Monthly Archives: September 2006

American Drama 1916 Part 1

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A SPECIAL YEAR OF AMERICAN DRAMA:

BY EDITH J. R. ISAACS

(Chairman American Drama Committee, Drama League of America)

IN China, any man who writes an unmoral play is threatened by the social religious code with a purgatory lasting as long as his play continues to be produced. This is exactly as it should be. It is a delightfully simple and obvious means of placing the responsibility of art to society where it finally belongs—with the artist, relieving society of the burden of obligation— so large a one with us—of being the receivers of bad art.

It is easy to conceive the peace and satisfaction that comes to the soul of an ardent and devout Chinese first-nighter in the knowledge that the author of some frightful farce will suffer at least as great a share of torture through his performance as the audience has suffered. The difficulty is that to make such a law prohibitive and such a remedy effective, an artist must possess not only a living fear of purgatory, but a Chinese faith in the law, and a nation must possess a Chinese assurance in regard to the changelessness of morals.

None of these avenues of escape is open to the American. With us, of the growing West, the last alone is more than a minor difficulty. We are not very old nor very wise; we know just enough of right and wrong to know how little we know of what is really good or bad in the spirit, in the theater or in the communal life of which any national theater should be the mirror. We are composite of a score of nations, to each one of which social and artistic right and wrong is a different thing and a thing differing with each generation that passes. We look back over our history and see how variously men have reckoned morals, especially dramatic morals. It is less than two hundred years ago that a deputation of our Puritan forefathers, on their way from a cock-fighting and bull-baiting exhibit, pulled down a building in which some young radicals in art were attempting to give a performance of “Hamlet” (or was it “Othello”?), the very thought of which shocked their sensibilities. It is within the memory of most of us that “The Doll’s House” was accounted a play too immoral for any young woman to see, and the day when “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” was censored, although too close to be history at all, has been followed by the greedy reception of “Damaged Goods” as a twentieth century Morality.

With such a record behind us, Americans with imagination and a sense of humor will not set themselves up as judges of the morality of any serious art or art work. But to judge the theater, to measure its worth as a factor in national life, is not to judge art, but an institution. And institutions, especially in a nation that is fortunate enough to be still in the making, should have their value tested daily, like electric wires, even if there is no gauge more definable than our “national consciousness” to test them by. Are they American? one may always ask. Are they sincere? Are they true to the times in which we live, true to the actualities of life or to the things of which we dream?

EVER since the theater became an established fact in America, which, let us hopefully remember, is not so very long, the people have passed judgment upon it as they have upon the constitution, the prison system, the steel trust and the army. Conservatives, reformers and radicals alike have been more nearly agreed than they ever were about anything else. It was not related to our literature or our life; it did not aid our social, economic or artistic progress; it did not reflect our character nor mirror our hopes and fears. It was un-American, it was undemocratic, it was unethical, it was material ; worst of all, it was dull.

Having delivered themselves of this opinion, the people paused. Those who were unconnected with the theater, as an institution, turned their backs upon it, and, as their ancestors had shouted “Caterpillars of the commonwealth,” they shouted “The Syndicate,” “the Commercial Manager,” “The Vain and Selfish Star.” Theatrical folk, on the other hand, stood with shocked but eager faces watching an ever-lengthening line at the box-office, and groaned “The Public.” The playwright—not the mechanic who revamped foreign models, but the young American to whom the drama was the living art and the theater its natural home—usually stood between the two, his untried play in his hands.

What was there to do about it? Whose concern was it? About ten years ago it occurred to a great many people at the same time that the condition of the theater was the concern of every one who was interested in it; that here was a public question on which men and women alike shared the all-powerful suffrage of the box-office; that if this suffrage was abused and the theater we elected to have was unworthy, there was something to do about it besides exchanging unpleasant personalities or writing big words about the decay of the drama.

