Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 April 1939 — Page 20

. Vagabond

From Indiana=Ernie Pyle

He Learns How Big Companies Test New Tires Through Actual Driving by Experienced Crews.

SAN ANTONIO, April 7.—If you were to walk past the Commercial Filling Station on S. Flores St., you’d have no idea what goes on in the little garage in the rear. Every morning two autos and three trucks start out from there, and by the time they get back around midnight they have traveled much farther than across the United States.

It is, in simpler terms, the winter headquarters of

the road testing crew of the Fisk Tire Co. Every big tire company has such a crew. I just happened onto the Fisk people. They con't do any tricks. They don't put dynamite-caps in the tires to blow them out. They don't skid them or drive over nails or any of that stuff. All the test crew does is put the tires on and drive them, keep certain figures, then send the figures and the worn tires back to the factory. There the scientists raw charts, look through microscopes and come vo Tinal conclusions. There are 11 men. The manager is A. D. Maxfield, and the other 10 are drivers. Maxfield used to be a test driver, too, and has been with the company since

1916. The youngest man on the crew has seven vears’ |

service. They get good pay. They have two big Packard sedans, and three three-ton trucks. Every day. each Packard has to have 700 miles put on it. and each truck 650 miles. Tt is done in two shifts. The first five drivers start out at 7:30 a. m., drive out from San Antonio about 175 miles, then tum around and come back. Then the five men on the second trick start out about 4 p. m., and get back around midnight. Every two weeks they change shifts for the nightwork. ; Usually they drive on pavement, but sometimes a fest calls for gravel roads. Once a test is started, they drive _he same route every day till it's finished. Some tests call for only 10,000 miles. Others call for driving a tire to destruction. : The top speed for the Packards is 60 miles an hour. The trucks, oddly enough, g0 higher than that—up to 70. But they observe all restricted zone laws, and their fast driving is only on the open roac. Naturally, they have blow-outs. If it's a new €xperimental tire, it may blow the first day's driving. Other times, it may not plow for months. The longest they've ever seen a tire last here was 70,000 miles.

Take No Chances

company gets other company’s tires and tries to pri! oer ction secrets. All the companies do it. It's sort of like an international spy system, with everybody perfectly aware that the other fellow 1s joing it. oO Nearly all the Fisk test drivers have been through accidents. But accidents are rare nowadays. Each car and truck carries 211 the latest safety devices, such as the new brace that holds the wheels straight ire blows. wR er, the drivers are so experienced and alert that they can sense a difference of five pounds pressure. and anticipate danger. Also, their cars are kept in the finest mechanical condition. And the company insists on not taking chances. | They ordinarily come South in wintertime, and | g0 back to Massachusetts in summer. But this year | theyre going to stay right through, and get some | of this Texas heat Ito those tires. : Some of the drivers caIty guns; some don't. It's up to the individual. Neither here nor In Florida has any of them ever been held up. But several have 3 exciting experiences up North. Rag ey dont Ae take anybody with them, except some fellow like me. And I didn't go because I get enough riding as it Is, and they said they might not have a blow-out for a week. Shucks, I might have one sooner than that myself.

My Day

By Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

The

Indianapolis

imes

Second Section

fo ¥

struction.

By Roger Budrow

6th Birthd

A WEEK of “open house” is being observed in most of

the 28 Civilian Conservation Corps camps in Indiana

launched April 5, 1933.

Comments on Labor Symposium |

In Vocational Guidance Magazine.

