Omaha daily bee., 1916-02-24
MOTOR ENGINEER
HAS HARD TASK
Mitehell-Lewis Chief Tells of Hours
Of Work and SSudy He Put In
on the New Six.
HAD THE woRKMEN CRITICIsE
BN JOHN w. hate.

BY JOHN W. BATE
Chief Engineer Mitchell-Lewis Motor
Company.
Sometimes I wonder that the Society
OF Automobile Engineers does not estab-
hsh some sore Of an iron cross as dec
grafton for its members as reward
for close, combining and long and inteu-
siVe work by the men who are respon-
sible for the mechanical features Of an
automobile. Not until he has spent many
sleepless night, many hours of ex-
perimental work in his laboratory, sane
tum, inner Of inners. or whatever he
may call his workship. can an engineer
put his stamp Of approval upon a model
and say with any degree of satisfaction
TO the manufacturing department:
There. take the details and make the
car. It's as good as human ingenuity
can design It,"
After all the time spent in my depart
ment there was one order placed in big,
black letters in the executive offices OF
the Mitchell-Lewis Motor company:
This car the six Of 10 is to be built
as good as It can be built Build up
the factory's production on a quality
basis 80 that the product may be mar
keted at the lowest possible price with
out, in anyway. stinting the car. This
is the Mitchell way-always has been the
Mitchell way and always will be the
Mitchell way"
Not long since I essayed getting IN
tensive data on the way the six Of
49, was being built in our big plant and
hit upon the idea of getting each work
man in charge of the several depart
ments to criticise his mechanical prac-
tees and TO tear TO pieces any claims
that the company made for the machine
in short to speak out and give me his
conscientious and earnest criticisms.
Speak freight is from men of your
skill and experience that an engineer
may profit most" I said.
And every workman catechised did as
directed. The consensus of opinion was
that II the material entering into the
structure of the six Of '16s" was what
our metallurgical laboratory pronounced
II. there was no real reason why the
Mitchell Six should not be good for
100000 miles of hard road work. Not a
practice was condemned-none could fur
nish better plan for working out the
finished car than that which obtains
in the Mitchell factory, 1 believe
CLEANED the honest, earnest and efficient
inner thoughts Of our workman. With
them all satisfied, I permitted myself
to appear at once.
Defies Competition.
The net result of planning, manufac-
turing and inspection is that the Mitchell
company is out with a compettion-defy-
ing car. The record of manufacturing
and selling is proof that the dealers
and the buyers are agreed that they
are getting full value for their money.
In 1912 the Mitchell company produced
the Baby Six" which achieved such
success that it was admittedly a real
car at a popular price. There was proof
in the handling of that model enough to
convince the most sceptical engineer that
the car was real-many of them sold at
a premium over the catalogued price All
over the country engineers strove to at
tain the 100 per cent real car. But
none could equal the Mitchell output at
its price. and upon my return to the
field in which l had not been repre-
scented since 19l2-the field OF the lighter
and lower priced six-cylinder carve
brought out the six of 49, at s, $50
I do not believe It is possible to pro-
duce this car with its features of abso-
lutte merit one dollar cheaper. In fact
It will be necessary to conserve every en-
output and material buying, TO continue
to put out the six of 'l6'' without an
advance in price.