Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-10
POPE COMP ANY IN .
INDUSTRY EARLY
MAKERS FoRESAW BIG FUTURE
OF HORSELESS CARRIAGE
Years Of Experience Are Behind the
Name Plate of Well Known
Car, Locally and
Nationally

Many years of experience in manu-
featuring mechanical vehicles was the
school which so thoroughly fitted the
Pope Manufacturing company TO take
a leading part in automobile manutac-
ture. It's large force of artisans ana
the corps of engineers, designers and
mechanics stood ready, mentally ana
physically trained for just such prob
lens as were to come up for solution
There are men connected with the
works who have grown up with the
concern from boyhood and knew no
other employers than the Pope enter
prises.
Some years before automobiles were
seen on the streets of American Cities
the Pope Manufacturing company es-
tabIished a motor carriage depart
ment," for which a special building
was erected and a regular organlza-
tion formed. Here. under proper su-
pervision, were carried on some OF
the earliest and most important eX-
periments in electric-driven automo-
biles, and the whole problem OF horse-
less carriages was studied with zeal
and thoroughnesS. Even in those ear
ly days Colonel Pope made the pre-
dfction that automobiles would in
large measure supplant horse-drawn
vehicles in the congested centers OF
trade.
Today the Pope Manufacturing COM
pany is a corporation with very large
capital, operating in Hartford, Conn.,
their automobile factory. Here the we'll
known Pope Hartford automobiles are
made cars that have won leading
place among the foremost American
machines. In Westield. Mass, they
have another factory, and 1t Is here
that the thousands of Columbia, Ram
bier, Sterling, Fay Crescent, Monarch
and Imperial bicycles are made an
nually
The company has just completed the
details in purchasing the tube works
in Hartford, Conn. The plant occupies
nearly five acres of ground, and the
buildings have two acres of floor space,
nearly all of which is one floor. The
buildings are of fire-proof construction,
brick, steel and concrete and have q
street frontage of $50 feet. They also
run for 800 feet along the railroad
tracks. The great demand for Pope
Hartford cars long ago made it neces-
sary for the Pope company to be on
the lookout for additional room. Be
tween now and next spring various de-
partments now overcrowded at the
main plant will be moved, as it can
be done advanta geously, ana the in
creased facilities will add very ma
terially to the efficiency and output of
Ine rope company
The main plant at Hartford, Conn,
comprises twenty-six buildings besides
a very handsome three-story office
building. Exclusive of the office build
ing they have a floor area of 100000
square feet, HOO men are employed
here. The most modern machinery
with special fixtures and tools, is used
in all the shops, many being specially
designed to manufacture some partic-
ular structural element of the automo-
bile With the exception of the tires,
oilers and a few accessories, the en-
tire car is made at the plant. Not
only that, but all the tools with which
the different parts are built are made
at the Hartford shop.
A few years ago the vast possibili-
ties opened up by the demand for mo-
tor-driven ambulances police patrols
and fire wagons were recognized by
the Pope people, and they spent no
end of time and money in making eX-
haustive tests to fit them for building
machines that would fulfill the rigid
requirements of these different de-
partments. Since then they have
made many ambulances and police pa
trolls, besides the different styles of
fire wagons, and cars of this char
acter are continually going through
the works.
Never have such handsome designs
in cars been seen as the company is
turning out for this season, and these
may be seen from time to time at
the local agency of the William r.
Ruess company on South Main street.