The Syracuse Journal, Volume 22, Number 27, Syracuse, Kosciusko County, 31 October 1929 — Page 7

SIMPLER CODE URGED TO END TRAFFIC ILLS 1 2 -A oeciacMc ao ; ■ >£-:| . ' I i -- • ' ' 1 4 EES3I f : -, wfiUK! ■' ' '"

Don’t Cut Around the Car Ahead by Going on the Wrong Side of the Traffic Lane; It Is a Fruitful Source of Accident.

Psychology tn automobile driving will make the world safer for motorists and pedestrians. That is the advice of Dr. Knight Dunlap, professor of psychology at Johns Hopkins university. Standardization and simplicity, two names for driving psychology, is urged by Doctor Dunlap as a panacea for traffic problems and accident prevention. For instance, the monotonous run of “•dangerous curve” signs on gentle •curves tends to make the driver of an automobile less cautious when approaching a really bad curve. Standardization of these signs would serve to keep the driver constantly on the alert for bad curves. He could relax

WIDER HIGHWAYS ARE GREAT NEED Four Traffic Lanes Would Soon Pay for Themselves. (By E. E. Duffy) Motoring toward a large metropolitan center on a sunny Saturday afternoon. when wheeled hordes are bound for the open country, reveals pertinent facts about highways. The first thing that is forcibly impressed upon the motorist going against the heavy traffic flow is that two sane roads are decidedly not wide enough—usually by two lanes. Slow trucks, crawling old hulks of / 'Cars, hyper-cautious drivers hold back traffic until a jam of cars a quarter mile or so long results. Human Element Enters. Drivers driven to distraction by delays then suddenly dart out from their prescribed lanes of travel when oncoming traffic permits of a passing. Here, the well-known human element enters in, for if a driver misjudges the open spaces a collision may result. A four-hour ride against this wave of country-bound traffic brought •several narrow escapes that cannot ae recounted without a rise in blood pressure. In addition to the dangers present in forging ahead on the two-lane road, there is the inability to get speed in keeping with the temper of modern cars, most of which travel some fifty miles an hour without excessive vibration. Fifty miles an hour is not a dangerous speed, yet it cannot be conscientiously attained- on the narrow road when cars are thick. Another criticism of the rural road, iq remote regions as’well as metropolitan areas, is that it usually passes through the center of every hamlet and town on the route. One little town in southern Wisconsin, with a single traffic light on the main high-, way running through on the chief business street, is frequently nothing short of choked with automobiles that have no business there. Must Be Widened. Narrow roads must be widened as fast as communities can make finances available, for without doubt congestion and accidents are costing as much or more than wider roads. Twolane roads are suitable for traffic only where week-day travel is light and week-end travel moderate. A heavy volume of traffic demands roads at least four lanes in width. Accidents would be reduced considerably if by • road builders’ magic all congested routes were to be widened. That would mean a distinct lowering of car insurance rates. AUTO HINTS An average of 5,590 miles was traveled by each automobile in this country last year. * * * Motorists in England were taxed more than $127,605,000 for the operation of 1,758,000 motor vehicles in the past year. • ♦ ♦ “Remember away back when a flat tire drew a sympathetic look from passing motorists?”—Des Moines Register. No. we are not that old. • * • “A hotel for automobiles is the suggestion of a prominent New York con tractor”—if you can imagine a bellboy rushing a quart of oil up to 703. « * • Are refugees losing their speed? A comparative table shows more people killed on New York streets in 1928 than as the first Battle of Bull Run. * • * Dr. Louis Dublin, New York health authority, thinks America’s population is tending to become stationary. We had thought of this on the road back to town Sunday evening. • • • The man who reversed his automobile and smashed two highwaymen must have known something about the business end of a mule. Another art effect that Is quite Interesting without being very appealing is the occasional wayside garage, shingled with last year’s license plates.

when the signs told him things were comparatively serene ahead. The simplifying of traffic signals would make driving of an auto a mechanical process, according to Doctor Dunlap. Red, he says, can easily be misunderstood in traffic lights, for the reason that that color does not always indicate stop. Detour signs are red. Danger signals are red. Signals set up to indicate road repairs are red. “Drivers will never be trained to the point of an automatic, unreflecting •stop' on the red light so long as other uses of red in signals are retained,” says Doctor Dunlap. “Fatal accidents have occurred from use of red lanterns on road obstructions.

