Mercedes Tribune (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 20, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 27, 1923 Page: 10 of 12
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PAGE TEN
MERCEDES TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 192J
When buying your gro-
ceries remember that
Is Everybody’s Friend
Quality, Prices and Service Guaranteed
Free Delivery 9:30 A. M. and 4:00 P. M.
Something SPECIAL Every Saturday
PHONE 72
MERCEDES, TEXAS
ptGS^iirdf:. ^
GOING TO CALIFORNIA
■ BY AUTOMOBILE ms
By
Eltweed
Pomeroy
Donna
Texas
Business and my wife’s health tak- went ,to them where
we could. You
ing us to California, we tried it go-
can get a good lunch or simple
ing in an auto and have just ar- breakfast for 40 cents but a real
rived. We have been gone just four-, meal will cost from 75 cents to a dol-
teen days, have traveled 2,273 miles ^ar* Our hotel and traveling expen-
or an average of 162 miles a day.
We stopped over a day or a part
of a day at several points to see ob-
jects of interest and could easily
hbve cut this mileage below two
thousand and- the time down to ten
days or even to eight days if^ we
were willing to drive a little longer
each day and a little harder.
We paid from 17 cents at Los
Angeles and IS cents in San Antonio
to 35 cents in the mountains fo>’
gasoline and used 120 gallons, cost
ing $31.60 or an average of a little
over 25 cents • per gallon. This is
an average of nearly 19 miles' to a
gallon of gasoline. We drove a
Ford sedan of 1921 model but had
the cylinders reground and oversize
pistons put in before we started and
of course that made a saving in
gasoline. Also it gave us more
power, a very necessary thing on
mountain roads. Unless ,the car is
nearly new I would strongly advise
this.
We used 27 quarts of oil at a cost
of $7.03. This means a quart for 84
miles. As we used high power very
frequently both going up and going
down hills and on sandy roads, prob-
ablp our use of both oil and gasoline
was excessive. This means an ex-
pense of $38.63 for oil and gas, or
about a cent and a half a mile. We
had one unimportant break and some
slight repairs and a spring on a
shock absorber has broken and has
to be replaced. Probably our re-
pair bill will run to $15.00. If we
had gone faster, it would likely have
been double that. Then one can
figure one first class tire and tube
worn out on this trip costing another
ses for che two of us, was $89.43 foil
the two weeks. This averages $3.25
per day for each.
Call the expense $90.00 and the
auto $70.00 and we have $160 for
the two of us or $80.00 each. You
can buy an excursion to California
for about $80.00 which figures $40.00
for one way and the Pullman and
meals and tips will easily run to
$40.00 more or just the same as go-
ing by auto. You will then get
through in three days.
We could have cut down our mile-
age to less than two thousand which
wrould have cut our auto expense
from $70.00 to $63.00 and we could
cut our time down to say nine days
when our traveling expense would
have been cut to about $60.00 or a
total of $130.00 or $65.00 for one. By
camping out at nights and preparing
most meals, the traveling expense on
a nine day trip would probably be
cut to $40.00 or a total of a little
over a hundred dollars for the two.
We would have carried a third
without any discomfort and in fact
for the last .three days, did carry a
pleasant young fellow tramping from
Coast to Coast and before that cas-
ual lifts; but one needs some lug-
gage and there was not room for a
fourth with comfort. A third passen-
ger would have reduced the amount
for auto expense just that much,
per head.
What would I do if I was going
over the trip again?
1st. Unless the car was compara-
tively new, I would have the cylin-
ders cleaned, reground and oversize
piston rings put in. If I felt real
of the new Ruckstell axle put in
$15.00; suppose one figures $70.00 j ofthe new Ruckstell axles put in
for all the auto expense. This which gives four speeds forward and
would be just about 3 cents per mile. | two reversing and more power by
We went to good hotels though | 50 per cent when going in the low-
not to the swell ones where the | est low. Also have brakes carefully
charges ran to $6.00 ,to $10.00 a night j examined and have new or nearly
for two, but of course could not al- j new tires. If we had had this Ruck-
ways get the room and bath we atell axle, we could have saved two
wanted and paid as high as $5.00 a J or three hours work going, through
night for two and as low as $1.50. j a very sandy river bed where we had
We got meals along the way though | to put on chains and clear the road
carrying crackers and some cannedof sand for a ways and then go two
fruit so we could make a lunch in the j or three feet at a start. There .were
car should we get stuck anywhere. , several times when this would have
This would average nearly once a
day and I strongly advise travelers
to do this. The Harvey hotels are
frequent along our route ,gnd the
added progress and made it easier.
2nd. At San Antonio, we bought
for $7.95, a contraption by which we
could carry on our running board, an
food is so uniformly good, that we extra two gallons each of water and
The real reason
for buying Columbias
—they last longer
The largest laboratory, devoted to
dry cell research, experiments contin-
uously to make them "last longer.”
Columbia Hot Shot or Columbia
Ignitors are "right” for your needs.
That’s why people have the habit of
asking for Columbias.
Columbia Dry Batteries for all purposes are sold
by hardware and general stores, electrical and auto
supply shops, garages and implement dealers.
Columbia
Diy Batteries
v —they last longer
Fahnestock Spring Clip Binding Posts
on Ignitors at no extra charge
! gasoline and one gallon extra of oil.
It' was very useful. At times we
w.ould be entirely out of reach of
water for hours and this extra two
gallons would save a burnt out
bearings, then once we got stalled go-
ing up a steep incline and the en-
gine would not start but as soon as
we filled the tank chuck! full from
the reserve, she started quickly and
pulled us up. Get one if you are go-
ing into the mountains.
3rd. We bought in Donna for $5
a \ gallon thermos bottle and going
across the hot plains, we would go
to the ice house in the morning, fill
full of ice and then of water and it
was just what we wanted on a hot
drive.
4th. Traveling at this time of year
means that your, radiator often gets
so hot that the water boils. Take off
the hood. It makes all the dif-
ference in the world.
5th. Going down hill, use high
power or low speed instead of the
brakes. Mrs. P. drove down the cel-
ebrated La Bajada hill west of Santa
Fe, which has 23 sharp turns in a
mile and a half and did it with ease.
6th. In sandy stretches, let the
air out of tires so that you run on
between 40 and 50 pounds pressure.
You will get through the sand much
easier. Of course such things as
keeping water in the radiator, oil in
the crank case, seeing that tires are
properly inflated and brakes always
in order are fundamentals.
A second letter will tell somewhat
about the route and the advantages
over railroad travel. But under these
conditions, an auto vacation should
be both pleasant and profitable.
-——o-
Cotton Buyers Coming
Among the cotton buyers who
have recently arrived in the Valley
is W. R. Hammond of Kosse, a for-
mer Valley resident. Mr. Hammond
left the Valley in 1909, and is natural-
ly astonished at the developments
which have taken place since that
time.
Vegetables contain from 65 to
per cent water.
Legal Blanks for sale at Tribune office
© ®
9 ®
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The newspaper that has
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valley has it because it en-
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The two thousand local readers and three thousand
valley readers of the Mercedes Tribune subscribe to
the Tribune because they have CONFIDENCE in the
Tribune and’because they enjoy the news matter
provided for them by the Tribune
When you try your next “lift” let the
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Holland, W. D. & Buell, Ralph L. Mercedes Tribune (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 20, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 27, 1923, newspaper, June 27, 1923; Mercedes, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1003135/m1/10/: accessed June 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.