El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-02
Auto Exhibitions At State
Fairs To Be Annual Features
Tour of the Country by Agents Selling Trip
Up-News of the Automobile World by Man Who Knows
On The Cnntn

~ CCESS gained this year at the
~ third annual state fair Of Michi-
~ gan in reaching the farmers and
securing their interest in the 1913 mod
els OF automobiles shown there so
numerOUsIy has created interest in a
possible circuit of state fair automo-
bile shows for the future and steps
are being taken to organize this cir
cult of 20 fairs for 1913. millions of
farmers attend the annual state fairs
of 20 big states and do not attend the
annual winter shows in any great
numbers. The farmers are great pur-
chasers Of automobiles and the exihb-
itOrs at the Michigan state fair state
that at no other event ever held were
so many live prospects secured In
like former years at this fair, the spec
lal show building, erected for the pur-
pose was filled from early morning IN
til closing time at night with inter-
ested people and there was a notice.
able proportion of the states farming
population which displayed the utmost
interest in the cars and incidentally
knowledge about the cars which often
times stumped even the wisest sales
man.
One demOuntabIe rim company. do
ing business in Detroit, has orders for
10000 sets Of rims from one factory
alone, while a. company manufacturing
curtains has orders for $4,000 sets in
Michigan. One manufacturer of wind
shields faces orders for 1913 of 200, 600
and figures in other fields are quite
as large
The English factory Of a popular
chester, Eng, expects to construct and
market 10000 cars for 1913, the 1912
output OF 5000 cars having been the
largest English output
Robert Bob" Burman, the Speed
King, while in Detroit recently, re-
vealed a superstition among drivers Of
fast racing cars that is different from
the many other superstitiOns OF this
class of life riskers. Burman stood
talking with Earl Macdonald, whose
almost fatal accident of August 1st
last in a race at Wheeling, W. Va,
was being discussed. Have a light"
said the interviewer, after having used
the match himself. Macdonald reached
for the match and passed it to Bur
man, who knocked it from the hands
Of Macdonald Say, Mac do you want
to kill me-" asked Burman. It came
out that fast drivers refuse to take
the third light from one match and,
among other cases where this proved
fatal, they cite the case Of Jay Mac
nay at Savannah, who was killed in
stantly and whose mechanic died
shortly after Macnay jOkingly took
the third light from a match before he
started and on being joshed about it
replied: We'll, I've been over twice
and nearly killed and now I suppose
III get it this time sure as the result"
And a few minutes later they picked
him up dead.
The trade boosters tour is an event
of the future. This will be neither a
pleasure run nor will it be a contest
with rules to be followed, but it will
be tour Two great transcOntinental
events are proposed for next year. the
tours in each instance to traverse the
western country in search of business.
On the basis that only the surface has
been scratched in the sale of autOmo-
biles, these tourists will visit farms