Evening journal., 1915-02-06


mington Automobile Company are ag
Stanton that Mr.. Banks got what ne
terms the motor bug" in his head.
He talked the matter over with his |
friends and acquaintance until they |
began to believe he was going nutty |
on the automobile subject. Some of
them even Stunned him. That, how
ever. did not discourage him. Early
iu 1899 he began to look up motor
to prOpel q vehicle. He wrote TO
the Oldsmobile Motor Pump Com
pany for information relative TO fur
nishing a motor for the purpose. II
had nothing TO Offer He then got In
touch with a western concern and
purchased from it q small one-cylin-
der motor of low power.
After experimenting with that mo-
tor in a small vehicle. Mr.. Banks
found it too small to be servicoable
on the road. He then wrote the Buff
falo Motor Company. of Buffalo. and
purchased from IL 4 1-2-horsepower
fuur-cyinder. wGtcT-coOled motor
As it was the first one that company
lad built IL required redeslgning TO
make IL pIdClCdDlc.
Those were the experimental days
The motors then being constructed
were almost the opposite Of what
they are today. For instance. there
we're no water jackets over the tops
of the cylinders, but simply on the
sides. In experimenting with one Of
these motors, Mr.. Banks found that
by using "a 400 pound cake of ice
over top of the cylinder and permit
ting the cold water TO run down over
the same. he could get satisfactory
service from the motor on a speed
of eight to ten miles. That was the
maximum speed obtainable at that
time. When the ice would melt
down and no further cold water sup
ply was at hand, the pistons would
stick. That was due to overheating
This experience demonstrated the ne
ccssity for complete all-around wa
ter -iacketed cylinders. They came
later on.
After practically rebuilding the
| motor, Mr.. Banks placed IL on a
chassis. setting il crosswise under
! the drivers seat Ho drove his ma
/ chine over the roads in this vicinity
/ for several months. 10 was actually
/ the first four-cylinder car operated
! ia Wilmington and the surrounding
/ territory, if not in the State. II meant
something at that stage of the game
10 90 anywhere, since almost every
I horse one met would become fright
ened and either run away or jump
/ fences or bitches, upsetting and dam
aging carriages, putting the drivers
/ in ugly frames Of mind and resulting
In tongue lashings, arguments, Vul-
garity and profanity. If Mr.. Banks
I had gone TO the place designated by
such irate drivers. even his 400-pound
cake of ice would not have saved him
from discomfort The women drivers
were more considerato That was
due largely TO the fact that he would
stop his motor and get down ana
lead their horses past AS he did so
me could hear them remark that they
would have to become used to it as
/ the auto was undoubtedly the coming
conveyance. The women seemingly
graspod the trend of the times bet
ter than did the men. This Same
make of motor was at the Pan-Amor-
lean Exposition at Buffalo, N. Y, in
September, 1901. Il was one Of the
! big sensations of the show.
In the fall of 1901 Mr.. Banks open
eG i'm small way in Bringhursts
/ stable, Tatnall street above Eighth.
He remained there until the spring
of 1902. Then he moved to No. S29
Orange street. continuing there until
the Spring of 1908. selling Oldsmo-
bilos That car had established quite
reputation for itself 1t was con-
sidered one of the best Of the few
machines i'm the market at that time
Banks had the name Garage
placed on a sign and put up. II was
the first sign OF tho kind displayed
in Wilmington Naturally much
curiosity was aroused as TO its mean
ing. In 1904 he began selling tho
Ford two-cylinder cars. They were
known more famiiiarly as the "Red
I Devil' and considered one of the best
cars then built John Wanamakor
was the Philadelphia distributor
Among the early purchasers were
such prominent men as DR.. Franci,
G. DUPONT, now deceased; Horace
W. Cause, r. L. DUPONT. II. Taylor
! Cause. +. Carpenter. A. Felix DUPONT
/ Seeing that the business was grow
ing and that there was apparently a
prosperous future. many mon were
\ eager to get I'm or be connected with
\ it. Banks formed and incorporated
i'm the fall of 1904. the Wilmington
F, Automobile Company with the follow
ing officers; II. w. Cause. president
John Bancroft. vice-prcsident; :; and w
\ c. Jackson. secretary and treasurer
In the spring Of 1905, they rented
the old Bullock property. Il stood on
the site where the company IS now
doing business and was remodelod tc
meet the requirements at the time
Business kept increasing. II necessi
tatod the taking in OF the adjoining
stable property That also was alter
ed TO suit AT the expiration of thu
lease. they bought both properties il
April, 1906
Shortly after that the city. in IL
progress due TO the construction o
the dupont building. widoned Tent
street. taking twenty feet of the from
OF the auto company's property. Tn
compang in turn tore down ;he re
naming front half of the buildin
and elected a new two-story buildin
, in its place A year later the rear hal
was torn down and = throe-storI
building was erected i'm its place an
connected with the front half Thi
gave the company larger. more con-
modious and up-to-date garage. an