Evening star., 1927-04-17
A OTOR club membership, the

4
M medium through which the
Nk class consciousness OF the
4 motor car owners of Amer
ica has been developing with splen-
did effect for many years is becom-
ing increasingly a better investment
from purely material standpoint
For. in addition to fighting the mo-
florists many battles for good roads,
sound laws, fair taxes, courts OF real
Justice and other desirables, todays
motor club is expanding and broad
ening its personal services on an un-
paralleled scale.
Service" Of course, always has
been the keynote of the motor clubs
program, but the original concept as
compared with the modern variety
is humble. indeed. This mechanical
era has seen life grow complex and
it has seen the problems of the
motor car owner develop similarly.
Solution OF those problems is the
task TO which the motor clubs of the
Nation have set their collective wis
dom and energy.
This attitude was revealed forcibfy
q
can Automobile Association execu-
tives and club secretaries and man
ayers held in Washington. The con-
Serence was attended by more than
400 delegates representing every
State in the Union and provided an
excellent opportunity to study the
leaders of the motor club movement
Ak America.
Looking over this large group, at
tending the sessions Of the confer
ence and hearing the discussions of
this and that way to enlarge motor
club service, one could not escape
the conclusion that organized motor
sng is in the hands of an intelligent
and dynamic general staff and fine
field leadership. Members of this
staff as a whole. are Missionaries, but
practical ones. They can envision
the day when all of motordom will
be organized, but in the interval that
must elapse before that goal is
reached. they see great deal of
hard work to be done.
They have no illusions about the
methods of effecting the gigantic or
iganization they visualize. They do
believe the motorist will join a motor
club. because i'll theory it is an ex-
Cellent thing for the mass of car
owners. They are convinced that
the only way to win over the in
dividual is to make the motor club
an excellent investment for him, per-
sonally. To this end, they are direct
ing their energies in upbuilding an
ever more appealing service.
The results of this work, as re-
vealed i'll the conference, are of in
tercst to the uninitiated. They show
the motor club to be doing a great
deal for the individual motorist that
not so long ago would have been con-
sidered impossible. Many of the
services are known-although per-
haps rather sketchily--by thousands
who have not experienced them
through membership.
x = x
For instance, take the case of the
motor tourist. Here is a movement
that involves millions and is growing
by leaps and bounds every year.
What does the motor club do for the
tourist? It provides him, first of
all, with maps and expert advice
about the tour that meets his ideal
Does he go into strange territory
where customs and conditions are
entirely foreign to his training and
experience? He does, and when he
does he finds his membership card
in the motor club an introduction
that brings him into the inner circle,
where he is made to feel at home.
On this respect, the motor club, in
deed, is doing great deal to intro
duce America to its vast and inter-
esting self.
The tourist wants to know where
10 stay while travelling. His club
and national organization tell him.
sHe finds shelter and food and drink
jng water that assure him a health
'ful trip.
Does the traveller want to know
the traffic regulations in the strange
State or municipality? His club,
lor one with which it is affiliated. ac-
squaints him with the subject. He is
told how he may travel across the
continent and back without coming
into unfortunate contact with the
various and sometimes vicious local
Statutes that govern vehicular travel.