Edgar Allan Poe, who ought to be, but is not, as well known for his illuminating dramatic criticism as for “The Pit and the Pendulum,” has this to say, apropos of the revival of American drama at the time of Mrs. Mowatt’s “Fashion”:

“That the drama, in general, can go down, is the most untenable of all untenable ideas. When sculpture shall fail, and painting shall fail, and poetry, and music; when men shall no longer take pleasure in eloquence, and in grace of motion, and in the beauty of woman, and in truthful representations of character, and in the consciousness of sympathy in their enjoyment of each and all, then, and not till then, may we look for that to sink into insignificance, which, and which alone, affords opportunity for the conglomeration of these infinite and imperishable sources of delight.”

Poe knew that the trouble with the American theater was, not the American drama, but the American theater which rendered the best of American drama impotent and homeless. It was un-American behind the footlights because we had imported it, managers, actors, plays, traditions and all, from England at a time when the drama was too unpopular with the fathers of the nation to win a native home; because, with our Puritan heritage of hatred for the theater, we had never had the artistic strength to throw off the foreign fetters. It was un-American in the pit because the audience was conglomerate and had no common art tradition.

Small Houses 1916

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LITTLE HOUSES IN BRICK AND STUCCO

REASONABLENESS and imagination, recognized by the Mediaeval builders as the underlying principles of all great architecture. should be as inseparably united in the small home of today us they were in the great cathedrals of old. For the little house is an expression of thought, though a very different kind of a one, as well us a cathedral. It is also an expression of art—if beauty be combined with usefulness. Art was born as has often been pointed out, when useful things were accurately and beautifully made were formed with vision. A square box strengthened with iron bands was a useful thing. When the bands were made in graceful forms and the box carved, then it became beautiful—a work of art. When a jar formed of earth to hold water was made in a graceful shape, then it became a work of art, A house staunchly made to defy enemies and shut out the rains was a satisfactory shelter, but it came not under the head of architecture until it was made shapely as well as stout, when doors and windows were set in symmetrical relation and the roof pitched to a pleasing angle. Common sense must go hand in hand with beauty, or as Michaelangelo says it: “Beauty must rest on necessities. The line of beauty is the result of perfect economy

Beauty must he organic, said the old architects. Outside embellishment can easily become a deformity unless introduced in the most sympathetic of ways. This truth seems especially obvious in the small house. Large houses carry adornment better than the small ones, but even they reach to highest dignity when left free from what is generally termed ornament. The very word ornament. Pater points out, indicates that it is non-essential. The small house depends almost entirely upon structural symmetry for its beauty. A little home built upon a common sense floor plan with a simple exterior in which a delicate imagination and sense of proportion is expressed, is one of the pleasantest objects to be seen in the whole world.

There are hundreds of thousands of little homes in America, yet a well balanced, attractive, common-sense one is almost an exception. Poorly formed houses, erratic roof lines, porch pillars heavy enough to do duty as bridge piers, yet upholding nothing but a light support for vines, chimneys of brick laid in a crazy bed-quilt pattern, painted in the most startlingly contrasting colors, make our towns and country-sides ludicrous rather than lovely.

Under the head of “reasonableness” comes an important question —that of the building material. Much has been written upon the economy of permanent construction (though apparently more costly), of the advantages of houses of brick, stone and cement over those of wood. There will always be people who prefer wood above all other house building material. They like its color, its sentiment, its historical association, like the texture of hand-split shingles or the effect of wide clapboards; and there will always be those who like houses of brick, of stone, of concrete, those materials which incorporate the promise of long life. which seem impregnable fortresses against the attacks of the destroyers fire, age and the elements. It is for the benefit of the latter host of home builders that we are presenting an important group of small house plans, plans such as the majority of people are looking for, plans which are not at all expensive, that are practical and convenient within and lovely and charming to look at.

One group of these houses is of that most historic and excellent material—brick. They are unusually good examples of the beauty and practicality of permanent, fireproof, small houses. Brick has been in favor with builders from time immemorial. The Romans as far back as the sixth century used brick resembling a tile somewhat as far as its thinness was concerned. English houses of brick built in twelve hundred and sixty are still standing, testifying to the Roman influence. But they were used even before that date, for in the first part of Stephen’s reign, eleven hundred and thirty-five, the leading citizens of London advocated the covering of houses by brick to lessen the risk of loss by fire, to prevent any more of the disastrous conflagrations that periodically swept London, fed by wooden houses thatched with straw.

