The Washington herald., 1916-02-17
MOTOR GOSSIP
By "sI, GROGAN.

Dan c. Swander. District manager OF the
TTrrstonc Tire and Rubber Company. is
in the city for a few days. During his
stay he Is the guest OF ]. J. Haas, man
aver Of the local branch OF this company.
T. Lamar Jackson, who has been Ill
for some time, again is on the Job
demonstrating to the automobile pub
lie the merits Of the wInton car, Of
which he is the local distributor.
Like everything else, supply and
demand regulates the price" was the
only reason that Griffin Halstead. local
representative of the Standard OIL
Company, could give for the increace
in the cost Of gasoline. Said Grin,
we are regulated here, as elsewhere
entirely by the amount our company
can produce"
Time TO Retire" the slogan Of the
Fisk Rubber Company. is very sppro-
pirate at this season Of the year,
when, due to the condition of the
streets, those who use their machines
are having more or less tire trouble.
Needless to say, E II. Hardman, local
manager for the Fisk Company, is TAX
ing full advantage OF the conditions
He reports that business Is better
right now in the dull season that It
has been at any time since abe OPEN
ing OF the Washington office OF this
company.
"'BilT' Jose, manager of the auto
mobile supply department Of the Ma
tionaI Electrical supply Company.
though he was born and raised few
miles from Washington, claims to be
from Missouri. Every salesman who
calls on Bill to sell him anything
in the accessory line must prove the
merits Of his goods before he can hope
10 land an order. II necessary 'Bili
will take an afternoon of to test 1t
for himself before placing lhe order.
II is quite evident that the automobile
maker cannot long continue to sell under
his present price lists, unless the cost
OF raw material takes a tumble.
1T Is practically certain" says the edi-
tor OF The Automobile" that all car
manufacturers will have to raise the
price OF their machines for next year.
il they do not do this and hold the
prices where they are they will have to
cut the quality This is the unanimous
opinion Of men who are close to the
present condition OF the material market.
There Is no more important thlng IN the
minds of automobile producers today
than this question nf price.
There Is no need for the maintenance
Of present automobile prices, just as
there was no need for the immense cuts
made last summer. The demand for pass
enger cars and trucks Is such that a
rise IN price SUFFICIENT to cover the rGe
IN the cost Of materials would hardly
lose the industry a single order. To have
the situation covered, and more than
covered. 1t would not be necessary to
raise prices Of cars all the way back TO
what they were a year ago.
Three OF the foremost companies have
now raised the selling figures, Cadillac
and Packard having done so some months
ago, and Chalmers fell into line recent
". Other concerns need have no fear in
following this lead
The general feeling Is that all must
meet the situation fairly and acknowledge
that they cannot continue at present
figures when It Is costing them about one
fifth more to build the vehicle than it
did year ago. solely because they have
to pay much more for the raw materials.
Therefore, IT can be stated positively that,
unless some unforeseen and highly inn
probable easing OF Of the demand for iron
and steel. copper. zinc, aluminium, brass,
broiZe, tin. etc, takes place. the profit
I'm the vehicles will not be sufficient TO
give a reasonable return on the money
invested"