The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-02-16
AUTOMOBILE AID
TO PR0SPER
Shannon Lees Describes How
the Motor Car Contributes to
the Country's Wealth.
SHANNON LEES.
Cadillac Motor Car Coz

If there arc any evils existing in the
business world to-day which have not
been attributed to the AUTOMOBILES
somc one had better speak up ard
point them out quickly or tho oppor-
tunfty will be lost
The wiscacrcs. the would-bc philoso-
piers and the aelf-appointcd guardians
or other peoples affairs have pro-
claimed the widespread purchases of
automobiles to be an economic waste
which, If not checked, is going to
cause the ruination OF the country and
olher kinds OF calamties. All of
which can be classified as nothing
more dignticd than mere rot"
An Intelligent analysis OF facts and
conditions VIII prove that quite tile
contrary Is true. and that TO the ;Iu
tomohile Industry the country is in
dcbtcd for very material share OF
its unprecedented prosperity during
the last few Years
In standardization Of this assertion.
1T is merely necessary to point out
that tho one thing essential 10 general
prosperity is the FREQ and rapid cir
culation or money. y single dollar
or single penny for that matter
kept in circulation is II greater factor
in promoting prosperity than the en-
tire currency of the country, were IL
10 remain untouched in safety de-
post vaults or scwcd up in the mat
trcsseS ana ninucn under the carpets
of the nation.
Economic waste? Eosh There Is no
economic waste like idlo labor The
automobile industry provides the
means OF livelihood for more than a
million persons.
First, ther. are the vast plants
which employ hundreds OF thousands
of skilled mechanics ia the constitute
ton OF motor cars. There are the
thousands employed Ia the Industries
which Furnish material 10 the motor
car manufacturer, the steel milk the
paint maker, the tanncry ana q score
or more OF others to say nothing of
tho stoclSman who raises the cattle
that furnish the hides for trimming,
and the miner who digs the orc that
makes the steel. and the man who
gathers the rubber that makes the
tires. and 80 on back
There are the plants devoted to max =
ing maclincry for making the parts
that enter into the motor car There
arc thousands Of statesmen engaged
in distribution
Industr! Aids All
Imagine yourself awakening to-
morrow mornin;; and iindtn., the wheels
of the motor car industry stopped. not
10 start again Imagine also Iun-
dreds OF thousands of workmou sud
denly cut off from the means OF sus-
tcnancc. Imagine then the result to
tho tradesman. the merchant. tho
butcher. thc grocer. the dry goods the
clothing and the. shoe men as well
as the hundred and one others with
whom these wages are spent, TO say
nothing of the consequent stopping OF
the circulation OF the cash beyond
those points
But you may say that would ar
feet only the cities in which automo-
bilcs are made Would it, The man
who receives the cash for lis, labor
from the automobile manufactures
spends it first with the home retail
merchant The retailer buys from the
wholesaler If the business Of the lat
ter be curtailcd his requirements for
help are also curtailcd
The wholesalers buy from tho va
rious manufacturers who are scattered
from end OF the country to the
other. The wholesalers business HAY
ing boon reduced, the manufacturers
business is likewise cut down, and he
is obliged therefore, to LAY off, his
mon
The consuming or purchasing power
OF these men is. in turn, reduced TO
nothing, and they. in turn. affect still
other producers. The chain is an end
less one. Even the farmer is not OK
cmpt from the Influences. Unemployed
Guiding footstuffs. The sale for prod
ucts of the farm becomes lesscned
and prices fall accordingly.
Farmers are Benefited.
The great prosperity Of the farmer
during the last few years has been
the subject OF universal comment
What has been back of that prosper
ity? Not only good crops resulting
from advanced scientific methods OF
farming, but tho fact that the farm
or has awakened to the realization that
thore is Something in life besides
drudgcry; that he could avail him
self of comforts and pleasures lie
mad been accustomed to boarding what