Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-02-19
PRICE PREDICTION
NOW VERIFIED
REQ Official Prophesied That
Prices Would Most Likely
Increase

'I told you SOL" said General Man
aged Scott of the REQ Motor Car
Company. the other day. when he war
told of an increase in price by an
other automobile manufacturer, and
proposer raises by several others.
AT the time of the New York show
said in an interview that I would not
be surprised if many makers were
forced to increase the price of their
cars in the coming months. In fact
/ said I would be very muCh sur
prised If that did not happen. And
/ gaze then the same reasons that
are now given by those makers who
have had to bow to the inevitable
the increased cost Of materials and of
manufacture, due to shortage of high
speed tool steel, machine tools and
other necesSaries.
Most readers doubtless took that
prediction with a grain of salt, but
events are now proving its accuracy.
THE present shortage and present
high prices of materials are most SER
iously affecting those who do not
make, but who merely assemble auto
mobiles, and a few others who may be
classed as manufacturers but who for
financial reasons were unable a year
ago to contract satisfactorily for their
requirements a year in advance.
Concerns like REQ and n few 9TH
ers similarly situated, whose financial
stability is undoubted, and who may
therefore he counted upon as those
who will be in business and paying
their bills in the future as in the
past, are not so seriously affected by
either the shortage of materials nor
the increase in price.
producers of raw materials such
as aluminium, steel. etc, as well as
machine tools. figure it this way:
Here's an order for export with cash
on delivery in New York; on the
other hand, here's a concern who
wants the same material for auto
mobile manufacture but whose ability
to pay is doubtful and whose future is
still more in doubt. Guess We'll ac-
Ccpt the European order"
Now then, we'll suppose that REQ
wants the raw material. REQ has al
ways paid, and its financial status is
the best possible guarantee that 1t not
only will pay for what it wants this
year, but that it will be a good Gus
toner and a bigger one for many
years to come-long after the way is
over. Reo, therefore, gets it's ma
terials, while the other automobile
manufacturer waits while the mater
ial man takes advantage Of the high
er price he can get for the export
order.
This is only one phase of the mat
ter that has become serious, but
which up to the present time has af-
fected us only slishtly.
las an indication of where Rec
stands, l need only cite one instance.
We found the demand for REQ cars
greater than ever before and after
looking over the situation we found
we could get more material than we
had originally contracted for. OF
course we had options on that ma
terial, otherwise it might have been
unattainable. The other day we de-
cided therefore, to put $500 more
Skies through the factory than the
original schedule called for, to. more
nearly meet the dealers demand fol
this model.
"Our plans on REQ the Fifth were
nearly twice that of last year, so we
nre protected on material for thai
model.
I'm going to repeat two prophe.
cies that I made at the New Yorl
show" concluded Mr.. Scott, both o1
which were at that time accepted
lightly but were based on a pretty
thorough knowledge of the inside con.
ditions, and the truth of which will
become apparent n little later.
zone of those prophecies was tha
there will not be, cannot be as many
cars made in 1915 as there were il
1915; with a demand greater thar
ever before because of the greater
present prosperity of the country
there will be a tremendous shortage
the coming year" and the second
semblers, will be forced to increast
V,.ip