New-York tribune., 1910-01-09
AUTO NOW A MAN
GROWTH Has BEEN
FAST BUT STEADY.
Industry Safely Established on
q Substantial and
Firm Basis.

Ten or twelve years ago the automobile
industry was born. Since then, as Win
tnrop E. Scarritt once said. "the infant has
passed through the period cf collie. mumps,
chicken pox and measles and has safely
come TO sturdy. stalwsrt young manhood.
ready TO take its place in the workaday
world Of human activities" 1t has grown
in twelve years from nothing to a COM
rnanding place, with an enormous annual
oatT4It. a vast investment of capital. huge
salary roll. and has pulled up with it a
number of minor industries concerned In
the manufacture Of accessories, of which
allied interests the manufacture OF auto
mobiles has more, probably, than any other
single industry.
With the American tendency TO specialize
and the habit of the American consumer to
demand everything that is new. and TO
seize. once that stage is passed, upon
everything that is useful and time saving,
it was inevitable that the industry here
should almost from the start assume GER
tain features positively startling TO the
originators Of the industry, in the broad
sense of the word, abroad For il is true
that fer once America was caugllt mapping
IL the beginning OF an industrial revolution.
The question of who invented the petrol
or easolene motor and first thought OF
applying that principle to a self-propeliing
vehicle is OF little relative Importance. The
fact is that il was in Europe that the auto
mobile was developed into something with
commercial possibilities. and 1t is there that
The painstaking and laborious experiments
tnat were necessary were carried on.
That is the fact which explains Amer
ica's delay I'm getting a comprehensive
grasp Of the situation. Here and there in
America were men who saw what was
coming, and VINO were working at the
problems involved--Haines and Selden,
among others. But something more than
that was needed. Small bodies Of en-
fhUsasts had TO work at the problem from
every angle. 1t was not work for one man,
and experiments involved a use of money
end a use OF time by a large number of
individuals. working separately but along
the same lines. with no tangible results to
cheer them along from time TO time.
There the American temperament enters
into the situation. Americans, in the mass.
can work out definite problems with a
thoroughness and a speed that can he ap-
preached By no other nation But it is not
national gift 10 work along slowly and
perseveringly, seeking always something.
After the first painful groupings had been
accomplished, and il was seen that a def
uire future lay before the automobile hum
dreds OF brilliant Americans began TO con-
centrate their thoughts and their work on
The definite problems that separated them
from the ultimate goal of perfection. These
men have built UP the industry in America,
have put Il in the first rank, and have
seen with unerring judgment the chance
for specialization. They have worked out
superb selling organizations. developed the
stock car race and made the automobile a
factor Of the national life. They have
lighted upon the small, cheap car, with it's
manifold usefulness They have reduced
cost. both original and constant. They
have made = small fast car almost essen
tial 10 the physician and hit upon the uni
veTsal appeal made by the use of cars by
doctors. Every doctor who uses a car is
potential. indeed a powerful. selling
agent for his car. unconscious though he
may be Of his function.
50 the history of the American autorno-
bile Industry has been largely one of de-
velopment. II has been the function of the
builders Of the trade here 10 broaden the
usefulness Of the car, TO increase its field
and scope and TO bring it into touch with
every phase Of the national life.
The big show which came to an end in
the Grand Central Palace on Friday: the
equally big show which opened in Madison
Square Garden last night and the ones to
follow elsewhere emphasize these condi-
rions. Now, in 1910, the American automo-
bile industry is firmly established.
There is little more to be said as TO
where the automobile stands in America.
II has become more part Of the national
life than in any other country 1t has
ties II has proved itself of inestirnabIe
value IN the huge fields of the West, where
3 farm is as large as a whole English
shire. It is a great and benefcent force
IN the life Of the whole country, and the
industry to which it has given birth is
safely established upon firm foundation
Of prosperity that is bound to endure
once, perhaps, the automobile was toy.
But that day has long passed, and there
Is none blind now that he cannot see
thai this is true
Not the least romantic thing in the de-
velopnlent Of the industry has been the
vast growth of cognate and allied trades
and industries. Leather nanufa cturers tire
companies, makers Of parts and accessories
Of all kinds have risen on the wave, and
Alfred Reeves said the other Gay that not
less than five hundred minor industries
we're ultimately concerned IN the making
Of automobiles to-day.
Most modern progress is like the Jug
gernaut; but here Is an exception. All
great improvements in Industrial macbin-
cry have swept thousands Of men out Of
employment at first, sacrificing a few in
the creation OF . new demand that MANY
may benefit later. But the automobile
industry, where ii has DESTROYED, has
brought swift compensation ii its wake
It has ruined certain features and nhases
of certain businesses, but it has provided
other outlets for the energy it has made
useless; has given employment ia a IA
miiar line, though with a novel appIica-
ton Of their labors, TO thousands of men
who might otherwise have come 20 fear