Los Angeles herald., 1907-11-09
THIS IS GOING SOME"

occasionally over a macadam pavement
not far from the Los Angeles city hall
at fifty-mile clip, isn't 1t bit difficult
for you to believe that dozen years
ago the now ubiquitous king of the
| highway was little more than an expert
ment-a toy? And when your eyes rest
upon the rear of a magnificent new
touring car which bears about as much
resemblance to the original "horseless
does to a go-cart, and there see
the figures .13,9sS," followed by the
| letters "CAL.," which signifies that
a state official at Sacramento is pre-
pairing to issue a license to the four
teen thousandth automobile in Cali
fornia. do you not sometimes feel that
you would be trifie more certain that
you were not dreaming if somebody
would come along and pinch you?
The auto industry in America is in
reality barely more than ten years old.
1t was but eleven years ago that the
Cosmopolitan race was run. One morn
ing few machines started from the
city hall in New York for a point
twenty-five miles distant. The winnei
returned to the home goal after dark
that night, taking practically the entire
day to cover a distance that almost
any modern high-power machine can
now make in an hour or so over the
average country road. Within a few
weeks a drive has been made from
Peking to Paris in less than three
months, though the route included hun
dreds of miles of so-called road that
would have worried if not utterly
baked the most powerful team and the
staunchest vehicles made.
While fifteen miles an hour was con-
sidered splendid average speed ten
years ago, and the most expert chauf-
feurs, driving racing machines denuded
of everything except those parts nee
essary to enable them to get over the
ground, posed as conquering heroes If
they were able to show records Of
thirty miles, within a short time q
mile has been covered in less than
three-quarters of minute, and in Eng
land an average speed of sixty-six
miles per hour has been maintained
for twenty-four consecutive hours.
This. if the descent to popular phrase
ology will be pardoned is "going some"
So much for the speed power of the
automobile. What about it's growth
numerically?
According to the census of 1900 there
were but 1928 machines in all America,
probably fewer than are owned in Los
Angeles alone today. There are now
in this country, so experts estimate, at
least 100000, whose value is put at
$500, 100000. Forty thousand machines
will be made in the United States
between January 1, 1908, and January
1, 1909, if the manufacturers prophecies
be fulfilled. These will be worth $275,-
000, 900, an average value of S6925. This
vast sum is but slightly under the total
assessed value of all personal property
in California ($2SS,172, $500, and two and
two-fifths as much as the total value of
all railroads in this state, according to
the assessments made by the state
board of equalization. It Is also $15,-
100000 greater than the assessed value
of all the real estate in San Francisco.
In five years the number of manu-
featuring establishments in the United
States has more than doubled, the cap
ital invested has Increased 256 per cent,
the value of the product 461 per cent,
and the miscellaneous expenses 1903 per
cent. There are more than 150 manu-
factories turning out all manner of
vehicles. In 1901 only twenty-six ma
chimes were imported, valued at $4,000.
In six years the government has col
lected $6,5OO,0OO in duties on 1924 ma
chimes worth $27,5O0,O0O. But we are
also exporting large numbers of cars.
A few weeks ago magician named
Edison, living in Menlo Park, N. j.,
prophesied that the time was not so
very remote when we would be paying
so cents to see horses in sideshows, and
few millions of people laughed.
When, not so very many years before,
a dignified member of an academy of
science in Great Britain made bold to
suggest that the time would come when
the locomotive, then an experiment.
might, with good roadbed and smooth,
substantial rails, attain a speed so
great as fifteen miles per hour, though
not without some danger to the man
who operated it and the passengers in
the car behind, people probably laughed
more loudly than they did at Edison's
prediction, if the truth were known.
The development of the rubber-tired
speed proves that when we are
prompted to make light of prophecies
having to do with the mechanical
development of the world we will do
well to retire to dark corner to do
our snickering.