« MOTOR QUIZ I How Many Can You Answer? I Q. What causes preignition I and how can it be remedied? ” ? Ans. Usually the spark plug .. I center electrode becomes red ” t hot and fires the mixture early | causing pinging and a sharp de- ' ? crease in the engine’s power, f Changing to “cooler” spark ” ? plugs will correct the trouble. ♦ Q. What causes the noise In ” i shifting gears? I Ans. Usually the fault lies j with the driver who is afraid of • I making a noisy shift and so ;’ | hurries. The shift should be I made calmly and deliberately \ 1 1 without rushing or hesitating to | avoid noises. Also improper ad : ” I | justment of clutch lever causes j clutch to drag. / ■ I Q. What should be done with 1 » a punctured-spare tire? !, t Ans. The spare should be re- ' | paired at once. ! ; | Q. What is considered a good ' I rule to be governed by for test- ~ i f ing oil level in the crankcase? ' • | Ans. Test the oil level every t time the tank is tilled with gaso- ” I line. • | Automatic Light Useful in Luggage Compartment .No need to fish around in the dark trying to find something in the luggage compartment. You can easily arrange an automatic light which will go on when the trapdoor is lifted, and go out when you close it. A socket of the bayonet type to hold a headlight bulb is attached underneath the front edge of the door opening, and a stop-light switch is attached at a i.:i NGE OF U D v to -- x ‘ cattery STOP LIGHT - switch Automatic Light for Luggage Com- , partment Goes on When Lid Is Up. point where it can be connected by means of a chain to the hinge or to a screw eye in the door. The chain should be adjusted with enough slack so that when the door is in a fully opened position, the switch will be thrown on. Run a wire from the ungrounded battery terminal to one terminal of the socket, connect the other terminal of the pocket, to one terminal of the stoplight switch, and ground the other terminal of the switch to the nearest point on the metal frame of the car.— Popular Science Monthly. Headlight Problem Due to Owner’s Indifference Many a headlight problem is due to the car owner’s indifference. This is especially true, service men report, when the motorist is taking his annual tour. On a trip of this character, which | may involve night driving and the ne- j c sity for effective headlighting, the car owner is prone to forget that high speeds with their possible vibration and rough roads are likely to affect both the focus and the aiming of the headlights. Good illumination is close- i iy related to keeping this point in mind. Auto Sleepinea* The effect of driving a car at night for several hours is really responsible for more accidents than defective construction. The constant vibration of the steering wheel, the continuous noise of the machine and the drone of the wind have the same effect as does the buzz of an electric fan. Before the driver realizes it he is getting drowsy. The next thing he knows he is off the road. Sometimes the car overturns and bodily injury is the result. Proper rest is an utmost necessity for autoists on long tours.

