In connection with iacquers re-
member that pyroxylin. which is the
basis of these auto finishes, is a son
of guncotton and a brother to a
number of high explosives. If you
happen to be looking over the inter-
esting system of spraying on this
highly inAammable substance, don't,
under any circumstances, light a
cigarette. Of course, most of these
establishments post mo Smoking"
sign, but too many motorists have
come to ignore these familiar words.
Furthermore, many workers in lac
quering plants do not appreciate the
hazards involved The complete
wreckage of one body making plant
through the sparkling of mercury
vapor lamp in spray booth hap
pened at time when the company
was producing about 500 bodies a
day. A series of explosions of in
creasing intensity followed. the first
and rather mild one. Then the fire.
Don't smoke anywhere near the
smell OF lacquer solvents and diluents.
| \ y y
Now that air cleaners. oil filters.
gasoline strainers. crankcase ventila-
ton. vibration dampeners and ther-
mostats in the cooling system are ac-
cepted features of modern design,
motordom looks forward to the gem
eral acceptance of number of other
necessities. These include such USE
tul devices as electric primers, ther-
mostatic carburetor adjustment, self
adjusting clutch plates. vaporizers
and the like.
Features such as automatic chassis
fabrication, ball-bearing shackles,
four-speed transmissions and other
desirable Improvements are retarded
IN their general adoption merely be-
cause of their cost. But they are
coming. Ask those who are using
them.
Having safely passed the period of
fear of saturation point the auto
mobile industry is racing on firmly
convinced that the day will come
when there will be car for every
person in the country, and then
some.
Many persons are keeping their
old cars and buying new ones. In
time there may develop the antique"
automobile, with many persons proud
rather than ashamed of the cars that