McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, March 03, 1938, Image 3
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McCormick messenger. McCormick, s. c.. Thursday, march 3,1938
Safety Workers Recruit Science
In Battle on Highway Fatalities
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ELECTRIC
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AUTOMATIC HIGHWAY LIGHTING
Clintock. This development will
also make use of infra-red light
rays and photo-electric cells, he
says.
When the first “one-lunger”
chugged down Main street, a speed
of 30 miles an hour was considered
remarkable, and as a result, no par
ticular demand was put on the
brakes. Nowadays, stock cars are
manufactured with much greater
speeds, and more efficient brakes
have followed—brakes which can
bring cars to a stop in less than
half the distance formerly required,
if the proper traction can be ob
tained on the road surface.
Such traction is a simple matter
when road surfaces are dry, ac
cording to Professor Lessells, edi
tor of the technical journal of the
American Society of Mechanical En
gineers.
Eliminating the “hazprd zone”—
where wet pavement causes skid
ding accidents—will be one of sci
ence’s greatest contributions to traf-
Antomatic Gadgets Will Eliminate Human Element in Autos
of the Future, Say Pioneering Engineers—Read and
Gasp at Their Elaborate Precautionary Plans!
By JOSEPH W. LaBINE
Automobile accidents dealt sudden death to 39,700 persons
and cost the nation two billion dollars last year.
That is not news. It is an all-time record and a disgrace
which should be emblazoned in letters of fire along every high
way of the land, although it already has screamed from many
headlines in the last few weeks.
- But today, for the first time, there is a definite, organized
war being carried into every corner of the United States by an
army of 8,000,000 who, with their families, make up a quarter
of the nation’s population, in an effort to drive the grim reaper
from the highway once and for all.
j THAT is NEWS.
And scientists today are able to predict confidently that
the time is in sight when science will take over the con
trol of a moving car when it is not &
safe to leave the control in the
driver’s hands—and restore that
control to the driver at times when
nature would ordinarily take it
away from him.
THAT is news, too.
Twelve far-seeing national, civic,
educational and business organiza
tions are recruiting the troops for
the war on death.
. One would expect to find lined up
in such a campaign the American
Automobile association, the Auto
motive Safety Foundation, the High
way Education board, the Interna
tional Association of Chiefs of Po
lice, the National Automobile Deal
ers’ association and the National
Safety council—and so they are.
But it is encouraging to learn that
the banner is also being carried by
such ordinarily independent groups
as the American Legion, the Gen
eral Federation of Women’s Clubs,
the National Congress of Parent-
Teachers and the National Grange.
Particularly the National Grange,
for in the rural areas more auto
mobile accidents result in swift and
horible death, relatively, than in
the more crowded thoroughfares of
the cities.
Science Takes a Hand.
And it is especially heartening to
discover that two active groups rep
resent the scientific resources of
two great universities. These are
the Traffic Safety institute of North
western university in Evanston, 111.,
and the bureau of street traffic re
search of Harvard university at
Cambridge, Mass.
Two “crystal-gazers” of science
—Dr. Miller McClintock, director of
the Harvard bureau, and Prof. John
M. Lessells, of Massachusetts In
stitute of Technology—recently star
tled the automotive world with vi
sions of the day science will make
highway accidents next to impossi
ble.
Dr. McClintock speaks of the day
to come when invisible “electric
bumper” rays will prevent one mo
torist from colliding with another,
no matter how careless he may
be.
“It is possible to lay in the pave
ment itself electrical cables which,
when a car comes to a dangerous
curve or around an obstruction,
would automatically take the steer
ing from the driver by radio con
trol and thus center the car over
the cable and steer it safely around
the curve or obstruction,” Dr. Mc
Clintock explains.
Pointing to the success of “in
visible eye” controls in other fields,
the scientist predicts the use of
electric bumpers. This would be
made possible by installing infra
red lights in the rear of automo
biles, which would actuate photo
electric cells in front of other cars.
This “invisible eye” would reduce
the speed of a car overtaking an
other too rapidly.
