Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-08-03
CARS, CARS, CARS,
AND THEN MORE
Who Own the 100000 Automobiles
of This Country and Why2--Farm-
ers Buying Most of Years Crop.
Autos for the Movies.
nv PERRY BALsAM

1.-TWO MILLION cars have been registered
i in our forty-eight States, and from now
on until January 1 thousands of cars day
will follow into the total. We arc already
the ACKNOWLEDGMENT nation In the world by
a tremendous margin, and yet the manufsc-
turer tells US that we have Just begun to
strike our gait as buyers.
The output Of motor vehicles, exclusive Of
trucks and motorcycles, is rapidly approach
ing a million year There are enough cars
in New York State to jitney the entire pop
ulation Of the metropolis across the State OF
New Jersey into Philadelphia in two trips
and If the job were efficiently handled the en-
tire greater city OF New York could be
emptled within twenty-four hours. There
should be some slight consolation in this for
those who are worrying about the possibili-
ties of invading armies and what might hap
pen to the penned-up populace in the bor-
oughs OF Manhattan, Brooklyn the Bronx,
queens and Richmond, when the Big
Berthas let loose their horrIhc rain of metal.
Making Nation Of Mechanics
our motorcar manufacturers are turning
out immense conslgnments of war stun for
Europe as well as staggering totals of pleas
ure cars, trucks, jitneys and so on for the
States They are also training and develop
ing vast army of skilled and unskilled me-
chanics. Furthermore, they are doing the
major share to transform considerable
fraction of the populace of the United States
into amateur mechanics, for every man who
buys car and cannot afford a chauffeur
ls bound to take some interest in what makes
the wheels go round and how to get em 60
ing when they stop. There are several mil
lion of us now who can tell spark plug from
a floating rear axle.
They tell us that the German Empire has
been mechanical by the Kaiser but the auto
mobile has come pretty near doing the same
thing for the American people, If by diff
ferent method. There are at least a million
families in which father and the boys-and
some of the girls, too-love to tackle messy
job of tinkering the car through a bad case
of heaves and knocks, and there are intrica-
ces involved that make handling light and
heavy artillery appear almost in the light
of infants pastime
Our farming population, which usually fur
nishes the greater percentage of recruits In
case of war, has advanced in its knowledge
of mechanics immeasurably within the last
decade. Our farmers use vastly more farm
machinery than any other nation, and now
that the automobile has been brought down
TO farm utllity oasis they are going IN loI
the purchase of cars with an avidity that
causes the motor magnates to fairly chortle
with glee, Practically sixty per cent. of the
cars coming into the market now are being
sold outside of the cities.
Out in Kansas the farmers are buying
themselves blue in the face, or something to
that effect. They cashed in 1sOOOO,OOO bushels
Of 1914 wheat at war prices, and there is a
1915 crop in sight that may possibly run to
200 900, 900 bushels. On July there was a
total Of more than 10000 cars registered in
Kansas, a gain of ten thousand since March
10. And not all small Ford cars by hand
some plurality.