The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-07-10
A Great Change Has Taken
Place i'm Motor Industry.
Three Thousand Automobiles i'm
Capital City Today.
BUSINESS IN ITS INFANCY
Smith and Stafford Cars Orig
mated Here Years Ago.
Now Palatial Garages Are Scat
tered PrOmiscuOusly.

The growth of the automobile bust
ness IN the United States during the
past five years has been phenomenal.
Any automobile manufacturer will say
that the proportionate growth in Kan
sas, particularly N regard to medium
priced cars, has been greater than in
other states.
The automobile industry employs
thousands of people. In the great fac
tories, such as the Ford, at Detroit,
the WHY'S, at Cleveland, small cities
are housed in the plants. In the larger
garages in the big cities, scores of
Workmen are employed, all specialists
in some form or other in auto repair
work In the small towns and villa ges,
the auto pioneer has worked his way
and one is never more than a few
miles from a service station.
In Topeka, five years ago, there
were about 300 machines. Probably
not so of them are in active use now.
Today there are nearly 5000 in To-
peka alone, and hundreds more on
farms and in smaller towns of Shaw
nee county.
Topeka claims to be the home of
automobile building in the west. 1t
was here that the Smith car was built,
one of the first cars on the market,
and Terry Stafford's homemade road
ster made its first appearance on Kan
sas avenue only a short time after the
first Se1f-propelled gasoline vehicle
was regarded with Amusement in the
east.
But in those days the automobile
was considered a curiosity, 4 thing
then die A year or two later they
were called lUxuries and only the
''gilded rich thought they could af-
ford them Now they are regarded as
necessities, and the prices have been
brought so low by keen competition
that a man who has the ability to save
a few hundred dollars can ride around
in passenger touring car, with
- L IL
starter, stream-line body, and can di-
rect an engine which in smoorhness
and flexibility far surpa sses the crude
ones of a few years back.
1t was not long ago when the adj
vertisements of autos in the papers
and magazines were always accom-
panied with this announcement, Top,
windshield and speedome ter. extra"
The 1912 Models.
Then when the 1912 models first
came out. the electric lighting and
starting system, then in it's infancy
was affixed to machines at a heavy
additional cost.
Now it is different The STYLES of
bodies have changed and will continue
to change as long as there are artistic
designers employed by the manufac-
turers. Pointed radiators, which are
now the de luxe of designs, may be
rare in two years. The shapes are ex-
actly reversed from 1910 models. 1t
would take clever cubist artist to
estimate the probable appearance OF a
1925 model Rather
In Topeka, there are big garages
scattered everywhere. In few of the
leading ones, total storage capacity
of 500 cars can be obtained These
garages are the Charles w. Bennett,
Billings Auto company, Cadillac Sales
company, Capital Auto and Supply
company, c. H. Carlson, Central
Garage company, Cole Motor COM
pany. o. S. Perkins, Longren & Tay-
Tor. F. NJ. Drake, Hammett & Griffe, |
Palace Auto company, West Motor
Car company, Overland company.
Kansas Motor company, J. r. john
son, Jackson-Allen agency, Independ-
ent Auto company. w. H. lines &
Company, Ideal Motor Car company,
Ford agency, and others.
Many of these companies occupy
new and commodious garages. On
few of them large amount of money
has been spent in making them as at
tractive and as finely furnished as a
bank These garages take care of all
the tire, engine, body and axle trou
bles of the 5000 Topeka machines,
and there is a lot of transient business
that is handled here. From a small
beginning, the motor business has be-
come one of the largest, as well as
most important, in the world.