Brick in addition to its fire-resisting character has the quality of pleasing color. This twofold advantage puts it high in favor with home builders. Besides its good color it has interesting texture and can be laid in many decorative ways. The crudity of the early hand-made unpainted brick gave to them a varied richness of color modulation and surface texture that was so much more pleasing than those one-toned ones smoothly painted in bright red, neatly striped with white, that modern makers have happily taken to imitating those varying tones of color that time and weather give. These modern brick are made in every possible modulation of reds, browns, tans, terra cottas and grays, and in varying degrees of rough and smooth texture so that the builder of the tiniest of little homes or the tallest of skyscrapers can select a tone and a quality embodying his ideal. These modern quality-brick are especially charming for the small house, for they save it from the raw newness that offends the eye, giving it instead the time mellowed air that puts it in sympathy with Nature.

Small Houses continued here…

Prices of Building Materials 1916

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THE TREND OF PRICES OF BUILDING MATERIALS

AMONG architects and others interested in the cost of building, the actual situation in the construction field is not always entirely understood, and at the present time particularly the percentages of increase in prices of materials that have taken place since the effect of the war in Europe has been felt in this country, are being quoted by architects to their clients in the most general terms, due apparently to a lack of definite and specific information.

“It is of interest to note that in spite of the fact that during the past year and a half, prices of building material have been steadily increasing, the plans filed for building operations indicate that in general a greater volume of work has been going on during that period than when prices were normal. Of course, consideration should be given to the fact that a large percentage of the permits granted never proceed further, or are delayed by a variety of causes, so proper allowances must be made when estimating the amount of building that will be done within the current year. At the present time, there is far from unanimity of opinion among manufacturers and dealers in building materials regarding the price situation in the building field: some claim that when the war ceases prices will drop because in their opinion the principal stimulus to our present expansion has been due to this cause, while others declare that as long as the cost of labor remains high the market will hold firm and little can be expected in the •nature of a decline.

“Before reviewing the market on building materials, it may be of interest to glance at the figures for operations during the past few months. Permits for May covering seventy-seven of the principal cities show the largest amount of proposed work for any single month during the history of our country, the total aggregating $106,433,902. The closest approach to this record was in April of 1912 when the amount nearly touched the million dollar mark. From figures compiled for the month of June covering sixty-four of the cities, the total reaches $76,739,283, which compares most favorably with the previous month’s report when the fact is considered that reports from thirteen cities were omitted.

“Without doubt the most noticeable advances in price have been made on various steel products. Such suddenly increased demands were brought about by the European war that prices rapidly rose, and in comparison with a year ago in most instances have about doubled. For structural material in July of 1915 the Pittsburgh mill quotations ranged from $1.25 to $1.30 per 100 pounds, while from warehouse in New York prevailing prices were $1.95 to $2.00. Today from mill, Pittsburgh, $2.50 to $2.75 is asked for ordinary shapes, while plates bring from $3.00 to $3.25. In New York prices on structurals are firm, at $3.25 to $3.30, while $4.00 is asked for plates. From warehouses in St. Louis the price is $3.43, Chicago, $3.10, and San Francisco, $4.25. The change in quotations on this material has added millions of dollars to construction work in New York, the City of New York itself having several million dollars added to its bill for the construction of subways.

“The industrial expansion in this country, due largely to war business, brought with it the requirement of more buildings and steel was in such a demand that it was oftentimes sold at a good premium. Conditions are now more favorable for furnishing the increasing supply. The capacity of mills having been increased, manufacturers are now in a better position to cope with the demands and within the past month prices on some shapes have eased off.

“On concrete reinforcing bars the same condition applies. From mill shipments for 3/4 inch sizes, $2.50 per 100 pounds is asked and from New York warehouse the price is $3.10. In St. Louis $3 24 is quoted, Chicago, $3.10, San Francisco, $4.00. A year ago this time 3/4 inch size from mill were $1.25 per 100 pounds and from warehouses, New York, $2.05 was quoted.