Lighting the Way.
Cars of the future may them
selves turn on and off the lights
used to illuminate highways at
night, it is predicted by Dr. Mc-
Here are traffic developments
predicted for the future: (1) Guid
ing cars automatically by invisible
rays from cables in a street. (2)
Ending motoring’s “hazard zone”
with—in effect—a battery of wind
shield wipers through non - skid
methods. (3) Infra-red rays from
car to car to slow down vehicles
approaching too rapidly. (4) Radio
beam warnings from one car to an
other. (5) Electric eyes to control
highway lighting so that any given
area is illuminated only when traffic
requires it.
on the road—10,000,000 more cars
than now choke the highways!
Except for the relatively few
heavy traffic routes which are prop
erly lighted, the inadequate systems
used for illuminating the highways,
and the blinding glare of head
lights on the road, are two chief
reasons given for rural roads being
the scene of most fatal auto acci
dents.
Science is developing a new sys
tem of highway lights for certain
areas which will supply long-range
visibility without glare—illuminat
ing the road so that a driver can
see as far ahead as in clear day
light.
Glareless Headlights.
Because the taxpayers would
groan if all highways were flood
lighted by this new lighting sys
tem, traffic experts say that glare
less headlights will be necessary on
90 per cent of the highways. Here,
too, science has the answer in de
velopment of polarized glass for
headlights and windshields to elim
inate glare without reducing the
amount of light on the road ahead.
Looking to the car of the future
itself, the public is assured by the
auto makers that the cars of the
next few years will make the pres
ent models look more antiquated
than the first horseless carriages.
A crystal-gazing picture of what
m
Dr. Miller McClintock, director of Harvard university bureau of
street traffic research, examines a model “city of the future,” where
traffic will move quickly along super-highways.
fic safety, according to Professor
Lessells.
Pointing out that the solution of
the problem must be found at the
point where the car makes con
tact with the road, Professor Les
sells adds: “If we can instantane
ously create a dry surface, over
which the tire is always passing,
the car’s brakes will keep it under
control. I anticipate that some way
will soon be found to make this
possible.”
Autos on Increase.
The car owner who thinks that
traffic safety will come only when
fewer autos are on the highways is
in for a big disappointment, if a
recent survey of automobile and
traffic experts means anything.
They expect, on the basis of pres
ent trends, that the next 20 years
will find 37,000,000 motor vehicles
kind of a car today’s driver may
be riding in tomorrow, is given by
Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, World
war ace, and engineering “proph
et.”
Captain Rickenbacker predicts:
“It will be an attractive car to ride
in. In size and appearance the in
terior will be like a small living
room. It will be air-conditioned
and there will be no noise or vi
bration.
“You will have to look twice to
find the engine. It will be less
conspicuous than in cars today. It
may be x-shaped or it may be radi
al like certain airplane engines. It
may be in front or it may be be
hind. In any case, it will be lighter
and more compact but just as pow
erful as the engines you are used
to.”
© Western Newspaper Union.
Historic
Hoaxes
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
© Western Newspaper Union.
Horrors of the Drouth
TOURING the great drouth of 1936
an enterprising photographer
sold to news picture companies
three “views from the drouth area of
North Dakota” which were printed
in newspapers all over the country.
One showed the water in the Mis
souri river near Stanton so low that
automobiles could ford the “Big
Muddy” without difficulty; another
depicted “a herd of cattle from the
drouth area contentedly grazing on
the state capitol grounds at Bis
marck”; and a third, the whitened
skull of a steer lying on a bare spot
of pasture that had been parched
and cracked by the heat.
Widespread publication of these
pictures caused great indignation
throughout North Dakota because
its citizens knew that they were
gross exaggerations. One of the
leading papers of the state, the
Fargo Forum, exposed the hoax by
reprinting the pictures labeled “It’s
a Fake.”
