Evening star., 1933-01-29
BY CARTER WALKER.

Radio has given the motor world
Grooming about the land where the
good songs go the ether performers
suggest to automobile owners the pos
sibility of benefit from querying as to
where do the good cars go when they
have completed their life Of usefulness.
Only small percentage of cars are
put through the simple rites of burial
in the roadside car cemeteries. What
happens to the rest?
Different From Abroad.
What happens to discarded cars in
America probably is very different from
the outcome in European countries.
According to the Department of Com
merce abandoned American cars abroad
become everything from ladies corsets
to small bungalows. Where there is
any such general use Of car materials
What happens to individual cars, how
ever, Is no longer a mystery.
Some OF the Oldest cars have been
given the distinction of a permanent
place in the Nations finest public and
private museums. Others are still being
honored by their devoted owners. Ma
jority have simply broken down into
their components to become this and
that. The old'folks use what was once
its frCnt seat cushion as a lawn settee.
Little Willie makes whoopie in swing
improvised from a spare tire. The junk
man bought the frame. The married
son uses the motor in his boat.
Look carefully during your tours and
you Will fnd the remains of many an
erStwhile fine car serving in some
strange yet useful capacity. A split rim
may become the dinner bell for a Sum-
mer boarding house. Its glass may be
seen in many a hot bed. Its coil has
long since been unwound to serve a
thousand uses. Sometimes the complete
car Is used as playground for country
children. It stands in corner of the
barn and will stay there as long as the
building resists fire and wind
One widower kept his wife's car
standing in the garage until he himself
passed along. The car, 1912 model,
was 20 years old when the executor of
the estate had it to consider. It is not
unusual for cars to be kept for senti-
mental reasons This has in many
cases been valuable to the automobile
industry in keeping track of old models,
since such cars have invariably been
well preserved
Recently motorist wrote to one of
the rubber companies to request new
tires for his 27-year-old car. He sent
along picture of the car in the hope
that some one could identify it, as he
does not know the name of it.
Probably the engine lasts longer than
any other part of the car, with the
exception of the gas tank, which is in
great demand in certain parts of the
world. Discarded car moters are used
extensively as power plants in Chinese
Sampans. The motors are seen operat-
ing many small sawmill in Canadian
forests. A power plant that worried
some motorist simply because it de-
veloped modest knock may serve many
years as the auxiliary locomotion Of
some farm machine or as the motive
power OF any one of a dozen varieties
Of boats.
Substitutes Found.
In parts of the world where the cost
OF leather is prohibitive substitutes
made out of old rubber are frequently
found. In South Serbia it is reported
that shoes made of tires are quite
fashionable in addition to being de-
signed for the thrifty. In Portugal
inner tubes have big sale, being used
by the peasants as oVershoes for their
wooden sabots and for other weather
protective purposes. The peasants also
wrap old tire castings around the wheels
OF their wheelbarrows.
So many uses have been discovered
Tor discarded cars in foreign countries
it is likely that Americans will some
day consider the automobile cemetery
an economic waste There is much to
be learned even from England, where
doornats are being made, for instance,
from old tires by means of a special
process.
Go to Peru and the refuse containers
used by street cleaners are found to be
nothing more nor less than the gas
tanks OF American cars These tanks
are also used as portable ovens. Over
in Turkey these tanks are used for
carrying water
When 1t is considered that an auto