Evening star., 1936-08-02

fAdIlSdS, NeOEdSkd dIlQ SIcSUu Lie
motor car Is BAT.
The local motor fleet has increased
more than s per cent since 1884. &C
cording to the 1886 edition Of Auto
mobile Facts and Figures. statistical
annual of the Automobile Manufac-
lures Association.
New York has the largest registra-
ton Of motor vehicles, of course, with
2,330,962 cars in the State, while Cali
fornia Is close second with 2,15l SOL.
The District of Columbia was operat-
ing I'll 1,464 cars at the end Of 1885,
an increase OF 17,l03 over the previous
year.
Oddly, the booklet reveals that the
District contains farms, the latest fig
tlres available from the United States
Census of Agriculture showing that II
tractors, 81 motor trucks and 60 mo-
tor cars are in use in rural sections Of
the District.
Gasoline tax receipts are reaching
high figures in washington, the 1885
total being $2,197,2os. in contrast to
$l,726,296 in 1881.
"A BUNDANT evidence of the recovery
\ achieved by the automobile in
dustry Is presented In the booklet,
which shows that last years output Of
4,1198l1 motor vehicles, replacement
parts, tires and accessories had total
wholesale value of S3,319, 9,497,973.
The industry's 1885 operations, both
from the standpoint of the number Of
units produced and the value of out
put, were at level almost 200 per cent
above the depression bottom" Of 1882,
the book discloses.
Directly and indirectly, more than
six million workers derive their In
comes from occupations in connection
with the manufacture, merchandising
and operation of motor vehicles. OF
these, $4,000 workers employed d.
rectly In motor vehicle and parts fac
tories received s657,332,ooo in wages
during 1885.
The average factory price Of 1885
cars Is presented in the book in terms
of the average price per pound and
per horsepower, novel method. On
this basis the price of the average 1885
car was 81 cents per pound or II cents
less than the price at which 1895
models were sold. On the horsepower
basis last years cars were sold at the
rate of 81 per horsepower, whereas in
1925 the price amounted to $3.50 per
horsepower.
In keeping with the program for the
promotion of traffic safety being con-
Quoted by members of the automobile
industry, l2-page section of the book
is devoted to this subject.
Other interesting facts disclosed are:
Nine out OF every ten motor trucks
made last year had a capacity Of less
than two tons; only l out of every 200
passenger cars produced in 1885 was
an open model; 95 per cent of the pas
senger cars produced last year had a
wholesale value of less than $3.50 each;
New York State led all other States in
the number Of motor vehicle registra-
tions, but ownership was more densely
concentrated among the residents Of
California; motorists paid in special
taxes 81 out of every So collected by
national, State and local government;
total motor vehicle taxes amounted to
ST 286, 100000 last year; the automo-
bile industry led all other manufacture
ing industries in the value of its export
sales; nearly 3 out of every motor ve-
hicles in the world are owned in the
United States; the automobile industry
maintained its position as the largest
single consumer of steel, rubber, plate
glass, upholstery leather, gasoline and
many other products; 48,492 communi-
ties in the United States, representing
q population of more than 1900 900
people. have no railroad facilities and
are dependent entirely upon highway
transportation.
MOTORISTS in great numbers are
heading Southwark now that the
Pan-American Highway from Laredo,
Tex, to Mexico City Is officially open.
For the benefit of District tourists, the
common road warning signs Of Mexico
are interpreted by the Touring Depart
nnent of the keystone Automobile Club,
with the suggestion that they be rigid
1y observed: Alto, stop; despachio,
slow; F. c., railroad crossing; curva,
curve; cruce de camino, highway cross
ing; escuela, school; peligro, danger;
prohibe estacionarse, no parking.
At regular intervals along the high
way numbered posts will be noted
These are kilometer posts, not mile
posts. A kilometer is about five-eighths
Of mile. When one sees a sign read
ing "Velocidad maxima 60 KIN por H."
it does not mean maximum speed of
60 miles an hour, but so kilometers an
hour, or about As miles.
The metric system is used in Mexico
and gasoline Is dispensed by the liter,
which is Just shade over quart.
DUPLICATION by the United States
Bureau Of Public Roads Of motor
vehicle registration data for 1885 has
revealed that virtually every State
that increased its gasoline tax rate
last year either sustained losses in the
number of motor vehicles registered
or experienced subnormal increases in
registration, according to the Amer
1can Petroleum Institute.
While motor vehicle registrations
throughout the United States showed
a gain Of per cent over 1884, the
average gain was only sos per cent
for the five States that increased
gasoline tax rates, Connecticut, Dela-
ware, Nebraska, New York and Penn
sylvania.
Nebraska, where the gasoline tax
was increased to cents from 4 cents
per gallon. was the only State to re-
port a decrease in registrations in
1885. The decline was / per cent.
New York State, where the gasoline
tax was increased to 4 cents from 8
cents, had one Of the smallest in
creases, only rs per cent, or about
half the average gain for the entire
country.
Registrations increased only 4.3 per
cent in Delaware, and 38 per cent in
N4~~noSto,,k <H,~