El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-08-19


ers. says the New York Times
~ Nothing like the distribution OF
. motor vehicles in this country is to
be found in any other part of the in
habited globe. Never before in history
has a product, the unit value of which
even remotely approached that Of the
automobile, been sold to nearly so large
& proportion OF the population If any
argument were needed to cinch the
= fact OF the huge prosperity OF these
Mis- one item of national investment;
she light-seeking economist would
need to search no further BY the first
of January 1917, there will be one
automobile In TINS country LOT each 20
inhabitants. On January l Of this year
- there was already one automobile to
Neach II Of the population
It is staggering when one stops to
realize the cost Of even the most
modest motor car. If one puts the
average cost of an automobile at $500.
which is considerably lower than the
true average, the value of the 2.445,b64
cars which the government census re-
Gently announced were registered in the
United States in 1916, reaches in the
aggregate 81 ~. $50. 900. This is the
Asort of a figurS that one uses in speak
Ting of national debts or annual appro-
priations of a first-class power or the
It is quite outside Of ordinary compre-
hension-
Gets New Impetus
But automobile production did not
stop in this country when the weary
old year laid down his scythe and
hourglass last December. On the con-
trary, il received a new impetus, and
more cars, by an enormous percentage.
L(are being produced and sold this year
' than ever before The most sanguine
prophets predicted that 1916 would see
/ 500 600 cars produced in America
For once these prophets are cloakeo
with honor in their own country, Tor
that production seems certain to De
reached. In a careful compilation of
the figures for the first six months OF
the wear, made by The Automobile. our
factories were found to have produced
754,S02 passenger automobiles II Is
cot hard to see that with the speeding
frp of the production usual in the sec
pnd half year the 100000 mark Is
sure to be attained
When these 10000 cars are added
70 those in operation on January last,
Mt will be seen that at least S.s45,6b4
automobiles will be owned in the
United States. or one 10 every 1884 IN
habitants- This total will represent an
Investment of s2,00O.O0O.000 in round
figures. based on the $500 a car unit.
which IS certainly far too low
Such an enormous distribution Of a
product, which less than a decade ago
was considered a luxury. demands an
explanation It brisJles with interest
ing economic questions on all SIDES
But the first insistent query is: What
has made such a thing possible; where
in lies this modern magic?' The tech
ufcaI and rather puzzling answer 10
this question is quantity production
What" you say you answer the
ouery of what has made such quantity
possible by saying Quantity produc-
1ion""
precisely. Because quantity produc-
tion applied to the automobile industry
1zitS an intensity and a thoroughness
never before eQualled on approximately
such a scale. has in turn made possiDle
& constant and important reouctlon IN
the prices at which cars are SOLO II
has put the automobile into the hands
of every man. and. as if with the waV-
ing of magician's wand, has maze OF
the man in the street q motorlsL Let
no man say after this decade that the
age of witchcraft Is dead
Costs Ten Years Ago
Ten years ago you could not buy
serviceable automobile for less than
AS20OO; five years ago your choice below
S10oO was limited-and strictly limited
Today there are at least IA standard
makes of car from any one of which
YOU can expect more consistent service
than from the expensive machine OF
Adozen years ago, which sell 1or less
than 500 Many Of these are priced
at much less than that amount. In
deed. the great majority come sub
stantially below that mark. The motor
car has become literally less costly than
q pair Of decent horses at first price
and. of course, much less expensive
to maintain from all points Of view
The Industry has been democratized-
Argue as you will; say that his
rivals would have brought IL about II
he had not or let your irrelevant pre-
tparedness enthusiasm scorn his paciism
an you wish-the man who is respon-
eible for all this and deserves the
credit for II is Henry Ford. He IT was