New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-02-24
Hostility of the Public Largely
Overcome-Hints for Produc-
ing a Better Feeling Still.
BY Caspar Whitney.

Is there anything that more completely re-
fleets the temperament and the tireless, ner-
vous energy of our people than the American
history Of the automobiles progress? A devel-
opment which, as recall the first visible signs
OF that industry's native effort seems incredi-
BILE for 1t covers a period Of only dozen short
years. Add a few years more and we have the
beginnings Of the bicycle. How very well l re-
member tie arrest which followed the first at
tempt Of an enthusiast to ride a bicycle into
Central Parll,-and that man IS now living. hale
and hearty. ana s-.1 riding
Twelve y. ago ,-.c automobile was a horse
less carriage With no springs At TO be called
such no pneumatic tires and an odor which
overcame the occupants Of the vehicle as well
as the hapless and surprised pedestrians along
the road. To ride in it like unto the SEN
sation Of sitting over the busy spindes Of
cotton mill. Then it was the toy Of the rich.
Now it has become such a convenience as to
be a luxurious necessity.
Ten years ago about one hundred cars repre-
sented the annual output Of America. Last
year something like thirty-fve thousand cars
were turned out, at value Of $1O0O00OOO
AS I looked over the cars at the two automo-
bile shows in New York this winter I could
scarcely realize them to be the result of only
ten to twelve years Of manufacturing effort.
With such progress in mind it is not hard to be-
lieve in the sincerity of the Frenchmans ex-
claynation at sight Of the splendid finish of the
American car bodies-"France must look 70 her
laures!"
Nor is America the only scene of automobile
development. The is sweeping the world.
At the Berlin show there were $50 exhibits by
971 manufacturers as compared with 800 ex-
hibits by 29S exhibitors in 1905. OF the num-
Der Of exhibitors in 1906. 1913 were German, II
French, italian and 3 American And here.
too. at the Berlin show. refinement Of the de-
tails and construction-in design, in motors and
in methods Of "Reminiscences the feature,
the trend everywhere notlceaby being toward
simplicity.
Although Great Britain has Jagged behind
France Germany and America in automobile
manufacturing yet this last winters show at
London gave evidence Of great progress made
In the last two years. British cars, speaking
generally. are not yet to be compared with those
of the leading manufacturers Of the other coun-
tries They have not attained to the mechan
cal SIMPLICITY nor to the refinement Of general
structure but they are coming. The feature of
the recent show was the appearance Of a num-
Der of six-cylinder cars-many Of the manufact-
urers turning their attention TO this style,
which, however appears in most models TO
lessen the seating capacity.
In Italy the manufacture or automooleS Ia
responsible for not only considerab BILE indus
trial development. but 1t is helping to solve some
TRANSPORTATION problems in the southern part or
the country Omnibuses are being established
for passengers. and in some directions also for
freight. The output of cars is steadily increas-
ing. for Italy's name stands well among the
users Of the automobile
While the American manufacturer has abeen
improving the general appearance Of his car he
has also been lettering the material of which 1t
"a made The first cars were, 1t must be &C.
Jlnowledged, cheaply made and carelessly as
sembled. In those early days OF manufacture
+he main idea appeared TO be TO get the
market rather than TO produce machine to
stand the wear and tear of American roads. 1t
vas therefore in point Of durability that the
American cars suffered by comparison with the
French and German, and 1t is along these lines
that the native manufacturer has been learning
lessons and with American adaptability, learn
Ing them rapidly But the apprentice period is
not vet served, for We are still turning out
quantity at the expense of individual quality.
Perhaps the most impressive features of the
last New York shows were the evidences on
avery side Of refinement OF structural detail.
ana OF the patent effort making by nnanufactur-
ers 70 put finer material into their care. AZ for