1926-12-24 — Page 22

MADNESS OF RACING.

Too Many Deaths No Useful Results.

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH. MOTORING SUPPLEMENT.

certain, rates of spoed this scheme gave public attention on, a make of car is too expensive to be more freedom, to the flow of the sound, business Humanely, we gases, and so the discovery was regard this gambling with valu-hailed as marvellous, and, over able lives, as nauseating.

lapping" valvos became unques

16

superchargor" has materially: very much the same effect.

The fact of the matter is that, in so far as the motor trade of this continent for at least that

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1926.

PETROL TAX. American Official's View.

MORE JUST METHOD.

total amount necessary to pay our highway bills and the cost of collecting would not reach $15- 000. Wo oasily could, savo half a million dollars a your."

LIKE A TIP

By raising the gas tax from two to fiva, cents, the returns would more than oovor highway expenses each year, states Mr. Lovitand

"Nor would the larger gas tax

His reasons for bolioving so boa. burden to the auto users,"

Years ago, when automobilism tlonably the vogue. But the amuseotion that has not already sat was in its cradle, competition was sing thing about this system in its face against racing,, is con

Alone gasoline tax oventualy, healthy and led to progress in that, while it undoubtedly does cerned, the sooner racing is stop- design. The racing car then was give slightly more power at high ped the better. When, one; seos, will replace the variety of taxes It is high time that the govern.the forerunner of the improved engine speeds, it emphatically the inroads that the Americans motorists have to pay today, ing bodies took drastic and firm touring car. But to-day the de reduces the power at low or havo made in the French motor prediots Mr. Solomon Lovitani steps to control and further dur velopment has over-shot itself in-normal speeds, and so very market, despite the high tariff state treasurer of Wisconsin. tall motor racing and high-speed competitions. The death roll dur racor bears no more resemblance of the engino ing the past two years is too high to warrant its continuance under prosent conditions.

Professional motor racing to- day is a useless and futile an- achronism. It has outlived its sphore of utility, and romains only as an expensive and vicious form of advertisement in which good men are paid to risk their lives for unconvincing publicity,

This journal, since its inception, has never boen party to the feverish and artificial enthusiasmi that is worked up by the Press in general over this form of so-called'

to an absurdity, and the modern materially decreases the ability wall set up against them, one

to accelerate cannot help thinking that many are based on the experience of he adds "The average car owner

that offered by the state through ita roads."

IT'S MORM" EQUITABLE.

The gas tax, besides, is more just than tho presont method of taxation.. Taxes on the basis of horsopower disregard weight and speed, while the use of fuel must take all three factors into eon- sideration.

"Today the man who pays $15 for his motor license and runs his car only 7,000 miles a your pays twice as much as the man who runs 15,000 miles a your. Obviously that is unfair," Mr. Levitan concludes: gen

"The gas tax has the added advantage of compolling tourists and visitors from other states who use our roads to contributo their share to their upkeep."

the gallon. In travelling 100 miles gallons and would accordingly have to pay 274 cents in tax.

Is that too much to pay for the use of 100 miles of fino stato road? Most of us think nothing of giving that much as a tip to waiters and hotel attendants who wait on us when we travel for services much less in value than registration..

to a touring model than doos, a briskly and to climb hills on top a French motor manufacturer Wisconsin in collecting its motor probably gots about 18 miles to racehorse to the animal that por-gear. In other words, in return would have been far better em- feos.

It cost $550,000 to collect ho would have to use about 5 forms useful work botween the for the doubtful benefit of an in-ployed in setting his factories on shafts of a rofuse wagon. "And it crosso of 2 or 3 miles per hour in an economically high productive $9,000,000 in motor license fees is equally senseless to argue that its maximum spood-so very basis instead of spending so many in Wisconsin, Mr. Lovitan points by breeding racohorses the whole rarely used-it makes the our wooks out of each year watching out, as compared with only $9,646 weak sad unsatisfactory to his highly-paid race-drivers risk to collect more than $5,000,000 in of the equine standard is raisöd.

So much is known to-day about handle at normal touring gaits their necks chasing each other gas taxes.. building cars which will merely an absurd state of affairs. And around a "circuit" in their fright- so far as one's not negligible ex- fully expensive special car-The go fast that measures that are absolutely useless on touring cars perience goes, the much vaunted Morris Owner have to be adopted to make them go still faster.

A CONCRETE INSTANCE. Let us quote a practical cLSO, sport. We can state our beliefst was found some years ago that quite simply Technically, we are slightly moro ultimate power, and not of the opinion that participa therefore spend, could be obtained tion in racing enables a car manufrom an engine by greatly "over- facturer to gain experience to im-lapping, the valvos"-3 phrase prove his car that could not be that means that the inlet valves obtained by other and more satis open an appreciable time before factory moans. Commercially, the exhaust valves shut. Whon oar racing aya, moans of focussing the engine was running at high

Ford

"It is a moro matter of simpel arithmetic," he declares," to 600 that wore we but to raise our gas tax a trifle, we could collect the

A nominal fee of $1 or so Mr.

Lovitan considore enough to cover cost of license plates and

JEH

THE now B. M. W. touring model R.42, represents the latest and most progressive form of motor cycle engineering.

In designing the R.42 model, it has been the ende vour of the makers to procure with all possible ex- pedience, every step of teclinical progress and every item.

of riding experience for the benefit of motor cyclists who

demand the latest and best.

UJ

The most important improvements as compared to fornier models, are mentinned kerounder -

Increuse of engine power to 12 h. p., notwithstanding the same cylinder rapacity, achieved by means of an improved utilisation of the compression chamber and an increased cylinder cooling en fare

Detachable aluminium alloy cylinder hoods."

External contrasting brake acting on the vibration damper

drum.

Contilever springs with sinck absorber (recoil spring leaf, ) · Nesetom spiral level jene on rear on rear wheel,

Rims suitable for neruisland ballooi; type tyres.

The B. M. W. Touring Motor Cycle. 12 Br. HORSE POWER

Full particulars from':— ̧

THE LEYCESCO CHINA CO., LTD. Bank of Canton Building.

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The Hongkong Hotel, Garage.

BOL

Ride in luxurious comfort and ease

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FORDOR SEDAN

H.K. $ 1,750.00

Price with balloon tyres

and Self-Starter Delivered Kowloon

ANDREW HARPER

Authorized Ford Dealers

Chatham Road, Hunghom, Kowloon: 6Queen's Road, Central

HONGKONG..

Telephones: C 4895 & K 1216.

Alex. Ross & Co., (China) Ltd.

Sub-dealer

Bank of China Building, Hongkong

Ford Motor Company

Detro