Along with the Missouri river pic-
ture was printed one showing a
Stanton ferry crossing the stream
which, it declared, was 15 feet deep
at that place. The second was la
beled “a photographic trick—super
imposing a picture of a herd of
cattle on a picture of the North
Dakota capitol building. Where
those cows are presumably grazing
is a graveled parking lot at the
rear of the state capitol, thickly dot
ted with cars at all hours of the
day.” As for the steer’s skull it
was called a “movable ‘prop’ which
comes in handy for photographers
who want to touch up their pictures
with a bit of the grisly” and it was
pointed out that it was “a typical
alkali flat, left when melting snow
water and spring rains have passed.
Without difficulty, one can find these
in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Indi
ana, wherever one chooses.”
• • •
The Floating Cabaret
D ACK in 1924 the New York Her-
aid Tribune printed a story
which sent the United States coast
guard on a wild goose chase all up
and down the Atlantic seaboard. It
was in the days of prohibition and
this story described a 17,000-ton
“floating cabaret” with an old-fash
ioned American bar, a ballroom, a
jazz band and beautiful chorus girls
—all provided for the entertainment
of wealthy New Yorkers who visit
ed this “joy spot” every night.
The story had been turned in by
a young reporter named Sanford
Jarrell who claimed that he had
been an eye-witness of the merry
making going on there. Then Jar
rell was sent out to get more details
of the illicit bar. But instead of
coming back with one, he sent back
a signed confession that it was all
a hoax. He had concocted the yarn
to win the attention of his city edi
tor. So copies of his confession,
with the Herald-Tribune’s apologies
for being the unwitting perpetrator
of the hoax, were sent to all the oth
er New York papers which had been
playing up the story, based upon
Jarrell’s “revelations.”
However, a movie company which
was just about to release a new pic
ture called “Wine” capitalized on
the excitement over this story. It
placed an advertisement in all the
papers in the form of a letter signed
by “the captain of the 12-mile limit
cafe” and advised readers to go to
the manager of your favorite pic
ture theater and whisper “show me
Wine.” He will do the rest. A great
many did—and he did, thereby in
creasing box office receipts mate
rially.
• • •
The Iron Maiden
C'OR many years Nuremberg, Ger-
* many, was famous all over the
world for a relic that was consid
ered the most terrible instrument of
torture ever devised by man. It was
called the “Iron Maiden,” a huge
iron box, in the form of a cloaked
and hooded woman, with hinged
sides. Inside was an ingenious ar
rangement of razor-sharp pro
jections so placed that, when a com
plicated clockwork slowly closed the
doors upon the unfortunate prisoner,
his eyes, heart and other vital or
gans were pierced.
According to tradition, more than
one witch died a horrible death with
in the embrace of the “Iron Maid
en” and the sight of it caused many
a shudder when this and other sinis
ter examples of medieval cruelty
from the notorious tower of Nurem
berg were taken on a tour and ex
hibited in the leading cities of the
world. In 1931, however, the “Iron
Maiden” was exposed as a hoax by
Fraulein Hildegard Kartner, who
announced that this instrument of
torture did not date from medie-
vsif times, nor had anyone ever been
killed in it. Instead, the “Iron Maid
en” was the invention of her great-
uncle, an antiquarian who had con
structed it back in 1867 to satis
fy an apparent public taste for
“horror relics” and who had made
up an appropriate story to go with it.
Mocking Bird States
The mocking bird is the state bird
of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi,
Tennessee and Texas.
OP?. SEW
4^"* Ruth Wyeth Spears
Min
fl£D
LIGHT BUM FMM
mm
RED
W E HAVE been hearing a
good deal about American
handcrafts lately. Of course,
quilts have always been impor
tant among our needlework hand
crafts. So many readers have
written asking me for more of the
old fashioned embroidery stitches
that were used in making crazy
patchwork that I have collected
dozens and dozens of these quaint
stitches from old quilts. Some
of them are so attractive and col
orful that it seemed a pity not
to use them for modem decora
tive purposes.
This gay little double house
effect built upon blanket stitches
with chain stitches flaunting from
all gables was the invention of
someone’s great-grandmother and
I couldn’t resist using it for a
luncheon set of light blue linen.
