Evening star., 1915-09-12
FRANCE NOW MAKING
OWN AUTO MAGNET0S
Famine Near When War Broke Out,
As ALI Came From
Germany.
Teuton Plants in Paris Saved the
Day-They Supply De-
mand Now.

France is thr( ugh With German m ls-
netos. How near she was to the d1sas-
ter of a magnetic famine and how cleV-
erly she made herself Independent of
products from across the Rhine IS one
of the best stories related in connection
with the industrial organization OF the
European war.
Last November the shortage of mag
netos had become SO serious that the
French minister Of war called in Louis
Renault, the leading automobile manu-
facturer of France. to ask him to sug-
gest a solution. At that time the 1ac-
tories were working at full PRESSURE
twenty-five to twenty-four hours day.
and seven days a week. Gnome ana
Renault were each producing nearly
100 aeroplane motors per week. Cierse''
Salmson. Anzani and lie Rhone were
building small quantities These spe-
cial aeroplane motors could not oe
bought in America, or indeed from ans
other European country EVERY laCeoiy
In France capable of making heaNs %
light trucks was employed 70 .ne
most of its capacity. The touring ca.
factories were producing sucn cars as
were required and at the SAME III.
specializing on shells. Neutral eWie@sa e.
land was filling truck ordeIs ~.
France hut only accepted the orders on
condition that delivery shouid pc niaoe o
minus magnetic. Italy, until the Ino-
ment she declared war, was in the same
position.
Truck Competition Helped.
fopis Renault's reply to the minister
of war was that he could not person.
.I1v undertake the construction OF
maxnetos. Soldier manager DutreuA
received army orders to lay down his
rifle. take charge of the German lac
tow and produce the greatest numper
~ magnetos in the shortest possioie
time o,n,
probably the efforts of such a capa-
BILE manager would not nave oesm ta- the
forethousht Of the French war depart
ment. For the last eight or nine S,aI SeI
the French army has held an annua
truck competition, the suecessstu. state
subsidies. So successful has been TINS
scheme that every truck MAKER ~ ~
France takes part in IT, ana ING
competition, brought to ciose og g ~
hicIes One of the stringently observed
clauses of this competition was tna'
the whole of the truck must ue p oI
duced in France. OF srenGn anagament
as an example, an American uIe
company, which supplied some OF tne
rtihher tires for these trucks, was ohly
eligible for this work by reason %.
having a French factory, optai.i.hs "a
implies from French sources ana
wnrkinx under the control OF a tecnni-
81 d;rector amenable to French MILL
tary law.
German Factories in France.
The German company supplied d
large nroportion of these truck, nrms
With maSnetos, but those magnetos were
constructed entirely in the Paris rae
tory and the whole of the materlai
nsed in their construction was pro-
auced in France. Further, altnoush
fhe company was under Germah -
troll. the technical head OF the Farls Ils
factory was a Frenchman- ehSioie ~.
military service in the fIenen ,,a
The severity of the competition Sual
anteed the French made magnetos pc
ing equal in every respect 70 those
hIIiIt in Germany: failure from any
cause entailing disqualihcation, tne III
diyfdual manufacturers wouid nave re-
fused to fit a magnetic wnlcn 1iu no'
possess every guarantee OF exceilehGe.
By this arrangement, Manager Du-
treux was in charge not merely OF an
assembly plant, but OF small eMcien.
factory producing complete magnetos.
Starting in on the first day OF Noveh-
her Manager Dutreux had so organ
tied his forces that on the first day OF
January the output of the factory was
three times greater than 1T had been
at any previous period of its history
AS soon as peace has been signed. all
German factories in France will pass
into the hands of their original owners,
but French manufacturers are deter
mined that the commercial war against
GERMANY shall be as relentless as the
war waged with fire and sword