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Zurich Herald, 1927-03-24, Page 7Of Interest to Motorists STEERING GEAR IS ONE v.4' VITAL POINTS 01.E CAR. If a' motorist can have adequate control over the direction in which its ear gavels he can usually avoid rierious trouble, Even if he cannot stop the machine by applying the brake, he certainly can shut of the .engine and eventually come to a halt, But if the steering apparatus of the vehicle sullenly ceases to function properly the driver is likely to toe quite out of luck. Under such cir cunstaneee one is likely to appreciate the feeling of a person in a small. oat approaching the precipice of iagara Fails. Only by good for- tune does the driver of a stemless car escape without mishap. Fortunately, steering gears do not often go bad. This fact Is due pri- marily to the great skill and care on the part of manufacturers of cars, who have done everything possible to make the steering apparatus fool proof. While no large percentage of the total. number .of motor accidents can be laid to steering gears that don't pea:tnit the driver to steer; yet there are oncragh of such undesirable irscidents to warrant every motorist giving careful consideration to this important aspect of his motoring ex- perience. TO INSURE EASY STEERING. In order to insure the easy steer- ing of a car and to give it the neces- sary strength and the required flexi- bility the front wheels of an automo- bile are provided with certain peculi- arities. At the lower end of the shaft on which the hand -steering, wheel is located there is a gear. This is .usually of the worm type, although other types are sometimes employed. Because of this gearing it is possible to swing the front wheels with very little effort on the part of the oper- ator. At the sante time it is neces- sary to exert considerable pressure on the front wheel to move the steering or hand wheel. This is how the adjustment has been worked out: An arm from this steering gear connects through a drag link to a steering knuckle upon which one of the front wheels is mounted: The other front wheel is made to move in unison with the first through means of a tie rod connect ed to its steering. knuckle: These knuckle ,joints are necessarily points of weakness as compared) with a solid axle. Consequently there must be provided some means 'of furnishing strength, UNDERGATIIEii AND FOREGATHER. Suppose the front wheels were Placed in a perfectly perpendicular position. It Is easy to see that con- siderable leverage would then be. ex- erted on the steering knuckle pins. Th1C would make for weak construc- tion and would also cause a big re- sistance to the turning movement that is incident to the steering. To overcome these faults the front wheels are given what is termed undergather. By this is meant the distance between then at the point where they touch the ground is less than at their tope. , As a result the weight of the ve- hicle bears directly'on a line with the steering knuckle pins and no lever- age is exerted. This undergather would result in excessive wear on the tires if both wheels were pointed straight ahead—that is, set parallel. To avoid this unnecessary wear the wheels aro given what is called fore- gather,• which means that they are slightly closer together at the front edge than at the rear. While this difference is only about three-eighths of an inch, it is very important that the front wheels toe in that much. Of course this does not apply to the rear wheels, which in practically all cases are exactly parallel to each other. WHEELS ALWAYS POINT AHEAD. In addition to this foregather and undergather, the steering knuckle pins are given a slight rake so as to produce a castor effect to the front wheels. This rake consists in placing the steering knuckle pins so that they . lean backward. The result of this engineering project when steering es that the centre of turning c4f the steering knuckle is a little ahead of the point of contact where the tire touches the road. This is done so that the drag incident to pushing the wheel along the road is back of the centre of turning. The result is that the wheels will always point directly forward unless interfered with. So, if a control rod becomes loosened, the tendency of the car is to go straight ahead. This is all to the good and often prevents accidents. The Honesty of Arabs.. An English geologist who has been in the Oman, behind Muscat, related. to the writer the following story of one ty, oaf the Arabs in this efe brocee. g 'a'longa mountain trail one day when I saw a small object on the ground and. picked it up. It proved to be a lea- ther roll such as the men in this region carry, in which were knick- knacks, flint and steel.Its nominal value might total five cents. I of- fered it to my guide and told 'him he could keep it. He thanked tiir-but took it and went over to a bowlder and placed the leather roll on it in a conspicuous place. I asked him why he had done this instead of keeping it. He replied that he could not keep it as it belonged to some- one else, who would undoubtedly re- turn and find it. "This incident is typical of these Arabs. We saw often caravan loads of dates -or merchandise dumped by the roadside and left for several days without guard. The Arabs had heard of good grazing