Evening star., 1936-11-15

L
of monthly to buyers in Southern
States, especially North Carolina. 1t
appears to be the belief among resi-
dents there that by coming to Wash
I ington they can get better bargains
/ than those afforded nearer home.
/ This belief local dealers trust, will
( be maintained.
| Automotive sales figures for the
/ country as a whole have not been
compiled. but it is sufficient to say
. there Is a vast improvement through
/ out and a substantial increase over
1 last year will be shown, although
peak-year records will not be broken
| in general However, it can conf
IDENTIFY be believed some manufacturers
will reach all-tire highs.
U. S. and d. C. Estimates.
An estimate made in the United
| States gives an average Of go per cent
of all motor vehicles being five years
old or older. In the National Capital
| the exact opposite is found. Here only
| 40 per cent Of the cars are five years
and up. This comparison portrays
the better business conditions existing
here.
The early manufacturing and show
ing of the new models for the second
year is the result of President Roose-
velt's request to maintain an even level
Of employment during the cold wealth.
er months.
That it has proven satisfactory to
all is evidenced in factory expansions.
pay raises and bonuses. Seldom in
automotive history has such a general
trend simultaneously been noticed
along this line.
Safety records throughout the Ma
ton are varied. In some States an
improvement is noted. In others a
different picture Is painted. The Ma
tional Safety Council at Chicago Is
conducting a flve-year campaign de.
signed to bring about a substantial
reduction in motor vehicle fatilities
and accidents. Unfortunately this
year 1t will not attain its hoped for
average. Nineteen thirty-six, however.
may show a slight reduction, and any
reduction looms large because Of the
fact more car hours are driven than
heretofore. New York City, despite
its vast population of drivers and
pedestrians, is showing well in the
light of safety.
District Seen Pointing Way.
Taking it all in all. however, 1t
would seem that the District of Co
lumbia is pointing the way in both
safety and car sales. May it go
further.
Going back to the automobile it
self, and it is its week here, the De-
partment of Commerce releases some
rather interesting material. Parts of
this release, based on patent features,
follow:
The shining, streamlined 1897 au-
tomobile, with all its fascinating
gadgets, is the result Of more than
1000 inventions" upon which pat
ents have been granted by the United
States. This is the verdict Of ex-
aminers who have searched Patent
ONCE records in connection with the
coming centennial celebration OF the
American patent system here No
vember %, 1886.
At least this plumber Of original
ideas has entered into the evolution
from the horse-drawn vehicle and
the bicycle to this Autumn's new
cars over a period Of barely half
century. Many Of them, of course.
long since have become extinct in the
competition for survival Of the fit
test. Some, although they met the
literal patent requirements, were fan
tastic and impracticable from the
start. But all must be considered in
the picture, for some of the queerest
may have provided inspirations of real
value to more practical inventors.
| The automobile of today-like the
/ wheel, the boat, the domestication Of
animals-might almost be described
as an invention of society itself. Mil
lions Of men have pondered over au.
tomotive problems. Thousands have
had ideas of temporary or permanent
usefulness" as the term Is inter-
preted by the patent examiners.
Supporting the pyramid of automo-
tive invention are few basic pat
| ents"-the attachment of gasoline
motor to wheels, sliding gear trans
mission, pneumatic tires, demountable
rims, the steering wheel, the self
starter, etc. All the others are varia.
tions and improvements on these basic
patents. A car could be built from
the basic patents alone, but it would
be a crude, awkward, creeping mon.
strosity besides the eye-enchanting
| 1887 model.
The 100000 automotive inventions
do not take into account the vast ac-
emulation Of patents in allied lines
which have played almost as impor.
tant part In making the latest cars
possible. They do not include the
advances In metallurgy, except where
the principal use of o new product
has been In the automobile industry.
They do not include the thousands Of
mechanical devices whose principal
use Is in the manufacture of automo-
bile parts, nor the inventions in the
allied industries. Many Of these may
be just as significant as inventions in
the automobile field itself. Modern
cars could not be made without them.
But were they included, the patent
list would be swelled close to the
| quarter-million mark.
Search for "Basic Patents"
In preparation for the centennial
celebration, examiners Of the United
States Patent Once have been search e.