“With the large demand for structural steel it naturally follows that an advance on rivets would take place as both are used for one purpose. At present per 100 pounds, f. o. b. Pittsburgh, 3/4 inch structural steel rivets sell at $4.00 per keg. In New York they are $5.25, Chicago, $3.50, St. Louis, $3.55, San Francisco, $5.40.

“Plain wire nails per keg in carload lots are $2.50 to $2.60, f. o. b. Pittsburgh; for galvanized one inch and longer, $4.50 to $4.60 is asked and shorter galvanized $5.00 to $5.10. In New York wire and cut nails sell at $3.15, in Cleveland at $3.05, and Chicago, $2.85.

“Steel sheet piling from mill Pittsburgh sells at $2.50 per 100 pounds, while one year ago it could be had at $1.60.

“Portland cement per barrel in cotton bags for carload lots sells at $1.72 in New York, when a year ago $1.33 was the prevailing price. In Boston it is $1.92 as compared with $1.56 a year ago, Chicago $1.81 against $1.51 of last year. The demand for this material has also been excessive, not alone for building construction but for engineering projects in general.

“For gravel the quotations current at this time are as follows: 1 1/2 inch in New York sells at 90 cents per cubic yard for carload lots and $1.00 for 3/4 inch. In Chicago the price is 85 cents for both the former and the latter and in St. Louis 70 cents. In San Francisco it is sold at 75 cents per ton.

“For sand at the banks the quotations are as follows: New York, 50 cents per cubic yard; Chicago, 85 cents; St. Louis, 60 cents, while in San Francisco it is 75 cents per ton. These prices are for cargo lots. In the past year an advance has been made of about 10 cents, which was brought about principally by labor difficulties and scarcity of carriers.

“For crushed stone in New York 1 1/2 inch sells at 85 cents to 90 cents, 3/4 inch at $1.00. In Chicago at $1.10 and St. Louis $1.00.

“These prices are per cubic yard for carload or cargo lots. In San Francisco it is $1.75 per ton. Dealers and supply men in this line have also had considerable difficulty owing to freight congestion, shortage of barges and boats, and labor troubles. This condition aided in maintaining the firm price.

“On common red brick current prices for carload or cargo lots are as follows:

Common in New York sells at $8.00, Chicago at $6.25, St. Louis, $6.00, and San Francisco $10.00. The selling price a year ago in New York was in the neighborhood of $6.00. The better grades of face brick bring from $18.50 up.

“Architectural terra cotta is generally quoted from specifications and has advanced in sympathy with other types of exterior building materials.

“Ornamental work in iron/stone, etc., has increased in cost because of rising costs in labor and manufacture. Prices have been advanced but are holding steady.

“The lumber market has been in such an unsettled condition, representatives in New York in most instances refuse to furnish prices unless specifications are submitted. The demand has been exceptional despite the conditions.

“For hollow tile the prices have remained rather stationary, although in the past few months some advances were absolutely necessary due to labor conditions. At present in New York 4x12x12 inch sells at $0.054, Chicago at $0.064, and San Francisco $0.08. For fireproof partition blocks are quoted as follows: 2x12x12 inch at $0.046 in New York, $0.024 in St. Louis, Chicago $0.041, and San Francisco $0.055. For larger sizes about the usual variations would occur all along the line.

“Clay drain tile per 1,000 feet sells as follows: In New York 3 inch sells at $22.50, 4 inch at $32.50, 5 inch at $47.50, 6 inch at $57.50, 7 inch at $97.50. In Chicago 3 inch sells at $15.00, 4 inch at $18.00, 5 inch at $23.00, etc.

“From the foregoing it is evident that the prices on building materials today are as high as they ever have been. The steel market has never been more active. Some subsidiary companies of the corporation report that if no orders were forthcoming they would be kept busy six months into the year 1917. The one serious situation that confronts manufacturers and supply men is the shortage of labor. Skilled and common labor is almost unobtainable, both classes being well occupied. Immigrants arriving in this country are of a poorer grade than formerly, the better men being forced to remain on the other side for possible use in the army. Wages have advanced in all cases and even at the advance it is hard to hold good men for any length of time. Strikes have been prevalent in all lines of work, the result of which has been that employers have been generally forced to increase their labor costs.