I NANCY’S • 1 I GREEN SILK I UMBRELLA | <© by D J. Walsh.) (("T’LL take the shopping bag and I the handbag.” said Lydia, “and 1 you take the umbrella. Nancy That Isn’t asking you to do very much.” It happened to be Nancy’s own am brella. a recent birthday gift, and an expensive one—green silk with a darling handle tipped with carved ivory and a silk cord over the arm. Nancy had wanted tkgreen silk umbrella for a long, long-time and had been too happy for words when Aunt Jerusha gave ter till* one. It had meant something of a sacrifice on the part of Aunt Jerusha. and Lydia, who could have afforded any thing, had given her a box of hand kerchiefs. A box of handkerchiefs when Nancy needed a dozen things that had to be tn sight all the rime! Lydia was six years older than Nancy and married so comfortably that she could offer her sister a home Not but what Nancy paid her way She earned a fairly good salary doing office work and helped with rhe house work besides. But Lydia never gave her any credit for such assistance when It came to figuring ap the board bill. Nancy was rather tired, for the week had been a full one at the office, to say nothing of the bridge party Lydia had given on Thursday, and she needed this Saturday afternoon to rest. But Lydia had conceived a longing for various things, and noth ing would do but they must go shop ping. It was forty ndles to Bingham and forty miles back again. Lydia scribbled notes on a small pocket tablet while Nancy sat with her head back busy with her own thoughts. “I wish I could/think of another man to ask to my/Sunday night sup per.” Lydia said/ suddenly “Some body that would do for Miss Mitchell. There’s Albert Hutton! I wonder if he would come. What do you think?” “1 don’t know.” Nancy spoke ns It she had not at that instant been thinking of Albert Hutton. "I’d never forgive him if he declined.” Lydia mused. “And he might if he felt like it. Old bachelors of that age think they can do as they please.” She tapped her tablet im patiently with the rip of her pencil “Since Albert got to be. district at 1 torney he Is too higb-nosed for any thing—” She returned to her notes and Nancy returned to tier thoughts. Al hert had a right to he high nosed if tie chose; any man who had fought his way up to a position of that kind deserved his own respect as well as that of rhe community As for herself she admired him very much, nad al ways admired him. She would not ! admit that she loved him. although that was nearer the truth. For what was the use in loving somebody who seemed almost totally oblivious of your existence? The old pleasant I friendliness of their early youth had. with Albert, worn away and he some i times failed to see her. But there ' was something in the sound of his i steps even— Bingham was frostily fair yet Nancy clung to her umbrella. It was Lydia’s way to “look” They trooped up and down, only pausing for a cup of tea to lend them further fighting strength. As they tramped t ley accumulated parcels. “I’ll have to ordet a taxi,” Lydia said. She searched hastily through her pnrse. “Nancy, car you pay for , a uixi?” “Oh. yes,” Nancy answered. It was usually that way. , “Go order one. then.” Lydia said. Nancy ordered the taxi —“Side en trance of the Fair store.” And then prepared to wait. There was one available chair and Lydia took it. “My feet are killing me,” Lydia I moaned. “Here’s, the taxi,” Nancy announced She started forward, but Lydia rushed : past her. “Let me get in first and then yon can hand me the oarcels.” she said. • and Nancy obeyed But as she herself entered she me’ with disaster ‘ She got caught in the doorway and • felt the crown of her hat smash in Her best hat. her only hat. except that old thing that she wore to the office i on stormy days. Nancy had reached the point where she was merely enduring until she could land In her own bed. Thank goodness, tomorrow was Sunday and she could get an extra hour of sleep A train was coming in. They made a desperate scramble, only to find that It was not their trait) after all, and breathless with haste and burden, collapsed into seats in the waiting room. “Did you get everything?” Lydia asked. “Nancy, with Ingrowing suspicion, was seeking frantically. “My umbrella is gone I” she breathed. “Gone!” shrieked Lydia. Then with

Psycho-Analyst May Spread Too Much Light

The professor of psychology who ran to earth 507 pet annoyances among 21.000 “eranklsms” reported to hint should now let us know how a person can rid himgsf of his particular aversion. He was not reporting anything surprising in declaring that ■ everyone has some special annoyance. We are all acutely conscious of the particular thing that rubs us the wrong way and it needed no psychologist to tell us about it. He might as well have told a baldheaded man that he is short on hair; what tnan wants is a restorative that will restore. But his analysis is Interesting. For example: that annoyances outside of those which play directly on the nerves, like the scraping of a piece of chalk on a blackboard, are acquired Is more or less proved by the fact that children and adolescents up to twenty-five showed a low aversion rate, and that the line of annoyance rose steadily from that age until It reached a maximum at sixty. From

