The Washington herald., 1912-11-10

1
| The day Of intense selfshness. where
each man struck at the other. 10 past.
And the spirit Of cooperation. Of all
men working together for common
end-the good OF the business-is here.
1t IL pleasant to note this change IN
business tactics, which IL true not only
in the automobile and its allied interests,
but in business generally"
Enough cash has been subscribed to
insure the greatest success in the history
of the sport when the annual tourna-
ment of the American Bowling Congress-
! is held in Toledo. Ohio, February 2 to
March u. 1872.
| 1t was recently announced that John N.
WHY'S. president Of the Willys-Overland
Company. of Toledo, who took 5000
, slice of stock when the campaign was
formed to handle the international meet
in his home city, had come forward with
an offer Of as much more money az
might be needed to make the proposition
successful.
The big automobile manufacturer. who
| is SO interested in bowling that he has
fitted up three nne alleys for the en-
there was plenty Of cash to handle the
affair. Mr.. willys made his offer per-
mlnent however. and he will be called
on In case Of emergency.
That's almost heaping insult on in
jury for the poor horse" laughed @. W.
Bennett. president Of the Gramm Motor
Truck Company. Of Lima, Ohio. one day
recently as he read an order for one Of
the company's two-ton trucks, received
from q transportation firm in the interior
of Venezuela. They are not only rele-
eating the horse to the discard. but are
trying to force on him the indignity OF
himself delivering his successor through
the miles of trackless country from the
seaport" The order requested that the
truck be shipped, knocked down and
boxed in packages not to exceed l4o
pounds each. Pack horses are the only
available means Of transportation in
land" read the order. ''and each horse
is able to carry only 40 pounds" Be-
cause of its truck weigh more than the
stipulated amount. the Gramm company
has shipped the truck assembled, and 1t
will be driven through from the port to
its new owners under its own power.
A plan Of adding to the sightliness OF
its plant and twenty-three acres Of
ground. and at the same time carrying
on a necessary operation, has been hit
on by the Garford Company, makers Of
Garford pleasure and commercial motor
cars. of Elyria. Ohio. In the quadrangle
formed by the big concrete. brick, and
glass factory buildings is mammoth
basin, in which fine fountains are con-
stantly playing. The fountain acts as q
cooling plant for the big engines. using
natural gas for fuel. which furnish the
driving power for the machinery Of the
factory The water circulates through
the cylinder jackets Of the engines and
is then cooled by becoming thoroughly
eerated. The big fountain lends pleas
ing touch to the surroundings and Gar
ford employees spend much Of their lei
sure time at the plant watching its play.
He doesn't look like a very important
part of a big automobile factory organi-
zation. this tall. broad-shouldered.
stopped. and somewhat grizzled man.
who may be seen. rain or shine. sum-
mer or winter. walking slowly about the
plant OF the willys-Overland Motor Car
plant in Toledo. Ohio. eyes almost con-
stantly cast earthward. But he is an
important item in the modern method of
factory operation which makes this one
of the best conducted plants in the au-
tomobile industry. Though his wage is
BILL as the grizzled man is known, Is
worth a great deal to the company by
which he is employed.
"BilI" gets his nickname from the fact
that his tools consist solely Of one tin
bucket of the ten or twelve quart vari-
ETY. and a big steel magnet, strapped to
the end of a shovel handle. to allow for
ease in operation. And his work is
mighty important, even though 1t looks
simple to the passer-by. For it is ''BilIs"
duty to save automobile tires, those
costly rubber overcoats which adorn the
wheels of motor cars. by removing from
the roadway every nail and bit Of iron.
brass, or steel that might cause a punc-
ture. When 1t is known that the 1000
cars which is the Overland output for
1913 are being run back and forth in
reaching the place where they are tested.
and scores Of visitors cars. office ma
chimes. and delivery trucks use the thor
oughfare daily. the wisdom of saving
tires is at once apparent.
Magnet Bill saves his salary a
dozen times over every day he works."
says Vice President G. w. Bennett. Of
the WHY'S Overland Company. He per-
forms his duty faithfully and well. and
were il not for his efforts our expendi-
lures for punctured and cut tires would
be tremendous. We have figured that
without the precaution taken by BILL
whose big magnet snatches up every bit
Of metal on the road. this cost would
reach a total of 10000 every year"
He who maintains that there is no per-
sonality in inanimate things never owned
a motor car. Among men who drive It
is common knowledge that every little
auto has a foible all its own. Whether
real or imaginary. these idiosyncracies
are religiously cherished by most mo-
torists.
A striking example of this fanciful ten
dency has come to light through the
visit Of a Studebaker service man to
Nyack, n. Y. In making the rounds of
Studebaker car owners and cooperating
with them in keeping their cars up to
top efficiency. the man called on Judge
Tompkins, one of the towns most promi-
nent citizens.
Judge Tompkins told the service man
his Studebaker was running perfectly
and had needed no attention since its
purchase. As they talked. the service
man walked around to the business
side" Of the motor and started to lift
the hood.
"Desist,' yelled Judge Tomplsins. Then
he pushed the Studebaker man away
from the car and buttoned the hood
down again. The expert assured the
jurist he had intended no offense. Judge
Tompkins admitted he might have
seemed touchy, and explained.
IT'S just little fetch Of mine" he
said. That hood has never been lifted
since bought the car. and don't want
to break my luck. I've driven 1t q good
many thousand miles, and don't even
know what the motor looks like. Fur
thermore. young man. don't want to
know"
At last reports. Judge Tompkins was
A. -