HICAGO, Thursday. — Yesterday afternoon I read in “Occupations,” the vocational guidance magazine, a symposium entitled “Youth and Labor.” The jdea was that youth should pe taught something about the labor movement jn school and, naturally, that the teachers should know somthing about it. The following eminent gentlemen were asked to contribute something helpful to the teachers and the pupils from their store of knowledge: William Green, John L. Lewis, Leo Wollman, John J. Collins, ‘George Barton Cutten. All have written articles which would take far more space than this column has at its command to discuss comprehensively. However, I want to draw four things to your attention in the hope that you will read the symposium. One is that Mr. Green and Mr. Lewis ignore one very basic point In their argument. They urge youth to join unions, and few of us will question some of the advantages which they list. put how about the fact that many young people, in order to join a union, must serve some years of apprenticeship and that this opportunity is not always open to them? Secondly. that many occupations are still unorganized and will require years of education to be organized. Third, Mr. Collins, in his argument for the inde-

yendent union, appeals to the natural individualism | in us all, but neglects the fact that emplovers have

the strength of wide organization. Will the strength of the employee, restricted to his own plant or group of plants, be as great?

Upholds Equal Responsibility

Finally Mr. Cutten contends that labor unions should be ‘equally responsible with employer organjzations—and that, I think, few of us will deny—but the closing sentences of his article are not as simple as they sound: “Tt is usually believed that competition is nature's only Jaw—the Jaw of the jungle. That js far from true, Co-operation is as much a natural Jaw as competition, but nature is very have these laws properly placed. not followed this rule.” Tt is quite true that co-operation <ome of nature's units—the bees and extremely good example—but that doesn't protect them

theory:

please, but when we ighore or confuse them, nature

js bound to take her revenge” A very delicate operation, this refining process, one, I warrant, that comparatively few of the businessmen of today have thought through, so one cannot blame labor if it has not done so, either.

Day-by-Day Science

By Science Service HE idea that children and young women need to pe carefully watched for signs of incipient tuberculosis has been pretty well publicized. But the fight against the great white plague cannot be won by paying attention only to these groups. Niddle-aged men and old people, especially men over 60 years of age, constitute a danger zone, as do certain other special groups. The National Tuberculosis Association, which is waging an early-diagnosis campaign during April, points out that between the ages of 30 and 45 tuberculosis kills more men than women. These are the years when men are anxious to get ahead in life, to hold their jobs and when many of them have the responsibility of supporting a family. So they are likely to disregard the subtie warning

signs © much better chance for cure.

Older persons are likely io escape suspicion of hav- |

ing tuberculosis because of their age. Bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis and heart disease may be disguising their tuberculosis. Even if these persons are not in the class of early cases RN Ghpiosath to find them » iy ’ [ ot { eir own re ¥ ye -

4 g S C a Ea i aha ai:

careful to | Labor unions have |

oncoming sickness, even if they know that | an early diagnosis and early treatment give them a |

“open house” period began Wednesday. What most visitors do not see but what a good many nevertheJess realize are the accomplishments of the CCC during the last siX years. There have been 50,650 Indiana men in CCC camps up to the first of this year. Of this number 4000 were work supervisors, reserve officers and other administrators. At the present time there are 6000 Hoosiers in CCC, most of them in Tndiana, some in Western states. Those who enroll are between 17 and 23, without a job and needing one and unmarried. The average enrollee is about 18 years old, weighs 142 pounds and is 5 feet 8 inches tall. He finished eight grades of public school, after which he had little or no work. Of the $30 a month he receives in CCC, he sends $22 home and | Keeps $8 for spending money. It | is estimated that more than $10.000.000 has been sent Hoosier families by CCC boys. ” ® »

prs the 40 working hours a week they build small dams to ‘check erosion on farms, plant trees, fight and prevent. forest fires, build roads, watch towers and string telephone lines. In 1932, before CCC was estab-

Side Glances

and in others throughout the country, Virgin Islands, Alaska, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. The occasion is the sixth anniversary of the CCC,

