Detroit Motor News

STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY PREPARES TO EMBARK IN TRANSPORTATION THROUGH AIR—OWEN MERGER CONFIRMED—FORD TO INVADE NEW YORK

DETROIT, Oct. 24—Anticipating the time when arial navigation will to some extent supplant the means of travel now in vogue, the Detroit & Cleveland Aerial Navigation Co., of Detroit, has been incorporated, with a nominal capital stock of $50,000. The new organization, which by the way, so far as can be learned, is the first company to be chartered for carrying passengers through the air, is made up of stockholders in
the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co., and is much more farreaching than the name would indicate. The company operates side-wheel passenger fleets between Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo and Mackinac and it is the intention as soon as aerial navigation has been rendered practical to supplement this service with a full line of airships for the accommodation of those desirous of traveling in that manner.

"We will not do any experimenting," says Vice-President and General Manager A. A. Schantz. "Our business is purely transporting passengers and freight. The minute airships become sufficiently practical we will add service of this nature. The capital stock mentioned in our articles of incorporation is merely nominal, and will be increased when the occasion requires. Personally I believe it will be a long time before any man succeeds in crossing the ocean in an airship of any sort. But with the rapid advancement in the development of aeroplanes there is no reason that I can see why tlights of two or three hundred miles should not be common within a few years, at the most. When that time arrives we want to be prepared for it."

Details have been completed for the taking over of the Owen Motor Car Company, of this city, by the Reo Company, of Lansing, as announced in The Horseless Age. Holders of Owen stock will receive stock in the Reo Company on an equitable basis, and some of the Owen officers will be given executive positions in Lansing. All the equipment and stock in the Detroit plant is being removed to Lansing, and the Reo will be managed on a more comprehensive scale than the rather limited manner in which affairs had been conducted since its organization.

The Ford Motor Company is to invade New York in a manufacturing way, announcement being made of the purchase of a tract of land at Jackson and Honeywell avenues, Long Island City, upon which a four-story concrete structure, 75 x 265 feet will be erected. This building will be equipped with every manufacturing facility, and will be at the disposal of dealers and subdealers in the vicinity of New York who handle Ford cars, and their customers. There will also be a fine display room and convention hall for branch managers of the Atlantic seaboard. It is the intention to have this factory ready for business by the middle of March.

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The Clark Detachable Tire.

The Clark Tire Company, of Chicago,

111., have recently placed upon the market

a new detachable tire, differing considerably

from the usual tire of this description.

It is composed of a strut band, a casing

and an inner tubing.

The strut band is composed of a strip of

metal to which are attached a number of

struts so spaced and arranged that when

placed on the rim five of the struts engage

the openings in a standard rim.

The casing is made of the Para rubber

and constricting fabric; it is molded in

oval form to give it a compressed tread.

Upon each side of the casing is a chafing

roll so placed as to lie directly upon the

rim edges, thus preventing the rim from

coming in contact with the casing proper.

Eyelets are placed in the casing under the

chafing rolls and so spaced as to engage

the struts on the band.

The tube is said to be of extra heavy

construction.

The compressed tread is an advantage,

as by its means cuts or punctures have a

tendency to close immediately. The manufacturers,

however, do not claim a puncture

proof tire.

Repairs can be effected on the road, and

without the use of tools any part of the

casing can be released and the inner tube

withdrawn at the place punctured, a patch

applied and a permanent repair effected,

without the loss of much time.

Automobile Accidents

A five year old girl was run over and killed by an electric cab in New York last
week. It appears from the testimony of the driver that she ran from the curb directly
in front of the vehicle.

On August 23 a machine occupied by J.A. Hands and J. F. Merk ran into an obstruction
just outside the Brighton Beach track, and the two men were thrown out,
Mr. Hands breaking an arm.

While practicing on the Brighton Beach track on the morning of the races; H. C.
Smith got too near the fence with his Winton machine and struck a post with rather
bad results to both fence and vehicle.

Mr. and Mrs. John Mills, of St. David's, Pa., were thrown from their automobile
while passing through Bryn Mawr on August 23, and were badly injured. While the
machine was ascending a grade, with Mrs. Mills in charge of the levers, a chain broke
and the auto came to a stop with a jerk sufficiently abrupt to unseat the two occupants,
and both were thrown violently into the road.

A touring car occupied by Dr. A. A. Webber and S. C. Blaisdell, of Brooklyn,
came to grief at Lynbrook, L. I., on August 24. It was being driven at a high speed
when, to avoid a horse vehicle suddenly looming up, the driver turned out abruptly
and ran the machine into the ditch. The two occupants were painfully injured and
the machine badly wrecked.

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KEROSENE NUMBER, MAY 28th,
Price: Ten Cents.