 —Courtesy of The American Architect.

Road Improvement in America 1916

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BY J. B. STONE-KING, M. E.

THERE is such a heavy increase of traffic on all roads in this country, more especially on the main trunk highways between cities and towns of importance and the roads leading from the more populous country districts into the markets, that a very necessary and radical change has been forced in road building and improvement methods. Not many years ago plain graveled and water-bound macadamized roads stood the wear and tear of the then comparatively light and slow-moving vehicles. Light surfacing was the rule and materials which would stand up under that traffic were found to be inadequate when subjected to the abrasion and hard pounding of our heavier and rapid-moving vehicles of the present day.

Since the development and perfecting of the auto truck for hauling and delivery purposes, the slow, wide-tired wagon has been largely replaced. This type of traffic has spelled the doom of earth roads, and tears holes in lighter, more easily worn surfacing with amazing ease and rapidity. It has also caused a cry to be raised for easier grades. The lighter pleasure automobile is almost as hard on road surface as the truck, and the higher speed has increased the number of bad accidents on sharp curves and steep grades. These causes have not only made a heavy, wear-resisting road surface necessary, but in the rebuilding and improvement now being done the roads are widened, grades reduced, sharp turns and dangerous curves eliminated.

The vast amount of work to be done, coupled with the high cost and shortage of labor, has led to the development of successful labor-saving road machinery of many different and highly specialized types. One of the labor savers adopted from quarry, railroad and mining work and applied with success to road building, is the low-freezing, slow-acting, heaving, low-grade dynamite for earth work in deepening and widening cuts, widening curves around hillsides and points, blasting out stumps, boulders and trees, and in making side and outfall ditches for drainage. Considerable saving is accomplished by its use in loosening material in conjunction with steam shovels, graders, scrapers and other machinery.

Each type of road has its particular advantages and disadvantages, and local conditions must govern the selection, frequently combining parts of each type. Standard types, although more or less interrelated, are macadam in its different forms, bituminous or asphaltic, brick or stone paved, wooden block, and concrete roads.

Macadamizing is probably the oldest and most widely used method of surfacing, having more modifications than any other type. It consists primarily of crushed stone or gravel held together with some form of applied “binder.” This type of road is most generally the cheapest in first cost and holds up well under the lighter traffic. Heavy traffic, however, soon breaks through, making a high maintenance cost, hence it is not suitable for use as city paving nor on main roads near the larger cities and markets.

Crushed stone having sharp edges is a more satisfactory material than round-edged gravel, for it compacts with less “creeping” and gives a better binding. Trap rock, diabese, basalt, porphery and other fine-grained rock are very good on account of their hardness and wearing qualities, although somewhat low in “cementing” qual-ity. Granite is usually too coarse-grained, and limestone too soft for a first-class road surface. A small amount of limestone is frequently mixed with the harder rocks to increase their cementing effect. The binders used are fine stone screenings and water, sand and water, limestone screenings and water, or clay and water.

Upon the compacted earth foundation is spread a layer of broken stone of sizes between one or two and one-half inches in diameter. This is rolled and re-rolled until it is well compacted; a thin coat of binder material is spread over this and rolled into the interstices of the larger stone. Next a coating of finer material of one-halt inch to three-quarter inch is rolled, on top of which is spread and rolled very thoroughly a finishing coat of binder, using water freely. The finished sub-base of coarser stone is usually about four inches thick and the surface coat two inches, thus making a six-inch pavement.

Four Wheel Brakes 1924

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Four Wheel Brakes Most Valuable Development

By Fred S. Duesenberg, Chief Engineer Duesenberg A. & M. Co.