in some valley and had taken their camels away, leaving their loads at come spot along the trail. And no one would think of molesting or stealing the dates or merchandise, although many other Arabs might pass along the sante route during the time of ab- sence of the owners." Fair Enough. A barrister was accosted by au ex - convict whom he had defended on several occasions in the past. "'Ere, guv'nor," said the man, "I want you to defend me again—and this time I've been falsely accused." "Go, and see my clerk about it!" re- plied the barrister. "I can only after da couple o' quid," pursued the criminal, "but I ask you to take it up 'cos I swear I'm as in- nocent as a new-born babe. I never pinched the stuff at all—•I swear I didn't." "Go and see my clerk!" repeated the other. "I'll 'make it . a fiver," begged the Man, thinking that the fete question was the obstacle to a favorable ane- w. Again he received the same re - 'Well, look 'ere, guv-nor," he cried in desperation, "I'm innocent, mind you, but if you'll got me off, I'll give You half the swag!" Trolleys at Balaclava. Baiaticlava, where the :Dight Brigade Made its charge in the Crimean war, le now crossed by a now electric rail- way, one of the few suburban electric steeet railway lines of Russia, At. other suburban line has just beet Opened, connecting S,ebaetopol With several surrounding smaller towns. T3aku, the richest city of the Caucasus qa centro of the great ilusslau ofi d trict, has had a street ear servieo tor only three) years., Winter Buds. • There is a little tree beside my door, A lovely thing of cool and gener- ous shade, And ,all the spring and summer days s'htegweessesrs - s . soft; g.een gar-,naent, intricately mad e. And when her gracious, arms were bare, Tossed by the Autumn wanton glee, I -wondered if she there, For her bright leaves, the friendly little tree. spreading winds in were not lonely But Winter has a wardrobe too, I know, Of ermine mantle and of crystal sheath And lo, to -day, undaunted by the snow, Nine small, brown, saucy sparrows for a wreath. `- —Grace Burnham. Young Verdi Smashes His Piano. When he was eight years old, Verdi had not yet shown many signs of the genius which he was to develop later. He had, however, a spinet upon which he was fond of picking out odd notes and fragments of melody, One day he struck two notes at once and then a third, which sounded very pleasant, be- ing, in faet, the ordinary common chord. The next clay he tried to do the same again, but could not find the right key. At this he got so angry that he picked up a hammer that was lying by and began to masa. the in- strument to pieces. Fortunately, the boy's father was near and rescued the spinet with a sharp blow on the head which his son remembered for years afterwards. What impressed him later still more was the kindness of a neigh- bor who repaired the instrument and who wrote in the inside of i.t: "This I do gratis •ineconsiderat.ion of the good disposition shwa by the boy, Giuseppe Verdi, in learning to play this instru- ment, which amply compensates ma for my trouble." Cent al Japan Again Stricken by "Qu 1°7lNat S.A BAY Mitt Ai l �goa � ;yin e v AWA. Reports of great loss of life and vast destruction are being received follow- ing the serious earth tremors in the central island of Hansb:lu, Japan, The; shaded portion of the above snap indij Dates the aevastated area in the great disaster of 1023 when 98,000 lives were lost. Directly north is the area 'affect,. ed by the present eruption. The island; is about 75 miles wider than from Oseka and Kobe on the south to the .northern coast line and apparently moat of that territory suffered severe- ly. Except for Kyoto, Osaka and Dobe there are few large cities in the area, which eeemis to have reduced the death list, The shook, according to advices, reached its highest point of intensity in the ne.tli, Mineyama alone report- ing 1,000 killed. Near Kyoto, an au - Persistence Wins. .,- Say not "I've failed" because the sue Goes down upon your tka.sk undone' To -morrow is another day, When you again may join the fray, And some day, should your steps not lag, A victory will crown your flag. Say not "I've faded" because you see No door fly open to your key, For though you may not enter in At once, persistence still may win; Or, should you still be ieft outside, You still may smile and spay: "I tried " And failure, in the eyes of men, • May rank as high achievement when The motive and the will are tried • By tests that through a,ll time abide; And when life's play's again rehearsed, What once seemed last may then be first. A. B. C, e6 An Astute Boy. A little boy went to stay with his grandmother and found her very par- ticular about his table manners. "Grandma," said he, "should I eat my pudding with a fork?" "Of course you should." "Well, have you a nee I might practise on?" Fans in Ancient Egypt. Ostrich feather fans were used by Egyptian Pharaohs and princesses. We ought to. doneighbor all the �our I, good we can. If you do good, gad Will be dorso to you; but if you do evil the same will bo measured back to you again.