THE SYRACUSE JOURNAL

a conviction that was almost tr umphant “You left <t somewhere!” “No. 1 handed it to you with th other things before 1 got into thtaxi. You were the last one out. am you know you said you hall every thing.” “Don’t tell me I’m to blame for you j losing your old umbrella,” she said To lose Aunt Jerushy’s gift It wa too much “Telephone,” suggested Lydia. “O course you remember the number o the taxi.” “1 never looked at the number. i confessed Nancy. “Well, you are certainly the limit 1 That elegant umbrella I It cost $lO , which Aunt Jerusha Lad no business to spend and I told ne> so at the rime She’ll know bettei after this, i nope than to skimp herself t<» buy you greet' I silk umbrehas. She might better havt put the money into a dress She needs one bad enough. I’m sure.” “Please don’t talk so loud." Nancy pleaded, for people about them were staring. “1 can’t help it. It’s so exasperat Ing to take people along who lose ; things. I wonder what else is gone.” j Lydia made a dive at the pile of par • cels. There was a crash Nancy winced, for she knew that rhe lovely green bowl intended for violets had met an untoward fate Before Lydia could escape from her Instant of silent consternation the station door opened and a tine looking . man entered. In his hand was a green silk umbrella. His keen eyes, running swiftly over the occupants of the waiting room, met Nancy s stir prised ones. Quickly he made his way to her. “Does this belong to you. Nan?” he asked. “Yes!’’ Nancy gasped. “How did you happen to find it. Albert?’ Actually District Attorney Hut ton by his first name! “It was in the taxi I Just hailed to burry me to this train I questioned the driver and his answers coincided with the initials 1 found on the handle. Besides. I had a glimpse of you on Court street this afternoon—” He was Interrupted by the caller crying the train When he had helped j them aboard he sat down with them, evidently loth to leave. This restored Lydia’s good humor. “You’ll come to supper tomorrow night, won’t you, Albert?” she urged. • “Mary Mitchell Is to be there.” “And is Nancy going to be there, ! too?” Albert looked at the younger I sister’s sweet face. Half startled. Nancy lifted her eyes and encountered a look that set her blushing. “If Nancy wants to come—” began AlberL “Oh, I do!” said Nancy, then to hide her happy embarrassment: “You see, I’m so grateful to you for finding my green silk umbrella.” Swan Song The expression “swan song," desig nates a last or dying work as of a poet or composer; in allusion to th< song a swan is fabled to sing when dying. The expression is many cen turies old In the I’haedo, written by Plato, in uncient Athens. Socrates is represented as saying: “Yon think that upon the score of fore knowledge | and divining. I am infinitely inferioi to the swans. When they perceive ap proaching death they sing more met rily than before, because of the joy they have in going to the God they serve.” Smart Child A visitor at one of the London schools had heard that ail the chil dren there were lamentably backward To test his theory he said to one little fellow, “Give me a number. Iwo hundred thirty six, sir.” The visitor j wrote on the blackboard 632. And he tested several other pupils the same way, not any of them correcting him. Then he called on a boy who looked half asleep, who responded: “Three hundred thirty-three, sir. and try to fool around with that if you can.”— • The Chu chman.' Unmeasured Winds The strongest winds are those of tornadoes and have never been meas ured. Plausible estimates based on the effects of these storms run up to 400 or 500 miles an hour In some cases. The strongest winds ever measured instrumentally blew at the summit of Mount Washington. N. H.. January 11. 1878. The indicated ve locity was 186 miles an hour, but cer tain necessary corrections reduce this to about 140 miles an hour. — New Fireproof Wood One ot the most important uses to which straw has been put is that of making a new kind of wood called solomite. The straw is compressed under a pressure of 200 pounds to the square inch, in a mactiine which in terlaces it with wire. The machine can turn out four thousand square feet of board a day. and a remarkable feature of the wood is that it is fire j proof.

then until ninety the line as steadily I declined, indicating, it would seem, tiiat after sixty one either becomes more philosophical and takes things more calmly, or one becomes more indifferent. His study revealed that women of all ages averaged uniformly more sus- f ceptibility to annoyances than men. Ordinarily observation would lead to I the belief that the annoyance score is about equal between the two sexes. But we live and learn. Psychology is an entertaining science even if it is not yet exact. It is only in the crawling stage of its development and some of its students make rather large claims for it, but it is the beginning to strip off some of the mysteries of behavior and it promises to strip off many more. The time may come when a psycho-analyist will turn a human being completely inside out and show him to himself as he really is. Then a lot of conceit is going to be taken out of most of us.—Philadelphia Bulletin.