I BELIEVE the adoption of four wheel brakes the most valuable of present-day developments as it is such a factor tending for greater safety to the motorist and of equal importance to the pedestrian. In rainy and icy weather, slippery streets cause many accidents. Four wheel brakes should tend to reduce at least 75% of these accidents, as the car can be stopped in one-third the distance and be kept where one wants it. Rear end collisions may increase for a time, but the car ahead and the pedestrian is saved, as in rainy weather, and particularly at night, it is very hard to get a clear vision of obstacles ahead, and since emergency stops can be made in one-third the distance than with two-wheel brakes, many serious accidents will be avoided.

The other outstanding factor, I believe, is the attention being given to easier riding, and it is my opinion that Balloon Tires will add more than can be gained by any changes in spring suspension type. However, a combination of all should be aimed for. Balloon Tires will also make possible lighter weights that can be had at the present time, and on account of the easier riding possibilities obtained by the use of Balloon Tires, I believe they will bring the lighter cars into greater favor with those who have heretofore bought heavy and more cumbersome models.

Better constructed and higher speed motors will also add much to the nice handling of the 1924 models. Chassis weights have been carefully cut down, but I believe that body manufacturers should realize that they are far behind in cutting down weight, and some extraordinary measure should be taken to produce light weight, rigidly constructed bodies so that light cars can be produced that will be uniformly light in body construction as well as chassis.

Balloon Tire Big 1924 Feature

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By H. T. Thomas, Chief Engineer Reo Motor Car Co.

OUTSTANDING developments and improvements in 1924 passenger cars as we see it are not the features most widely advertised or talked about. Detail improvements of all kinds are giving to the 1924 purchasers of motor cars greater comfort, safety and more for their money than ever before in the history of the automobile business. Improvements in materials, of construction, paint and finishing processes are fast being  made, and to my mind, mean as much to the possible buyer or user of motor cars as some of the more radical mechanical changes.

Front wheel brakes will probably cause more comments and discussion than any other single mechanical change on the 1924 passenger car models. We do not believe, however, that the buying public will be benefited as much as some of the radical advertising would indicate. The additional unsprung weight, mechanical complications and uncertainty of operation, we believe, make it unwise to fit these brakes to any but the heaviest of passenger vehicles.

The low pressure air or so called balloon tire, we believe, can be listed as one of the most notable improvements in the automobile development of 1924. This type of tire has been developed to a point where it not only gives greater driving pleasure, but adds to the.safety of driving as well as better braking and freedom from skids. Few of us realize what the cord tire has done for the automobile industry and we predict that this new type of tire will do even more towards making the automobile safer and more enjoyable to the driving public.

The present type of balloon tire may not be the ultimate one, but the designs even as they are now exist seem perfectly satisfactory to the average driver. No doubt chassis changes will be needed to adapt these tires to our cars.

Beautifying Service Stations 1927

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NOW that the automotive industry has developed to the point where methods and products are fairly standard it would be appropriate if a good measure of attention might be given to the more attractive design of buildings.

MoToR asked James R e n w i c k Thomson, a New York architect, his opinion of the usual run of architecture and asked him to re-draw according to his own ideas a typical automotive structure.

For this purpose an average small town garage and service station was photographed with the permissions of the owner and Mr. Thomson asked to redraw the building with the same capacity and general characteristics but with beautification effected wherever possible. The photograph on this page is the existing structure. Mr. Thomson’s drawing is at the top of the page.

To make the necessary changes at the time the building was being planned might have added, Mr. Thomson stated, about fifteen or twenty per cent to the cost.

There are, according to Mr. Thomson, a few major points that mean much to the appearance of a building. He has set forth the main differences in the two designs.

In the first place, he used small paned windows instead of the large plate glass. The small panes may have disadvantages but they do not affect the usefulness of the building and do add to its beauty.

First floor windows were made more prominent and second floor windows less prominent. Second floor lighting is by means of skylights.

Signs, such as the name of the garage, have been made part of the building itself.

The gasoline pumps have been made artistic—an item that is quite possible.

Bulletin boards have been made decorative and ornaments have been placed in the panels between the windows on the second floor front.

