The Washington herald., 1915-12-26

be fair expense for this item.
| Just SO long as there are nails and
glass on the streets and roads and so
long as people insist on overlooking their
machines. there. will be more or less
tire trouble, some of a serious nature and
other Of minor Importance. Case and
tube repairs will run in the neighbor-
hood of SIS per annum.
All motor car owners buy something
in the nature of automobile toggery.
such as driving gloves. caps. busters.
goggles or raincoats. This item will ap
proximate SO per car.
Yearly Garage Cost Is &I2.
There is a regulation prohibiting the
using of the public streets as a garage
and besides most every man wants to put
his machine away out of the elements
when he is through with 1t for the day.
Garage prices vary according to the size
of the car. as well as the care that the
machine Is to be given. Besides. there
are many who rent their own private
garage or have a stable in which they
formerly kept their horses which they
now use as a garage. Twelve dollars
year would be about the approximate
cost per car for garaging.
This makes grand average OF $Sf5oo
per machine as the cost of operation for
one year. Multiply this by 1900 the total
number of car owners in the Capital. and
it totals "a. 4a5 $50 spent annually for the
upkeep and operation of their machines.
Add to this the sum of Sso0.ooo as the
the approximate value Of the motor cars
in the city. and you have a total of ST.
2S5,650 as the value of the motor car in
dustry in Washington. Still, there are
some who will still insist of speaking Of
1t as the automobile game"
The above figures only represent the
value of the cars and the amount OF
money that it takes to operate them. Let
us now consider the business from an
other angle. II there are cars, there
naturally must be some one selling them
and there must be also some one i'm bust
ness to look after the various wants OF
the car owner.
Fifty GnraRes Here.
At the present time there are fifty-eiGht
different makes OF machines, both gas
and electric, represented in Washington.
There are also seventeen makes of trucks
represented and sixteen accessories
houses. in addition to the garages and
showrooms that handle accessories of
one kind or another.
There are thirty-eiSht pleasure car
dealers in the city and some OF these
also represent various trucks. In ad-
dition. there are six exclusive truck rep
l
do nothing but cater to the tire wants
of the car owners. Fifty public garages
of various Sizes from the one capable of
caring for 800 or more machines to the
one that has Accommodations for but half
dozen. are required to house the motor
cars Of the District motorists Besides
these there are numerous places where
nothing but repairs are done, radiators
and tenders repaired. woodworking and
os,,f et,@1 hot tnr sn he MS pf
the gasoline vehicle. Exclusive of these
places. there are 1f2 places that depend
on motor cars for their livelihood. either
by the sale of them or their storage,
repairs or the supplying of their wants.
| Average Pay S17 a Week.
OF course no one is in a position to
state accurately the salary Of each and
every Individual Many Of the sales
men work on an exclusive commission
basis. while others draw a fixed salary.
Naturally. the office help and the un-
skilled labor about the place do not
draw the same as those who are versed
| in their work. We believe that ST. per
person would be about the average week
| ly wage paid. Six Is the average num-
Der of employees in these 142 places. This
! means s5s people, each drawing the above
salary every Saturday for a weekly pay
1t is safe to estimate that the an
nual valuation of the number of cars
carried by the dealers will touch the
F, 500. 600 mark. In addition to this. there
is the equipment OF show rooms and their
service stations, which will aggregate in
| the neighborhood Of another $4,000.
| The garages with their buildings and
equipment will come very near boosting
| the total another $150.0o0.
Tire Concerns Valued at S3S6 900.
The tire concerns, with their stock
ON hand. the buildings they occupy, and
the appliances that they have installed.
will run about 1886 900. at the very least
The accessory houses will bring the grand
total up another 100000 The truck con-
| Germs also must be considered when We
begin to count noses Their stock will
| run somewhere in the neighborhood OF
SO. 900 at the very least and the facilities
| they have installed for the giving Of
service will easily amount to $4,000 The
above amounts represent a grand total Of
| <3.041, ,56S Pretty substantial amount Of
money to be invested in a business that
is still looked upon by some as . game" :"
isn't it? Lest those who are not yet
| convinced that 1t is an industry that
represents substantial business. we will
add the grand total of the value Of the
business and the total amount that Is
spent in the business In a year. Exactly
| SIS, III ,21S Is quite an amount Of money
to be tied up in an industry that Is
thought by some to be nothing but .
shoestring.
| Clarence barnard still has the old