Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-02-03
IT'S MACHINES A DAY
Will Build Ono Car Every Forty.Five
Seconds During 1913-lnvestment is
Enormous, Says Hawkins.

The Chicago automobile show opens
today. Few people realize the magni-
tude Of the Ford automobile business
that has been built in eight years.
Commercial Manager n. a. Hawkins.
of the Ford Motor Company of Detroit
while on recent visit in the east sue
cumbed to the Wiles Of a newspaper re-
porter and gave an interview contain
ing some interesting information in re-
gard to the biggest automobile manu-
facing company in the world. 1t ism
often Mr.. Hawkins can be induced to
talk for publication, but when he does
he says things worth while listening
to. He gave some instructive side
lights on what the Ford company has
done and what it proposes to do.
I'VE estimated to turn out $4,000
cars up until Oct. l., said Mr.. HaW-
kins. That seemed like a wonderful
achievement, but we went considerably
ahead of that figure. Now we are lined
up to build 100000 cars during the year
to come. Stop and think what that
means.
ITO accomplish this task we must
complete rs cars every working day
of the year, and as our factory works
only nine hours daily we will build one
complete car every fortyfive seconds.
Put another way, one days output
would mean line reaching from De-
troit to New York, the car ahead al
ways being in sight Of the next one
behind. and when the first car was
coming into New York the last car
The distance between our factory
and Chicago is 800 miles, so that one
days output would be line or cars
stretching the entiIS distance ana TESS
than half mile apart.
1T is pretty hard by mere figures to
impress people with the wonderful size
of the Ford business. Ford is now the
second biggest buyer OF steel IN Amer
lea. Our 1918 contract calls Tor w.
600 tons of steel, an amount that would
make I'D d regulation freight tram
reaching almost from Providence to
Boston-to be exact, train thirty
seven miles long.
Then there is matter OF gas we
use for fuel purposes. we nave con-
,racted with the Detroit City Gas Com
panv for maximum daily supply Oh
1000 900 cubic feet. One can best get
an idea of the significance of these fig
ures when it is considered that the city
of Grand Rapids, Mich, with popuia-
ton of 10000 persons. uses but
slightly more than 100000 cubic feet
per day. By December this year we
shall require more than 100000 cupic
feet. which is more gas daily than is
consumed by Grand Rapids, Mich. 10
supply our requirements the gas COM
many has erected a plant that cost
nearly $1,000 900. 1t will be used ex-
clusively to supply the Ford require
mentS.
Buying all supplies as we do IN
enormous quantities, the savings are
tremendous. Here lies the secret OF
our ability to sell cars at the prices we
do.
In 1918 we shall require s0o.ooo
tires, If we could resell these tires to
small concerns at, the price they pay
we should not need to make a dollar
profit on the car-the profits on the
tires would be sufficient. We buy
standard tires in such great quaint
ties that the price is cut down to rock
bottom Suppose, for instance. we
should resell at a profit of 81 per tire
that would mean sS00,000-a conserva-
tive dividend on our s2,000.000 capita!
$50 you see where our big advan-