—Pilpay ,.. Not Fluent. "Is he a solid talker?" "I think so -his speech flow." cieet capital of Japan, the Amarube bridge, the largest and highest railroad span in the Orient, is reported to have collapsed•. At Kumiyama and other points shown ou the northern coast horror and panic prevailed and people were observed from an aeroplane to be wandering in a dazed state on the beaches. Many villages. are said to have been leveled by fires which fol- lowed the 'quake, MEN . D WOMEN 0" TODAY "My Friend the Prince." There is, we hear, an enterprising photographer in Sydney waiting for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York in the hope that it will bring him a harvest as golden as the one he reaped on the oocaslou of the visit of the Prince of Wales. He had two large photographs of the Royal visit, one showing the Prince shaking hands with the Lorca Mayor, the other a panorama of the multitude of faces in the crowd. By an ingeni- ous method of enlarging the individual figures hi the crowd, and substituting them for the Lord Mayor, he was able to produce photographs of the Prince shaking hands• in the warmest, most intimate way with each person in. the multitude. This enabled thousands of people to send pictures of a memorable meeting (that never b.appen,ed9 to relatives in all parts of the country. `Royal" Farm Laborer. At the little, village of Berrien, Es- sex, lives a farm worker who, if he wisrhed, could turn np his nose at peo- ple whose ancestors "came aver with the Oonquee-or." He is Mr. Thomas Wiliiam Goodwin, and' his ancestry has been traced) back to Earl Godwin, father of King Harold, who was killed at the Battle of Hastings, in 1066. Deprived of their wealth and :pos- doesn't 1 The island of Mystery. Easter Island, in the Southern Pa- oific, is the most mysterious spot in the world. In spite of years of research and study it remains a mystery. Aside from a few trees which have been planted there the island has not a tree or large shrub. The entire land is covered with hugh stone images erect- ed by a people et whom nothing is known. What the images represent who made them and how long ago they were erected no one knows. The imges are crude and very much alike, probably some gods or devils—all mak- ing a mystery of which the world knows nothing. New Chilblain Cure. Elastie pressure is being recom- mended for the treatment of chilblains. A'"i`ubber band, Vein. wide, is stretched over the affected part at its greatest thickness, and the relief from the itch- ing and throbbing is said to be instan- taneous. The pressure must be firm but not painful. sessions when King Harold died, his relatives were obliged to take to the laud and become farm laborers,, keep- ing, however, the name of the Saxon king. To -day, Harold's descendants still plough the fields for a living. Mr. Goodwin is a typical Saxon, with fair hair and blue eyes, and is quite content so long as he can do his work we'll, cultivate his.patch of garden, and bring up his family of two daughters and one son, who is known in the via lege as "Little Ding Harald," It was not until last Christmas that he knew anything about his kingly des- cent. Comedy of H. G. Wells. Mr. H. G. Wells must be highly amused: at the fuss being 'made over him by the French postal authorities in the village of Grasse, where lie is living just now. His post -bag has been. so heavy that the postmaster, not knowing who he really was, began to suspect him of being a spy of some A Prrtyeir for Joy. God of the green fields, mid the' eare4 less lioturs,. Thou who haat eash.fotked lover hap• py thin»)-- Andi lavished oelors on.• the 101101160kflowers, And given the Humblest bird. the Joe of wlugs; Thou who bast painted this fair earth and sky A perfect artist with a perfect plan ei Touching the ooui of 'such a thing as And touching still the soul et ever man, . Grant that we find ,our perfect joy 1n Thee, Ana thaouag11 Tliee, in the JOY of ear•er9`a man; That, serving both, we know true ser -1 vice free, And happiness the end. of Thy •greats plan! Vera I. Arlett.I St. Dun stao.'s by the Sea. St. Dunetan's, the great lastitutioni which hie done so much for these who. lost their aigb.'t as a result of the War, is shortly to close dawn its Londc'nt workshop. In this workshop many hundreds of; blinded heroes have been trained to adapt themselves to their life of dark- ness, and have regained the sense oil usefulness, service, and even hope. Now, however, the London workshop is beeoming too large for the number! of men who ,stfill need training, and In a ferw months' time these are to be transferred to the institution's, coin valescent home at Brighton, which ls; to be enlarged. The aftercare work at St. Dunetan's; will still go on as before, and wile con- , tinue to be. directed from Londe -n.1 Over 2,000 men have been trained au) Sot. Dunstan's, and are still under the care of its organization. Well Laid Shingles Help Keep House l Warm Throughout. The shoulders of •certain self -spacing shingles seal the slots. In this way, the thousands of openings found in the ordinary individual shingle roof are oiosed. Neither rain nor snow can) blew through to the root boamrde ands between them. Heat from within the house cannot escape. Nor can the heat kind, engaged in fomenting a revolu- from the summer sun beat into the tion. He informed' the police and the %house. Such advantages make the villa was watched. Finally the Chief I most practical of individual shing1es.'1 of Police visited Mr. Wells