The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-03


 ufactured in this country. The following the 10 months of 1910 to November 1, 175.000 machines were produced. Automo- | piles were exported to the value of $11.- 190,220. Two companies were incorporated, one with capital of s60.00O,000. taking over 20 subsidiaries, and the other with s1c COG, GOO, bringing together eight or ten smaller producers.
 The industry has already reached the rank of sixth in commercial importance Yet the cars so far bought have been almost altogether for pleasure riding, the auto truck having gained favor only re- gently. The future both pleasure and work machines gives promise of enormous expenditures. The country is automobile mad.
 So great has been the craze that money lenders have been becoming alarmed. Farmers are reported as investing in ex- pensive cars by the thousands. and are mortgaging their farms to pay for the machines. City men who have no homes. no business, no decent clothes even, in some way manage to get hold of an au- tomobile they may drive, at least for few months. as their own. Sara Bern hardt. on her most recent farewell from the country. left as a benediction the remark that to possess a car in America appeared to be the one absolute essen- tial of "class."
 The public has been staggered from time to time by the naval construction plans of the great powers As the cost of man of war has lifted steadily from ss.000.O00 to s10,00o.0O the people have con tinued to shake their heads at the dread- full outlay. The British 'Dreadnaught" was thought to have been the last word in leviathan construction with It's 17.90o tons displacement and It's staggering cost. But now Great Britain has II ships in commission or laid down. Germany has 12. the United Statse 8, Russia 3. Brazil 3, Spain 8, Argentina 2, Italy ?. France 2 and Japan 2. Figuring these B Dread naughts at cost of $10,000,00 each, gives a total of S520. 900 600.
 | But this grand total does not look large when place beside the total American expenditure for automobiles and their | maintenance during the last 10 years. aD-
 proximatelv sl,O55.0 .000.OO0 The American | joy rider, had he chosen. could have 1 biult the entire navies of the world, from | battleshps to dineles.
 To get another angle. it may be in. l teresting to compare this joy riding bl | of S1 .055. .000 900 with the the American ma
 tonal debt. This debt, after subtractins the money held in the treasury, amounts
 to s1.o4G. 4491 1S5. The joy rider has palt
 for his fun q sum that would more thar
 have liduidated the public debt
 | According to the best figures obtain.
 able. there are now owned In the United 1 States a total of 100000 cars. The average | price of these may be placed at $1200. be. cause of the large number of low priced | cars that are being sold. These figures would give an initial cost for the cars 1 now in public possession of s4S0000.000. | In Europe it has been estimated that | the value of cars there in use would reach
 for Great Britain. Germany aud France | a total of $400.000000. The British empire | is credited with 100000 machines and | France and Germany each with S50. 800 | The average value of cars abroad Is much lighter than in the United States l for there is not the great middle class | demand and it is only within a short | time that cheap cars have been offered | for sale.
 | In considering the cost of uplSeep, 1t is | difficult to arrive at a unit of expense
 If a man keeps his car in a garage, his | charges will amount to s15 month, and
 1t should cost him another s15 for sup. l plies and small repairs. This cost should
 give him. perhaps, service of 1000 mileS ! a month. This annual outlay of s3G | for maintenance would be less in ease nc | garage fees were paid and more in case
 of careless use and unusual accident l | monthly expense.
 Abroad the expense is increased by the | higher cost of gasoline and -bv the fact | that paid chauffeurs or mechanicians are
 more generally used. Otherwise the for
 eign upkeep would be less on account of | lower wage cost.
 The S3G0 year would not include those
 numerous special appliances that are so generally in use Chauffeurs also are com | y,,ny niaI in 1n aif nd taxcab chauffeurs are added would cer- tainly total 40.000 in the United States. The average pay may be placed at $75 a month.
 The cost of upkeen in this country alone for 1911 is placed at ,000 and | for the whole 10 years in which the au- 1 tomobile has been a common means of l $50. .000.090 a year. The early machines, though few in number, were extremely expensive toys,
 There are no o'figures extant that gives scomplete showing of the number of cars that have been '''scrapped'' during the 10 years AS car becomes ont of date it is sold from the large city to the small town. and from there to the country or to some less progressive sec ton But few of the cars in use during the first two or three years of the de- cade are now serviceahle. Tn addition if Is estimated that 2h.H00 cars have been ruined in acridents. fires etc. It is proh- ably a small figure to place the number of cars discarded during the 10 years at S50.000 with an average value of s15O0. making total of S75.0n9 0a0 to be added to the total exnenditurs. for the n wears.
 In sneh cities as Chicago and New York the automobile has almost replaced the horse as .a pleasure eneine. X few worm out cab horses still stand at the eurbing and q spirited team or an old family con veyanee may he seen now and then in the parks. But the horse carriage has become rare enough to arouse interest Tn the trucking field the horse still pre- dominates. but the motor truck is be- coming more numerous every day. The cost of automobiling may he offset to a certain extent bv the increasing cost of horse maintenance and hy the saving of valuable time in transit.
 In the state of illinois there are now owned 40.0nn machines. almost as many as in All of France. Michigan boulevard swarms with motors, and the pedestrians whn wait in little crowds for the nolica- man to cut the sea of red automobiles in two for the like the watars nf thA