Youths in olive drab uniforms are showing visitors about the camps’ landscaped grounds, through the kitchens and mess halls, bunkhouses and recreation rooms. The

lished, 500,000 persons visited Imdiana’'s State parks. Last year the number of paid admissions had zoomed to 1155000, according to the State Conservation Department. One of the greatest factors for the increase, Conservation Department officials say, is the improvement in park facilities, built by thee CCC for visitors. A 50-foot span native stone bridge, with a 22-foot arch, was constructed at McCormick's Creek Canyon State Park. The plans, stone cutting and actual construction of the bridge was accomplished by CCC boys. A wooden trestle, also the work of the CCC, spans an $0-foot canyon at Clifty Falls State Park. At Spring Mill State Park & 35sere Jake and 500-foot beach has been built. There are also parking lots built on hillsides. A modern water system, with a 40,000gallcn reservoir on top of a dune, has Been installed by the CCC at Dunes State Park, doubling the capacity of the former system. Tourists will wow find shelter houses, picnic grounds, comfort stations, saddle barns, water supply and sewage disposal systems in most of Imdiana's state parks. Headlines have told of CCC boys

“| wich 1d st

FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 1939

CCC boys constructed this attractive bridge at Spring Mill Park. Native stone was used in the con-

Hikers pause to rest at this Indiana park sheltering house, also built by the CCC.

fighting fires in southern mndiana’s forests, but fire prevention work is also a big part of the program. Lanes of trees have been felled, and ditches dug to prevent spread of fires. Old trees have been cleared away to give new growth a better chance. In several forests, particularly Nrorgan-Monroe State Forest, CCC workers have planted thousands of black locust trees to prevent soil erosion on the steep hills. In State forests in Clark and Jackson ‘Counties they help operate the nursery that is shipping 6.000000 trees this spring to parks, forests and farmers. ® # =

N the recently modernized Jas-per-Pulaski Game Preserve, CCC boys have built pens, brooder houses and ponds for the state propagation of quail, pheasant and raccoon. mn Indiana those working on soil ‘conservation are in camps near Brookville, Lexington, Princeton, Wadesville, Washington and Worthington. Workers in state forests are located near Mredaryvilte, Bluffton, agro, Henryville and Brownstown. State park workers are stationed near Narshall, Angola, Nashville, Versailles, Mitchell and Jasonville. Drainage improvement is done by boys in camps near Nonon, Valparaiso, Lebanon, Ft. Wayne, South Bend and Frankton. Federal forest workers are at Kurtz and Tell City. The day in camp begins at 6 a. mM, when the men get up. Breakfast is one-half hour later and work begins at 8 o'clock. At 4 p. m. the day's work is done. From then until retreat flag ceremony at the close of day, they can do as they please. After supper they may study, read, or amuse

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

1—What is a ane? 2— Name the goo welter-

weight boxing champion. 3—Name the former commander of the U. 8. Marine Corps who disapproves of President Roosevelt's foreign policy. 4&_Which U. 8. President was nicknamed Last Cocked Hat? 5—To What species of animals do cats belong? 8—Name the capital of Ver- " En ha —For what Government agent do the initials FFMC beet 8—How many syuare rods are in one acre? ® & ® Answers f—An airplane with one pair of wings. 2 Henry 3—Nraj. Gen. yetired. James Monroe. 5—Felines,

6—Nrontpelier. ~Federal Farm Mortgage 8-160. $ # » ASK THE TIMES fnclose a Scent stamp for reply when addressing any

question of fact or information ianapolis Times

ashing WA 1013 eon N. W, ton, D. GC. ge a

ha medical advice cannot

ley Butler,

Visitors Inspect Improvements During ‘Open-House’ Week

3 Entered as Second-Class Matter ut Postoffice, Indianapolis. Ind.

ay Marked by CCC Our Town

at Camps

IRN:

Scene in the camp library at Mitchell,

Here's an oven shelter in the picnic grounds at Brown County Park which the boys built for the convenience of visiters. Improvements such as this have greatly increased attendance at the State’s parks.