and asked Mr. Wells why he received' so many letter "I really don't know" was the Prepare Cellar Steps to Prevent answer. It Is. �aidrfhat the authorities Accidents. now believe him to be a fortune-teller Since the -cellar stairs will be in fres et tite swindling variety and are still spent use during the winter and since they are ordinarily a rather dusky-, shadowy flight, It is a good plan to watohing him. Learn Both to Flay and Work. While it is wise to concentrate up- on getting on in the world in the first half of one's life, it is a tragic mistake not to begin thereafter to indulge in a rational aan,ount of rent and enjoy- ment. Just as one has to learn how to work successfully, one must learn how to play successfully. Too many men do not realize this until too late. Then they find that the leisure to which they had looked forward for many years fails to yield the pleasure they had expected and brings them nothing but lonesomeness and dis- lilusionment. The best plan is to lighten the daily load as one grows older by delegating responsibilities to trained associates, but not to retire completely. Neither all work and no Play nor all stay and no work makes a happy ending of one's days. • Animal 20 Feet Tall. A dinosaur from Africa now being assembled in London is expected to be more than 90 feet long and 20 feet tall. C"``W • til Briton's Bravest Deed. .The Royal,. Humane Society has awarded its gold medal for the bravest deed of the year 1926 to Hairy Smith, mate of the fishing boat Sarepta, who rescued a com- rade in a violent storm off the coast of England. His vessel was return- ing to Lowestoft, its home port, when a sudden lurch threw one of the fish- ermen, engaged in cleaning nets, into the sea. Before the ship could be stopped the sailor, wearing heavy boots and oilskins, was 300 yards astern and had missed the lifebuoy thrown to him. Smith discarded his boots and oil- skins and leaped' into the sea, reach- ing the now unconscious man and holding him until the ship was manoeuvred for rescue work with a life line. The task was extremely difficult, but Smith held on to his Man, and the two were finally hauled on deck. The society reports that it dealt with 650 cases during the year, while 600 parsons were rewarded for sav- ing aving 585 lives. paint the edges of the treads with white paint. The smallest fraction of tight that reaches the steps. will thr.ow up the white strips into comparati.'ve vividness, and •thus eliminate chanced of tripping or missing a step because of the dine Sight. Must Be Reason for Color. There should be a goad reason for every bit of design or patterns that en<. ters Into the deooration of s, room, Some women frail to achieve satlsface tory effects in interior decoration simply because they have never +takeat the trouble to study the problem. Right. The bashful bachelor encountered s, neighbor, a young mother, and, wish/ ing to be neighborly, asked: -- "How is your little girl, Mrs. Jones?'" "My little boy is quite well, thank( you," replied the proud mother. "Oh, it's a boy!" exclaimed. thea bachelor, in confusion. "I knew it wad_ one or the other." Thirty-five per cent. of the chicksi! hatched every spring, die, Proposed Mooring Masts on the Empire Airship Routes laaan 4 i ,i T •!'ate :s /� 0d1^ZSS,Ptce.. 0 :r Q Er IU ! , UNITED $1,42,4 SmAar.,a'_. MOOR/'N M gSTS , q_ nes, 47ai WHERE AIRSHIPS MAY SWING SOM E TIME IN NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE Piii'l/A'rr • THEA_„s a. �h. yi•ii'x.•:ai The above snap shows the various points at which airship mooring masts may be erected on British hniplre routes. In Canada the question of loca- tions is still engaging the officials of national defense. An expert from 'Bri- tain will shortly assist with the selections. It is desirable to have these lasts close to places with good railway fealties, but the necessary land near such centres is thought to be too expensive for the present. The land question Is the greatest difficulty for the present. For purposes of compari- son Mooring masts have 'been placed in the Wrap at Vancouver, Ottawa, 1Iont- real and Halifax. Only two of the masts are et present In existence, one at Caa'dington, in Bedfordshire,, and the other at Ismailia, on the Suez canal. A third is in course of erection at Karachi, In northern Indlix.. With regard to the others, a special mission is being sent out from the air ministry to examine the suggested sites, In West Africa Freetown, in Sierra Leone, or Bathurst, in Gambia, Into, tae chosen. If, on the other bend, the eastern route through Africa is eventually rilcaen, Mombassa may be the site of a mast. Capetown would naturally be the terminal point on -this route,. bait if it is, there may be a elation also at Durban, for it is regarded as poesibie. that airships may event -nab- 'fly to Ausfiralia via Africa, in which oasts Durban would bo the place for mooring mist, In Australia, if the route via India is chosen, there will be a station at Port I1aarwin, and thereafter one at Mei4 bourne. or Sydney, er both, as the Australian government May see fit. If, oa the other Band, the -route is to be via Afa•ica, the first station in'Australlata likely to be established at Porth. In India it May be assumed that one et more masts will be established south of Karachi. - .