X W W W W Wk w w w Ji h UB I ' I I ROSA j Mimi I X * J* Woman’s Funny Bone THE best Joke 1 know Is that woman has no sense of humor. If she hasnT, ft’s time congress passed another humorous amendment, but the fact of the matter is that woman can’t see anything so very funny tn life after she has looked at man. A man Is supposed to go to a show for the sake of having a good laugh, a woman with the fdea of having a good cry. What could be fairer than that? But, still, woman has be. funny bone even if it is not located tn her bead. If you’ll wait a moment. I'll wise you up to the whole matter. Men have wit, but women have the humor. And there’s a big difference between the two, believe me. Wit separates people, and puts the laugh on some unfortunate. That’s why men like wit. A man sits on his hat or puts his foot on a banana peeL the yellow peril of the sidewalk. Men think that’s funny. Now woman’s sense of humor Is that of the gleeful laugh which goes around the whole circle. All can glggleu and a good time be had by all But such social laughter does not satisfy Mister Man’s desire to cackle. Men have their standardized Jokes Just as they have their staple styles. There’s the motber-in-law wheeze, which Is a confession that the man who thought he was marrying the girl was really wedding the whole works. That laugh Is surely on him. Or there Is the time-honored Joke about the henpecked husband. That kind at a comic Is meant to console all the other roosters. They feel better when they realize that there are lots of men in the same boat The standardized Joke about woman concerns the old maid. But her plight Is not her fault. Then that sort of Joke is psetty much out of date these days. The reason why woman does not laugh so easily, or find amusement In man’s jokes is that woman Is not ■ easily surprised. And surprise Is the Hfe of all laughing matter. Man is surprised when his hat blows. If it’s the other man’s hat. he laughs. The suddenness of the thing makes it funny. But you can’t surprise woman so easily. She’s forewarned against alout everything that’s likely to turn up tn human life. She’s often pleased by what’s amusing, tut is not easily stung by what is new. There’s a lot of laughing matter In tlie world, and if men like It they are welcome to it. Anyhow, as far as we women are eoncerned. wit means laughter, and laughter wrinkles. It’s the Sober Sue who has the smooth skin. Vampires THE real vampires of hist.ory have been men, like that German butcher who devoured a score of little boys. But the women of today are bent upon being mannish, so that they i have taken the vampire business over • Into their own department They have always been fairly good at it. If you want to know what a vampire is. I’ll tell you that it’s a flirt with a vengeance. The average girl flirts idly and innocently just for the fun of the tiling. What are her eyes for if not to roll around and wink? I -I But this girl’s glances are not premeditated. They are only little winks with a hop on them. But the vamp uses the glance to snare the man and scorch tils heart Then she uses stuff to make her eyelashes black and her lips red. She thinks that man’ll fall j for her color-scheme I The vamp realizes that the old way I jf getting Is weak and out of date. She resorts to coquettishuess with a kick In It But for her. men might have kept up the old illusion that it's they who go out after women when of course it has been quite the other way. When the vamp goes to work and j puts on her war paint, she gives us dead away. For she lets man see that It’s woman who is ever on the war- • path for Mister Man or the Big Chief ; and bis scalp. • Woman has always been led to be- ! lieve that man was necessary to her welfare Today, however, she’s thinking that maybe sire can look after her- • eelt and punch her own meal ticket Men are hard to get. anyhow, so the ramp goes out after ’em with a punch. • It’s getting harder and harder to make 1 men see that we are desirable To ' utake man feci that woman is a good ' Investment is like boosting real estate j an Barren island. The list of ellglbles Is as short as the list of Income taxpayers. For the • war cut down ever so many fine prospects. and men are always Inclined to bachelordom anyhow. The vamp thinks she knows the i trick. She sees that femininity Is a lost cause so she goes out on the warpath. I’lDadmlt that men are hard to grab, and many of ’em are no bargains either. i But I’ll never be a vatnp for the rake of getting even the prince of' • Wales. If 1 can’t get ’em with talcum powder, I won't go after them with rouge. (© br tb« Bet! Syndicate, ma) Ant Ravage* Serious Termites are the most destructive insects in the Panama Canal Zone region and replacement after their ravages is the largest Item of expense. Foundations of buildings have to be laid In concrete and the legs of chairs and tables set In creosote-filled pans, to keep them from being devoured. Three-Letter Drama The shortest drama that has ever been written Is contained In one little group ot three letters—“S. O. B.**—• American Magazine,