themselves with hobbies, sports or games. Curfew is at 10 o'clock. The primary purpose of the ccC is to provide employment and vocational training for the thousands of youths who used to loaf on street corners or roamed the country at large. The other purpose is to conserve and develop the natural resources of the nation. » 2 ® HROUGH the work and study the boys learn about bridge construction, masonry, carpentry, Diesel engine operation, drafting, landscaping, cooking and other vocations. Not all of them like it. They desert, usually because they are homesick, other times because of other grievances. The proportion of deserters has been estimated at between 6 and 8 per cent. But those who stick for the original six months may receive an honorable discharge or stay two years if they want. What happens to them when they leave? Theyre not highly-skilled work= ers and they can't step into high= paying jobs. In past years ap= proximately one-third have found private employment, many with the help of such services as the Indiana State Employment Serve ice, as the direct result of their CCC training. : Two of last year’s ‘top-notch Hoosier college basketball stars were in CCC camps before they began university studies. Now they are high school coaches. One, a company sergeant, is now a

graduate of the FBI school in Washington. # ” » ANY get jobs with telephone companies, factories, and various construction companies. Those who don’t get jobs afte certified as eligible for WPA or NYA jobs until they find private employment. The question has been raised whether CCC enrollment would decrease because of improved employment conditions. A recent Government report states that “even as private employment op= portunities increase, we may con= tinue to have some growth in the number of youhg men seeking enrollment in the Corps.” Reasons given for the increase are the rehiring of older men with families by industry and agri= culture and recognition by the poys of the availability of the “practical training along a variety of lines, supplements by an educational program available to all enrollees.” Other reasons are the chance for promotion within a reasonable period of time to leadership ratings, and the healthy outdoor life in which virtually all enrollees gain con= siderable in weight, strength and health. “The Civil Conservation Corps thus continues to serve,” the re= port states, “with inereasing ehec= tiveness the group for which it was created=—those inexperienced out-of-school youths who have no opportunity for normal employ= ment and who want to begin work now and not several years later.”

Everyday Movies—By Wortman

| ih Chicago adjusting

“At the bridge party, are you going to keep your hat on or not?"

PAGE 19

By Anton Scherrer

Architect Who Designed Building Now Housing K. of C. Is Credited With Designing First Skyscraper,

IT turns out that the big brick house at 1305 N. Delaware St., originally the home of Hervey Bates Jr., and now the Knights of Columbus clubhouse, was designed by William Le Baron Jenney, the Chicago architect generally credited with having thought up the basic principle which made the American skye

scraper possible. Seems that Mr. Bates heard of Jenney through Wilmer Christian, an Indianapolis contractor. Mr. Christian had been insurance losses in the Big Fire and in the course of his work, he happened to Tan across Mr. Jenney, who had his hands full cleaning up after Mrs. O’Lieary’s cow. ‘Mr. Christian, it appears, was especially impressed with the fine new residences Mr. Jenney was do= ing for Chicago's millionaires, and it was only natural that he should Mh Seherver tell Mr. Bates when he got back. Anyway, Shover &

| Christian, of Which Mr. Christian was a member,

always gave the Bates family the benefit of their best ideas. Which is to say that the Bates family, the one doing the most building in Indianapolis at the tithe, employed Shover & Christian for most of their

At that, Mr. Christian couldn't have picked a better time to tell Mr. Bates about Mr. Jenney because the way things worked out, it was the very moment Mr. Bates was looking for an architect. At any rate, he was thinking some about building a house for his family. He knew just the kind of house he wanted, too. Seems that he had just returned from a trip through Furope and somewhere in the Loire country of France he saw what he liked. Indeed, he brought a picture of it home with him, which is why the big house at 1305 N. Delaware St, with its turrets, orioles and high-pitched roofs, is not unlike a French chateau.