Underlying it all is a sincere effort to bring about a symmetry and a balance which, while adding a bit to the cost of the building, does not add to the cost in anything like the same proportion that beauty is contributed.

The interior of the building was not touched by Mr. Thomson and no reference is made to it, because this. article has to do entirely with outside appearance.

Throughout America are many garages and service stations and the number is being rapidly increased. In many of them a slight increase in the cost for sake of appearance would in the end prove a good investment for the business.

Source: MoToR Magazine, January 1927

The Bungalows Furniture

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If, after having been built with great respect for harmony and appropriateness, the bungalow should be filled with the usual collection of badly designed and inadequate furniture, the ensemble would be distressing, and the thought involved in the structure of the building thrown away.

The term furniture implies, per se, movable portions of the building, and, as such, should be conceived by the designer. Otherwise, nine times out of ten, an unpleasant sense of incongruity prevails. The importance of unity between the furniture and the structure, in spite of the fact that every writer on the topic has insisted upon it, in the majority of instances is further from realization than it was in the Stone Age, when, by force of circumstances, harmony of manners, methods and materials was a necessity. It is not intended by this to surest that we should return to that period, but to emphasize the fact that necessity involves simplicity and that simplicity is the key note of harmony. This furniture, while adapted with much precision to its various functions, is of almost primitive directness. It is done in oak with a pale olive Craftsman finish, and thus becomes an integral part of the bungalow.

Whatever hardware is used in connection with this furniture is of wrought-iron, in the “Russian finish,” which falls into place very readily in the general scheme.

Great care has been taken in furnishing the bungalow to omit every article that is not absolutely essential to the comfort or the convenience of the occupants, it not being intended to make the building in a small way a cheap museum to be indifferently managed by an amateur curator, as is usually the case in urban residences and frequently happens in the summer cottage, to the great disturbance of the simple life.

1930 Indianapolis 500 Rules

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INDIANAPOLIS CAR RACINGYOUNG America is interested in the 500-mile race at Indianapolis, next Memorial Day. Interested, because in a measure the bars have been let down. This year it will not be necessary to spend the large sum for a mount which regulations since the War have required. The youth can take the roadster his father gave him or buy a new one and, without a large investment, have a car for the world’s greatest race. This news has started a flood of correspondence toward T. E. (“Pop”) Myers, vice-president and general manager of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

Some inquiries about the 18th annual race come from the boys who have been racing on the “big time” but they only seek entry blanks to learn the conditions. The great majority of the letters show a lack of understanding of racing but a wealth of enthusiasm and the hope that each can enter his car and win the capital prize.

For the first time in the two decades that the track has functioned, the piston displacement has been increased instead of decreased, and that is the reason why the youths of the country are interested in building cars and obtaining information about the greatest of all automobile speed contests.

The 500-mile race was first run in 1911 on a basis of a maximum of 600 cubic inches piston displacement for the engines. Since that first race the size of the engines has been reduced five times until for the last four years the cars racing have had engines half the size of the Ford powerplant. This did not cheapen the cost of a racing car but increased it to where a youth smitten with the “lure of speed” had to spend from $10,000 to $15,000 for a car, without any of the necessary equipment and any thought of the cost of race time expenses. Last fall the Indianapolis Motor Speedway asked the National Technical Committee of the A.A.A. Contest Board to pass upon their suggestions for a change in specifications for 1930, and to make recommendations. The Speedway, without consulting the engineers, had five times previously fixed its own specifications for the race, which annually carries an aggregate purse of $100,000. The result of this conference was the present specifications for the next five century event.

The engineers suggested that the piston displacement be placed in the range of the engines produced by the factories and used by the motoring public and selected 366 cubic inches maximum, in European terms six litres or 6,000 cubic centimeters. There are only four stock car engines which exceed this classification.

AN erroneous impression has traveled all over the country that the race has been placed on a stock car basis. This is not the case. There is nothing in the rules which prevents the entering of a stock car, although the A.A.A. Contest Board rules would prevent the advertising that such a racer was a stock car, when it competed with specially built racers. No stock examination will be made of any of the cars and except for the specific limitations on parts and accessories, weights, etc., the race driver can take a stock chassis and do anything to it that his genius permits to get speed. However, the car must be manageable and a safe vehicle in the judgment of the technical committee in charge of the race.