Pilots elamed for MANY AIR ACCIDENTS Fatalities in Army Service Are Analyzed. Washington.—Sixty-three per. cent of all fatal airplane accidents in the army air corps, reserve and National ; Guard during 1928 were caused by er- > rors on tlie part of the pilots, according to a survey by the office of tlie chief of the air corps. Tlie result of a study and analysis of military aircraft accidents will be. published at intervals by the air corps and circulated among military pilots as a means of discouraging carelessness and to set the pilots to thinking of means of preventing accidents, it has been announced. The national advisory committee for aeronautics, through a special committee on aircraft accidents, has been engaged in a similar study since Februi ary 18, 1928. Two officers of the i array air corps are members of this committee. The air corps study of military air fatalities shows that accidents due to i spins and stalls resulting from faulty piloting are decreasing, while the number of collisions seems to remain fairly constant. The number of fatal crashes due to errors on the purt of pilots has in creased steadily in proportion as other causes decreased. In 1926 only 32.3 per cent of accidents were due to pilot’s errors. In 1927 the proportion Increased to 44.13 per cent and . last year to 63 per cent. Os the 63 per cent of crashes caused ■by the “human element,” 24 per cent were due to error of judgment, 30 per cent to poor technique, 3 per cent to disobedience of orders and 6 per cent to carelessness or negligence. Overconfidence Blamed. • For the past year approximately half the fatal crashes due to pilots’ errors may be traced to overconfidence, air corps officers stated. “Inasmuch as 85 per cent of pilot fatalities occurred among officers with ' less than two years’ experience,” it was reported, “it would indicate that our young pilots are overconfident and overzealous. “During this year 46 per cent of the pilot fatalities occurred with pilots of ; less than 200 hours of flying, 17 per cent bad from 200 to 500 hours to their I credit, 25 per cent from 500 to 1.000 hours and 12 per cent from 1,000 to 1,200 hours. “The successful pilot of today is the one who eliminates unnecessary hazards, when the taking of such hazards | is not mandatory in the proper per--1 formance ot the military mission. He learns from the costly experience of his predecessors. With modern equip- ■ ment. the well-trained and alert pilot of today, who always uses good common ‘horse sense’ can expect to live I a long time.' Ask the old-time pilot with over 2,000 hours to his credit.” In connection with its study of airI plane fatalities, the army air corps also has undertaken a study of forced landings, including thos^which do not [ result in damage to equipment or in- • jury to personnel. The inspection dij vision of the air corps has ordered j tiiat pilots submit detailed reports on all forced landings, defined as being unpremeditated landings, whether ■ caused by adverse weather conditions, failure of the airplane or its power | plant. Study Forced Landings. In the past it has been tlie policy Ito forget forced landings. If the plane ‘ or motor needed adjustment the matter was attended to and no more ’ thought was given the affair. Tlie inspection division now is requiring that all these minor flight difficulties be reported. accompanied by an analysis of I the cause of tlie landing. By gathering and studying statistics ! concerning such landings the inspec- • tion, division hopes to be able to rec- : ommend action leading to the reduction of forced landings. If the sta- < tistics show a certain type of motor ■ develops magneto trouble, the matej rial division will be called upon to remedy the evil. If persistent fogs or bap weather cause forced landings of I more than average frequency between j two points, efforts will be made to I provide more frequent weather data to • pilots flying the bad stretch. LEIGHTON W. ROGERS IO Leighton W. Rogers, former European representative of the Department of Commerce, has been appointed head of the new division of the Department of Commerce known as the aeronautics trade division. Glider Club for Wichita » The recently organized Wichita Gliders’ club of Wichita, Kan., has purchased a glider and initial flights have been made at the Associated Aircraft Airport. The automobile towing -method has been used to launch the glider and proved successful. The longest flight reported so far was of approximately one mile. Eighteen thousand communities are linked together in England and Wales by 3.312 regular motor coach services.

