Evening star., 1942-05-13

on gallon. Be-
Henry McLemors. cause every inch
of the car that fails to get in the
garage is an inch of car that has to
be pushed. After the family has
been summoned out into the rain
five or six times to help shove the
car the rest of the way, papa's men
tality will come up for unflattering
discussion.
Most motorists will tell you that
they know how many miles they
get on a gallon. but informal tests
have shown that the American
car owner is guilty of telling big,
whacking fibs when asked what
mileage he gets on his car. Try
to recall the name of a friend
who ever admitted he got fewer
than Is miles to a gallon. Try
to recall when you ever admitted
that your car wouldn't do that
well. All of us Americans have
taken a fierce pride in the ability
Of our cars to get by without much
gasoline, whether 1t could or not.
Well, the day Of the great fib Is
over. The hour Of dead reckoning
Is almost upon us. No one Is go
Ing to believe a fellow who says
his car gets 16 miles to a gallon
when he continually Is seen hitch
hiking the last 8.
Once the mileage is determined.
the next most important step Is
to measure the exact distances be-
tween our home and the places
we travel most frequently.
Say you have been visiting Aunt
Becky on Sunday afternoons under
the general impression that she
lives about 2 miles away. Bet
ter find out now, when you fill
up your tank, that Aunt Becky's
Is a 21a mile jaunt. than wait until
next week and have to walk home
from her house.
One of the most important lists
in any household will be a mileage
chart showing the distances to all
points in the neighborhood. DIS
tances will play a tremendous part
in our lives. Theaters will advertise,
not that their movie Is a three star
or four-star show, but that 1t is a
"10-mile feature worth using gal
Ion of gasoline to see." Merchants
will stress the values to be had at
their sales by advertising that the
money you will save will more than
make up for the use Of a gasoline
ration ticket
With the mileage checked and the
distances measured, class A motor
lists should make thorough survey
of their neighborhoods in order to
locate the most comfortable and
convenient places to run out of gas
oline. No matter how careful we
are, we are going to be running out
Of gasoline all the time. Much care
should be taken In choosing good
running-out spots. Streets with
shade trees are desirable, as are
quiet streets where the children can
play, free from traffic dangers, while
you are busy rounding up friends to
help shove you home.
The chances are that American
ingenuity will result in the develop
ment of clean, comfortable. safe
running-out lots, just as we now
have parking lots and overnight
camps. The highways will undoubt-
edly be dotted with signs reading
something like this:
Last good place TO run out Of
gas in 20 miles"
Let our well-trained crew Of
pushers shove you home"
Fast pushing crews, 81 q mile.
Lazy crews. SOC a mile"
The final preparation for class A
motorists to make is a study of car
pushing. This cannot be learned
from any handbook. 1t must be
learned the hard way-by getting
out and pushing. I practiced for
two hours-well, two hours lacking
only an hour and SIS minutes-and
learned many valuable things. One
was that if others are helping you
push, the best place to push is by
the right door handle. You give
the effect of doing lot, but there Is
practically no strain on you at all.
II you are a natural leader Of
men Cor women) you can usually get
the job of steering the car. This Is
much to be desired. Never push
from the rear bumper. True, more
power is transmitted this way, but
it wreaks havoc on the average back.
Leave this to unknowning helpers.
Distributed by McNaught Syndicate Incl