Briefly, the 1930 rules provide, in addition to the engine size requirement, that super-chargers cannot be used on four-cycle engines and that not more than two carburetors can be employed. A dual carburetor, even with a single float chamber, is considered two carburetors. Poppet valve engines can have only two valves per cylinder, but two-cycle, sleeve valves, rotary, etc., are not limited. On two-cycle engines a positive displacement supercharger can be used. On Diesel, semi-Diesel and turbine engines there will be no limitation on the number or type of carburetors employed. The racing cars must weigh a minimum of 1750 pounds but there is another provision which provides that the weight must not be less than 7 1/2 pounds per cubic inch of piston displacement. They must have two-man bodies and a tread of 54 to 60 inches. Two sets of brakes, the secondary system independent of the primary system, are required on all cars which are entered.

1930 Indianapolis 500 Rules continued here…

Radio in Automobiles 1930

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IS radio entertainment going to take to wheels? Is the equipment of a few thousand of the world’s thirty million cars with receivers and speakers to be extended until a majority of motorists, bowling along the open road or parked at a secluded recreation spot, can tune in on symphony or jazz, sermon or monologue, stock market report or public speech as easily as they can at home ?

Only time can answer these questions but several manufacturers of radio and a number of car makers have been given sufficient encouragement by experimental sales efforts in the past year to undertake materially expanded campaigns for 1930. Three manufacturers have announced radio sets for automobiles and others are considering similar developments. Makers of six cars are wiring some of their models for radio installation and arranging for sales of radio as extra equipment by their dealers.

The automobile sets definitely announced are Transitone, Delco Remy and American Bosch. The cars with models factory-wired for radio installation are Cadillac, LaSalle, Marmon, Roosevelt, Chrysler and Dodge Brothers.

The sets, differing in construction details from home outfits, are designed to withstand road shocks, to resist interference from the automobile electrical system and to compensate for constant change in location and such outside influences as steel frame buildings, electric power lines and the like.

Principal features of the three sets on the market may be summarized as follows:

Transitone—Single dial control; six tubes providing three-stage radio amplification, detector and two-stage audio amplification; speaker; aerial in car roof; A power from car storage battery, B power 135 volts, C power nine volts. Automobile Radio Corp., Detroit.

Delco Remy—Single dial control; automatic volume control; five tubes providing two-stage radio amplification, detector and two-stage audio amplification; lock switch to protect set against unauthorized operation while car is parked; magnetic cone speaker; aerial, five parallel wires in roof; A power from car storage battery, B power 180 volts, C power 13 1/2 volts. Available at present only for Cadillac and LaSalle cars equipped in production for this installation. Later expansion of activities probable. General Motors Radio Corp., Dayton, 0.

American Bosch—Screen grid set with cone speaker to be known as Bosch Motor Car Radio. Designed to avoid drilling of instrument board and opening of upholstery or lining in case of installation in new or used cars. American Bosch Magneto Corp., Springfield, Mass.

Several other companies have stated that sets were in process of design but not ready for announcement.

While a number of other car manufacturers are considering wiring for radio installations or negotiating for radio distribution by their dealers, makers of only six cars have given MoToR definite information, as follows:

Cadillac-LaSalle—All closed bodies wired in production for radio installation; dealers offered Delco Remy sets for installation as extra equipment. No plans for installations at factory.

Chrysler-Dodge Brothers—Chrysler 77 and 70 closed bodies and Dodge Senior brougham, coupe and landau sedan equipped in production for radio installation; dealers offered Transitone sets for installation in these or non-wired cars. Some radio installations being made at

Chrysler factory as special, extra-cost equipment. DeSoto will wire closed cars for Transitone on receiving special order.

Marmon-Roosevelt—All cars equipped in production for radio installation; dealers to be offered sets (make to be selected) for installation as extra equipment. No plans for installations to be made at factory.

Source: Motor Magazine, January 1930