< ■ | Airplane of Future ❖ Will Be Luxurious < 4 Factors which are adding to 4 the public’s belief in flying are 4 ideas such as slotted wings, the *:* autogiro, metal construction. * 4 wide landing gears, wneel tail ’£ skids, closed cabins and others. *£ ❖ according to William B. Stout, -3 aviation authority. £ “If there is one tiling that we <« £ are altogether decided upon it is * ❖ that the present airplane is not ••• 4 going to be the future airplane,” ❖ says he. “We are building to- £ •> day merely a forerunner of what £ ••• we can see in the future. ••• 4 “Tlie problem today is not £ £ only an engineering problem, it £ 4 is a human, psychological prob- 4 £ lem. Engineering must solve it. £ ❖ but we must understand first K» £ that safety is the first funda- £ £ mental. Safety in our present £ £ planes Is largely dependent on £ 4 power, but we must go further £ £ before we can satisfy the pub £ 4 He that we are building some- £ £ thing it wants to ride in. If it £ ►I- looks like a grasshopper with a £ £ broken back, the people will not 4 ❖ ride in it. 4 “Now that we are beginning .<• £ to make trips <>l ten hours and £ £ more, they are going to demand •> £ more luxury in the air than they £ £ ever demanded on the railroad. £ £ That is going to put 11 load re- £ £ quirement on the engines in th,e £. £ matter of larcer fuselages in £ proportion to win.* areas.” £ ♦j* 4* *!• *s* *•♦ *** •** *** **• *** *** •** *•* **■* *♦* **♦ **• | AIRPORT PROGRESS IS FOUND VERY UNEVEN! Ruth Nichols’ Observations During Long Tour. Washington.,— Airport progress In the United States is exceedingly un-. even, according to Miss Ruth Nichols, who recently completed a flight of 12.060 miles, visiting forty-six states in the interest of tlie aviation country clubs movement, of which she repre-. sented the board of governors. She characterized-airport conditions as in a state of development. Some ports were, excellent, while others, she found, were much too small and badly situated to give promise of safe opera--tion. One landing field, dignified by; the name of airport, the flier said, 1 was only about 1.100 feet long and from 150 to 200 feet wide, and was entirely surrounded by woods. Miss Nichols, who flew the plane she used during the whole trip, made landings at more than one hundred cities. She never had to make a forced landing, she said, .and found that she could reach the ground at very slow speeds with the training ship and could average a landing speed of about thirty-eight miles an hour for a good three-point landing. Fuel consumption averaged about eight gallons an hour at 1.475 engine revolutions per minute. Oil was changed after every five or six hours of flying during the tour qnd the motor inspected after each 460 miles or so. At the elid of 250 hours .of flisrht the motor was taken down at Buffalo, but Miss Nichols said that no service was found to be Little variation was noted by the pilot in the requisite length of off or iffi-ianding speeds at varying altitudes the really Inch fields, such as those in Colorado, were reached. Above 6.0(H) or 7,000 feet Miss Nichols said she found long take--off runs and comparatively high landing speeds necessary. Som'e of these high fields had mHe-long runways, she added. During the course of the tour ten cities were added to the ten already planning country elute of the air. Canada Will Install Wireless Beacons Washington.—Radio beacons for air mail service in the prairie provinces of Canada are to be installed by tlie Department of National Defense, accorainj, to a report received by tlie United States Department of Commerce from A. H. Thiemann, trade commissioner at Ottawa. “The utility of the radio beacon in all sorts of weather is considered an improvement over ( the light beacons along the mail routes,” it was reported, “although lights will be continued at airports. Air mail plane - will carry on their instrument boards devices consisting of two little reeds painted white, which vibrate in sympathy with the signals sent out by the radio beacons. Tlie reeds are set side by side in a such a manner as to change in length as the strength of the signals increases or decreases. “When they show white stripes of the same length the pilot knows that he is on the right course, and when one is longer than the other he knot’s that he has deviated from his path.” The first two stations will be established at Cordoba, Manitoba, and Regina, Saskatchewan. Others may be erected later at Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, and Calgary, Alberta. Archbishop Blesses Plane* In a picturesque scene, attended by many visitors, airplanes from the Loreto airport, Italy, were recently blessed by the Archbishop of Loreto. This has grown to be a custom taking place on a yearly religious holiday. While tlie planes zoom above ( the church, some of them stunting,* tho archbishop pronounces benediction. Wicks Resigns From Navy Lieut. Commander Zeno W. Wicks, executive officer and technician of the Lakehurst Naval station, has resigned his commission in the navy to accept a post as chief co-erector and superintendent for the Goodyear-Zeppelin corporation. Commander Wicks Is supervising q&tual construction of one of the navy’s new super airships. Switzerland has completed the elec, trlfication of 1,300 miles for the main line o£ the federal railways. 0