It originally adorned a light blue
satin patch in a quilt and all the
other colors indicated here in the
sketch are the original colors.
All the strands of six-strand
mercerized embroidery thread
were used for the luncheon set.
The mats were hemmed first and
then the blanket stitches were
taken through the hems to make
a firm edge as shown at the lower
right. All the other stitches used
are clearly illustrated. Just the
edge stitches without the little
houses were used for the nap
kins. Many more authentic old
patchwork stitches are illustrat
ed in a new leaflet which is free
upon request with the booklet of
fered below.
Have you a copy of Mrs.
Spears’ new book SEWING? It
TIPS ,0
(jardeners
Seed Treatment
^EEDS are sometimes treated to
^ hasten germination or to com
bat disease. The following prac
tices are recommended by Harold
N. Coulter, vegetable expert of
the Ferry Seed Institute.
For more rapid germination:
Chip or nick the seed coat of
the following flower seeds: Lathy-
rus (perennial sweet pea,) the
lupins, moonflower, all morning
glories, and annual sweet peas.
Be careful not to damage the in
terior of the seed.
Remove the tough outer shell of
abronia (sand verbena,) castor
bean, nasturtium, and momor-
dica.
Soak the following flower seeds
in water for 12 hours: Canna lily,
Job’s tears, sweet pea, all morn
ing glories, and momordica.
For preventing disease:
Soak the following vegetable
seeds in hot water at exactly 122
degrees F. for precisely 30 min
utes to combat black rot and
black leg: Broccoli, brussels
sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and
collards.
^Tavotlte /Qeclpa
of} the IVeeh
1 tsp. salt
2 slices of onion
Va tsp. paprika
PIMIENTO BISQUE
T HE soup described below is
delicious. It has a delectable
flavor and the rich color of the
pimientoes gives just the desired
red touch to the finished product.
1 can cream of
celery soup
1 cup milk
3 pimientoes
If canned condensed soup is
used, prepare according to direc
tions on the label and then add 1
cup of milk. If canned ready-to-
serve cream of celery soup is
used, pour the contents into a pan
and add the cup of milk. Rub the
pimientoes through a sieve and
add to the soup. Add salt, onion
and paprika and heat until the
soup is hot. Stir frequently to pre
vent scorching. Remove the onion
before serving. Serves 6.
MARJORIE H. BLACK.
contains forty-eight pages of step-
by-step directions for making slip
covers and dressing tables; cur
tains for every type of room;
lampshades, rug and other use
ful articles for the home. Copy
will be sent postpaid, upon re
ceipt of 25 cents (coins pre
ferred). Address Mrs. Spears, 210
South Desplaines St., Chicago, 111.
LINEAGE
LONGER THAN
A KING 9 SI
For 80 years, generation after
generation of flower and vege
table seeds have been grown
and gradually perfected by
the unique Ferry-Morse Seed-
Breeding Institute. Some have
twenty generations behind them
—for it takes time to produce
prize-winning strains.
Each year, before Ferry's
Seeds are packeted, the same
Institute tests them all for
growing ability—and grows and
analyzes each variety for trae-
ness to type.
Only seeds that have passed
their tests appear in the famil
iar Ferry’s Seeds store display.
Choose your seeds there — and
be sure of a fine garden this
year! 5c a packet and up. 1938
novelties too! Ferry-Morss
Seed Co., Detroit, San Francisco.
FERRY’S SEEDS
Habit of Industry
Acquire the habit of untiring in>
dustry and of doing everything
well.—Todd.
Now Real Economy!
1 doz. St. Joseph Aspirin lOo
3 do*. St. Jossph Aspirin—_20o
8 Vi do*. St. Joseph Aspirin-3 So
St.Joseph
GENUINE PURE ASPIRIN
Have Both
If there is anything better than
to be loved, it is loving.—Anon.
Our Friends
Friends are not so easily mads
as kept.—Lord Halifax.
BACKACHES
NEED WARMTH
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