The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-01-16
AUTO NOT Menace
Instead It Is Benefit to Business,
Holland Declares.
Money Poured Into New Indus
try Not Wasted.
HELPS STOP FINES
Auto Truck Saves Time and
Property in Cities.
Only a Small Per Cent. Of Cars
Devoted to Pleasure.
HELPS STOP FINE

New York, Jan. ia little over a
year ago a carefully record of
the number of automobiles nanufac-
turad and sold in the United States a
year earlier was read to a large meet
ing of American automobile manufac-
turers which was held at Washington
Chauncey M. Bepew, who at that time
was United States senator, had been
asked to address these automobile man
ufacturers. Senator Depew had es-
peciaI facilities for securing accurate
and detailed informa ton The statls-
tics which were collected by the sen
ator showed that the American people
had invested a little over three hun
bred million dollars in the previous
year in automobiles.
1t so happened that a few months
earlier James ]. Hill. in an address
which he delivered before a public body
called attention to the fact that the
American people would, in the year
1910, spend about three million dollars
in the purchase of automobiles.
Mr.. Hill, apparently, was at that time
a little apprehensive that the diverting
of so much money from the ordinary
channels of business and industry into
the exclusive field of automobiles was
an economic mistake And it was a
fair inference from what he said That
he based that view on the fact that
were purchased purely for recreation or
pleasure
Westinghouse Studies Business.
CuriousIy enough at the very time
Mr.. Hill was collecting his detailed in
formation respecting the automobile
industry and also at the time Senator
DepeW was causing statistics to be
gathered for use in his address to the
automobile manufacturers George
Westinghouse, for purely commercial
reasons. was causing a thorough sta
tistical study to be made of the auto
mobile business. Mr.. Westinghouse
figures did not differ, so far as the in
vestment Of money in new automobiles
was concerned. from those collected by
Senator Depew and by James ]. Hill.
But Mr. Westinghouse went further.
He caused inquiries to be made re-
specting the upkeep of automobiles in a
single year in the United States The
figures which he received justified him
in saying to the writer that the upkeep
of American automobiles, including
chauffeurs' salaries, repairs, tires, gas
OIine taxes and license fees, arnOunted
to about three hundred millions. There
fore Mr.. We stinghouse felt justified in
saying that six hundred million dollars
was not too large a sum to fix as the
amount of money which automobiles in
a single year cost the people of the
United States.
There was some apprehension lest
this enormous expenditure might seri-
ously enbarrass the money markets.
In some states legislation was proposed
which had it been practicable, would
have prevented individuals from mort
ga ting their homes so that they might
thereby raise the money with which to
buy automobiles. In California, in Con
necticut and Massa chusetts. and to
some extent in New York city savings
banks were disposed not to lend any
money upon real estate security unless
there could be assure nee that the funds
would not be used to buy automobiles.
1t Was a Normal business.
Although six hundred million dollars
is a greater amount than the farmers
of the United States receive for any
crop excepting corn wheat and cot
ton. nevertheless the diversion of so
much capital into the field of automo-
bile industry has not occasioned any
monev embarrassment. 1t has resulted
in building up colossal Industrial cen
ters-Mic higan, Ohio, Indiana-and
these industries have made it inevitable
that much of the money used in the
development of them should speedily
find its way back into the channels Of
commerce or trade. Moreover, within
the past two years. there has been a
great DEVELOPMENT of the automobile
industry in the direction of motor cars
used for business purposes. Many Of
the best authorities in the automobile
industry are of the opinion that motor