He Got What He Wanted

Mr, Jenney got everything in just the way Mr. Bates wanted it, and Shover & Christian followed the specifications without having to be watched. When finished in 1874 the house cost Mr, Bates exactly $80,000, a fabulous sum for those days. Or any other time, for that matter. For some reason, however, Mr. Bates didn't stay in the house any length of time. He decided to sell it after the marriage of his children and then it bee came the property of BE. B. Martindale, whose daugh+ ter, Susan, had married Hervey Bates II. About 1830 the house was bought by Dr. H. R. Allen. In 1896, D. M. Parry acquired it, moved his big family into it. After that, it became the home of Hugh McGowan and when he died the old chateau was sold to the K. of C. people. Which is the way matters stand

ay. Not to forget the American skyscraper, however. Some time around 1383, nine years after the comple tion of the Bates residence, Mr. Jenney was appointed architect for a building to house the Chicago branch of the Home Insurance Co. of New York. It was 0 be fireproof and have the maximum number of wells lighted small offices. For this building, erected in 1884, Mir. Jenney desighed a skeleton construction in which each story—walls, partitions and foors—was cartied independently on columns. It made the skv= soraper possible, the trick the world had been waite ing for.

Jane Jordan—

The Physically Handicapped Err in Feeling Inferior, Teacher Advised.

FAR JANE JORDAN=In my late teens I de= veloped an incurable, but controllable, metabolic defect. I am deeply grateful that medical science has made it possible for me to go on living. The effort it has taken on my part has been trifling compared to the reward of a “heap of livin.” Undertaking and completing courses of study when getting back and forth to class was a physical achievement, gave me courage to go to the next step. I started to teach and was indeed happy to know that I was useful. Then the old problem of health re= appeared and due to complications, I was forced to i work for an indefinite period. to myself I did not admit how sorry I was to turn over to someone else work that was my ree sponsibility. Perhaps I was unfair to the organiza= tion which employed me to undertake something I was net sure I could accomplish. In writing my resig= nation, and trying not to feel defeated, I didn’t even admit that I was sorry for the inconvenience a change in instructors would cause, and prattied about what I expected to do when I was well again, I didn’t receive a reply. In truth, I don’t believe I deserved one. Please tell me why a grown adult would avoid facing feets? A better adjustment should have been made even to a situation as disheartening as that. The worst of the hurt is passed. In the future I will use what I have learned as a guide post. Your advice will be appreciated for it always hag been helpful in the past. RESPECTFULLY,

® » ®

Answer—Your {rouble is not altogether clear to me. Ag near ag I can tell you seem to have a feel ing of guilt about the way you resighed from your job. Apparently you withheld facets which would have explained your resignation and now you are Sine from a conviction that you were misunders Ss \ Are you oversensitive about the condition of your health? 1 have noticed that many people who have an incurable affliction to combat feel guilty about it, Apparently they feel that they are different from their fellows, and it is embarrassing to them. It is as if they felt to blame for their physical infirmities and had an obscure conviction that trouble was visited upon them as a punishment. My guess is that you regard your trouble as some sort of punishment and that is why you can’t be perfectly frank about it. If, when your physicians tell you that it is wholly physical and beyond your control, you still feel uncomfortable, you would do well to seek aid from a psychiatrist. Bach of us hag something in his life to which he must beeome reconciled. Perhaps you aren't so different from others after all, The fact that one it an adult does not cure the desire to avoid what is painful. A mature person does learn from his mistakes and tries not to repeat them. Don’t be so hard on yourself. As I said pe fore you aren't so different from the rest of the human race. Bverybody has something or other to regret. Learn to be as tolerant toward yourself as you are toward others, JANE JORDAN, fet

Put vour wrebiem AEA a ee ts June: Jurden whe: wil

New Books Today Public Library Presents—

N hig new book, TRIUMPH OVER PAIN (Bobbse Merrill), Rene Fulop=-Miller gives us a com en= sive history of the efforts made by scientists to alleviate human suffering. Among the methods first used to make an operation less painful were artificial sleep and animal magnetism, but modern chemistry was needed to accomplish the desired end. The first painless operation was performed as recently as 1848, the names of those who have given this won» derful gift to mankind are an American, Dr. William T, Gi. Morton "inventor and revealer of anesthetic in= halation” a Viennese, Dr, Carl Koller, the discov

To in SP i