66 



AUTOMOBILES. 



04:> crowns for the Ministry of Commerce, 4o.33/,- 

 ;U:> crowns for tin- .Ministry of Agriculture, 

 :n.2!>4,:4) crowns f<>r tin- Ministry of instruction 

 anil Worship, ami :W.4!>-J.4!1 crowns for the Min- 

 itrv of National Defense. 



The debt of the Hungarian Government at the 

 end of is'.UI was J,47.">.22.'.00() florins, of which 

 1.0S.UW:i.<MM) tlo:-ins were consolidated debt, 1.040,- 

 404.IMM) florins annuities. 1 l.C.'Jti.OOO llorins treas- 

 ury bonds. 7i.-jr.:>.000 llorins debts of the various 

 departments, ami 24S,S>7.000 llorins arrears. 



The Session of Parliament. The most im- 

 jM>rtant measure of the session of 11MJ1 was one de- 

 claring certain commercial occupations incompati- 

 ble with a seat in Parliament, particularly an 

 interest in any business house or an ollice in any 

 company having dealings with the Government. 

 The bill extended the scope of one passed in 1875 

 in consequence of abuses that became manifest 

 during the commercial crisis of 1873. Count 

 Stephen Tis/a was disposed to object to the strin- 

 gent provisions of .the new bill because it would 

 disqualify some of the most active and influential 

 members' of the Liberal party, but he and his fol- 

 lowers eventually withdrew their opposition, sacri- 

 ficing party advantages in the interest of political 

 morality and the dignity and independence of 

 Parliament. The establishment of a special 

 Agrarian party in Hungary was a singular polit- 

 ical phenomenon in a country where nine-tenths 

 of the members of Parliament are agriculturists. 

 The success of the Agrarians in Germany in for- 

 cing the Government of that country to adopt a 

 minimum tariff prejudicial to Austrian, and es- 

 pecially to Hungarian trade, imposing high duties 

 on cattle, pigs, poultry, eggs, and other animal 

 products, was more freely discussed in Hungary 

 than in Austria, and doubts were expressed 

 whether a political alliance and commercial war- 

 fare could long subsist between two countries. 

 The proposed German tariff was considered more 

 favorable to Italy and even to Russia than it was 

 to Hungary. 



AUTOMOBILES. Among the many subjects 

 of interest that have claimed the attention of the 

 engineer and inventor, and, indeed, the business 

 man and the society woman, is the recent advance 

 in the manufacture and operation of automobiles. 

 Of the many styles now on the market there are 

 comparatively few that can be considered as hav- 

 ing met the demands of the general public, and the 

 horse is still the favorite means of transit with 

 the greater number of business men. Many kinds 

 of machines are now made in this and foreign 

 countries. The motive power is divided into three 

 distinct classes steam, electricity, and gas, com- 

 monly called gasoline, from the fact that the gas 

 in made directly from gasoline, which is carried 

 by the vehicle. There are a few exceptions to this. 



Referring to the steam-propelled vehicle, we 

 find that many of its principal parts are common 

 to all types of automobiles. It has a body 

 mounted on the frame, running-gear having axles 

 and wheels, a motor or engine geared to one of 

 the axles to propel the vehicle, apparatus for steer- 

 ing, brakes, and moans for signaling. These fea- 

 nres may be made in many designs, and a good 

 type of either could be used on any vehicle, 

 whether propelled by steam, gas, or electricity. 



The steam-propelled vehicle has the following 

 apparatus necessary for its perfect operation: A 

 steam-boiler: a steam-engine; a pump for forcing 

 the water into the boiler; an automatic governor 

 for keeping the water at the proper height in the 

 * frame and running-gear, consisting of the 

 axles, wheels, and differential gear; an air-pump 

 to keep a pressure on the oil-tank to force the oil 



to the burners ; an oil-tank for fuel ; a water-tank ; 

 controlling valves and levers for starting, stop- 

 ping, and reversing the engine; the steering-gear; 

 the brakes; the steam-muffler; the feed-water 

 heater: the burners to heat the boiler; the trum- 

 pet or bell for signaling; and the vehicle body, 

 containing the seat. Added to this are the many 

 small parts, such as the automatic mechanism for 

 releasing the steam \vhen the pressure becomes too 

 high and reducing the fire under the boiler to 

 prevent the steam from creating too high a pres- 

 sure. This constitutes a complete steam-plant 

 mounted on wheels, which must be capable of be- 

 ing operated by any person having an ordinary 

 knowledge of simple mechanics. Therefore it is 

 necessary to make the whole operation of gener- 

 ating the power as nearly automatic as possible, 

 and to design the mechanism so that it will not 

 become deranged by reason of rough roads or 

 any other ordinary condition likely to be encoun- 

 tered. This being the case, it is easy to under- 

 stand the difference of opinion that exists as to 

 the best agent for the propulsion of automobiles. 

 The use to which the vehicle is to be put has much 

 to do with the selection of the proper power. 

 For heavy trucking, a large powder that takes up 

 comparatively little room is essential, whereas a 

 vehicle built for pleasure and long runs could be 

 almost entirely filled with the mechanism without 

 impairing its efficiency. 



The Steam Automobile,, The steam automo- 

 bile is still the favorite type with many, and was 

 among the earliest attempts to solve the problem. 

 One of the best machines of this type is the loco- 

 mobile. In this the pow r er is applied to the rear 

 axle from the engine. The steam-propelled vehi- 

 cles of this type weigh about 1,000 pounds with 

 tanks filled ready for a journey, and are designed 

 for the accommodation of 2 persons. The wheels 

 are of the steel-spoke variety, 28 inches in diam- 

 eter, with pneumatic tires 2* inches in diameter. 



The gasoline-tank holds five gallons, and the 

 water-tank 26 gallons. The extreme length is 7 

 feet 4 inches; extreme width, 4 feet 10| inches; 

 extreme height, 5 feet 2 inches. This automobile 

 carries sufficient fuel to run fifty miles without 

 replenishing, and the water-tank will need refilling 

 but once in that distance. 



The steam-machines can be run at any speed 

 by simply regulating the steam-valve, and this is 

 one of the advantages of this type. They can be 

 repaired by any intelligent machinist, as steam 

 machinery is familiar to most mechanics, and any 

 break or disorder is easy to locate. They will 

 climb hills w 7 here a gas-machine will come to a 

 standstill (both machines having the same 

 power), due to the fact that the steam-machine 

 can be regulated to run at a slow speed with a 

 good pressure of steam, whereas a gas-machine 

 engine must run fast enough to store the neces- 

 sary power in its fly-wheel, and must then trans- 

 mit the power through clutch mechanism to the 

 axles, and as the gas-engine is an intermittent, 

 engine, it can not properly develop its-power un- 

 der these conditions. 



The steam-machine starts with an easy move- 

 ment, makes very little noise, and practically has. 

 no bad odors. It can be operated at a low cost, 

 and the repairs are easy to make. Its disadvan- 

 tages are the number of its parts which are liable 

 to become deranged. The boilers become over- 

 heated and burn out, and they are, moreover, 

 liable to explode from careless handling or, in case 

 of collision, when the boiler is damaged. The 

 gasoline is also a source of danger, especially with 

 careless persons, but when it is handled with 

 care few accidents occur. ' One of its chief draw- 



