The Washington herald., 1909-04-11
By Z. p. CHALFANT.

Hardly 10 per cent Of the American fac
tories now producing automobiles could
have been considered as running system
atized organizations ten years ago. To-
day the members OF the Association OF
Licensed Automobile Manufacturers have
highly developed and extensive produc-
tion systems and factories. This means
practically that a large Industry has
been established in n decade.
Compared with this only detail I'm
provements have been made IN locomo-
tive design or coach building during the
same period. nor have horse-drawn ve-
hicles for freight haulage been materially
changed only those coach builders VINO
have been associated with the automobile
/ industry have radically changed their
methods OF manufacture.
Carriages Have Rubber Tires.
Following the example Of the autono-
bile. horse-drawn vehicles for city use
are now shod almost universally with
rubber tires.
As 10 locomotives. consider as fair
basis Of comparison their development 20
have begun IN 1925. after the expert
mental stage was over From IS25 10 ls75
the locomotive experienced no greater de-
velopment than has the automobile IN its
! first ten years As 10 the coach indus
try, no fifty years Of its history ever
showed development IS rapid as that
/ Of the automobile in the last decade
II is pretty generally acknowledged that
/ down 70 a certain point unit production Is
/ ing development than value OF product.
/ As 20 comparative numbers produced IN
| tie field under discussion, not until lSSl
1 had one OF our locomotive manufactur-
I ers produced its ten thousandth Iocomo-
I tive The same manufacture completed
I "a second ten thousand of locomotives bv
! l@2-til weight years for the first ten
/ thousand and thirteen years for the sec
| ond ten thousand. Incidentally. IL took
/ thirty years 20 produce the first thousand.
Starting from practically nothing. a
number of American automobile plants
| have each produced over ten thousand
automobiles since 1892.
America and Foreign Countries.
! The relative amount OF credit due differ
I ent countries for the development and
| production OF the automobile should be
clear. Yet the subject is not fully un-
derstood and is repeatedly befogged by
articles appearing in special industrial. %
/ business and prosperity editions OF
newspapers
/ While Selden's patent was pending ana
some years after its filiug. Benz. and then
( Daimler. in Germany. from whose work
European automobile development re-
suited. started their work and made ve-
l.f,lf u al
/ lures OF the Selden invention In due
| course Seiden's patent was issued IN
/ November. 1895. And after the long
/ scrutiny given his application By the
( United States Patent Office. upon the
/ issue Of the patent the Commissioner OF
/ Patents referred 20 u IN his current an
nUal report i1 the following language.
| 'Selden received a patent which may be
/ considered the pioneer invention IN the
I application OF the compression gas en-
\ gine 20 road OF horseless carriage use
| To say rs a generalization that the
/ American car followed the design of the
/ foreign car - wrong There are many
/ motor car elements which originated IN
/ America and have been used abroad. As
/ early as 1895 and 1883 American makes OF
cars included the arrangement Of vertical
/ cylinder engine IN front, substantially on
| the lines OF the present-day automobile.
l while at that time some OF the we'll
! known makers Of foreign cars had the en-
( gine under the seat or horizontally ar
/ ranged. the position Of the radiators being
! frequently on the roof or under the car.
! Then Soraign vOiturettes had the motor
/ mounted IN odd fashion. in different WAYS
/ in the rear of the car. on or close TO the
| axle. The small car originating IN Amer
| lea, acknowledge as having bcel the
/ stimulus Of quantity production. was
! copied oy EuroT can makers
Features Borrowed from Abroad.
Features which have been gradually ac-
! repted in design generally can. Of course.
be traced frequently 20 s.me claimed 70,
eigr source. The student OF the suo-
! ject dads but a natural development OF
! c.,aslrJction. in many elements the prod
uot 0f American brains and ability As a
| result or several years work by the best
men "a popular design for large cars has
resulted. after long trial Of different fea-
4 lures OF construction separately appear
| ing in early vehicles. the Joint production
OF foreign and American engineers
We also now have a substantially stand
| ard arrangement in small cars. wherein
features most largely the production %;
! American engineers are dominant Incl
dentaily, Americans were the first 10 in.
troduce both aluminium and nickel stee
| into automobile construction The firS1
| extensive use Of vanadium steel is ais
due 10 Americans. Electric ignition was
used on American cars as early as 1885
/ the French did not introduce IL unit
1896. and then only on q few cars.
| America preceded Europe by using mag
netOs for electric source OF ignition ir
1887. Continuous throttle control OF IN,
motor was first used fl this country, an
/ tlcipating Europe. American machines o.
I quiet-runnng qualities We're very earl,
conspicuous by comparison with foreign
machines.
The American Car Of To-day.
/ For perfection Of design appropriate Z,
Il the load and conditions of employment
for excellence Of material and accurat,
workmanship. American-built automobile.
cannot be beaten anywhere in the world
For efficiency and aggressiveness. Amer
fcan mechanics are the best. American
machine tools. il is admitted generally
lead the world One or the French pio
neer automobile makers said some year.
ago that II It had not been for the fac
that American houses were. in a position
to supply certain types OF lathes. driIlin.
machines. gear-cutting appliances. an,
other intricate pieces OF mechanism whei
the automobile movement began 10 ex
pand, a popular self-prOpelleG road We
; hicle could never have been considere,
by the makers. and all classes OF auto
mobiles would necessarily have RENAME,
at extravaGant prices This condition o
European automobile makers turning Il
J America for modern appliances and new
ingenious machines. which makes posi-
bic producing higher grade automobile
at less cost, obtains to-day
The work Of the mechanical branch o
tha Aasociation oA ILcensad Antnr,noLiL