The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1916-03-29
PROSPERITY FOUNDED ON
"A GREATER PRODUCTION
WITH SMALLER PROFITS

quality car field. Just q few years
ago. the sl1-cyllnder car was regard
ed az a rich mans fad, exorhItant in
price and expensive to operate. To-
day. we ind the six-cylinder ma
chime In the utility class, at price
within the reach OF the man OF az
erage means. The field at which the
six can be manufactured In quaint
tiles without sacrificing quality OF
Workmanship or materials has been
definitely located, and manufacture
ers generally have recognized the
fact by producing cars Of this type to
sell at or near $1,000.
In a recent editorial In the Auto
mobile, Editor David Beecroft has
summed up the situation very
thoroughly.
There Is a wonderful difference
between the $1,000 car OF 1915 and
that Of year ago, almost. one might
say, IL b a totally different class OF
vehicle" says Mr.. Beecrnft. In
1914, q $1,000 car was q cheap car;
is was around $1,000 that one began
to find cars that were wholly good
and not merely good enough for the
money. Today, most OF tho $1,000
class are thoroughly hne examples
OF engineering, Of body construction
and Of efficiency In the widest sense.
A year ago man looking for q
quality car without regard for the
price would only rarely have been at
tracted by the engineering quality or
the appearance and finish OF any
machine costing much less than S2.-
600. Today there are several cars
which would arrest the attention Of
any show visitor unless he were
seeking an essentially large vehicle.
Perhaps this fact records the most re-
markRbIe achievement OF the automo-
bile industry to date"
Makers Install Mem Equipment.
OF course. It goes without saying,
that this revision in prices has not
been accomplished without extensive
preparations on the part of automobile
manufacturers In the way Of tncreas-
ing production. Without quantity pro-
duction 1t Ii manIfestly impossible to
incorporate quality In the car OF mod
crate price. Then, again, machinery
OF later and an improved type must
be installed at stated intervals to sup
plant the old fashioned tools and
equipment OF past seasons.
Our big Detroit plant has been rated
one Of the best equipped and most
modern OF the motor car plants that
manufactures q complete car. In the
last twelve months, however, we have
seen ft to purchase close to quarter
Of a million dollars worth OF new
tools and labor saving machinery. It'll
is only by constant vigilance OF this
kind that a company can hope to keep
up with the procession-a simple mat
ter Of continuing to grow or falling
by, the wayslde.
In the seven years Of the Chalmers
company's existence, there has never
been time when new buildings or adj
ditions were not In course OF construc-
ton at our Detroit factory. In the
last year we have added $4,000 square
feet Of manufacturing space. This adj
ditional space has helped us appre-
ciably in increasing our production,
but 1t requires only a moderate
amount Of foresight to ascertain the
time when our present facilities will
be wholly inadequate.
Among the new buildings planned
for the next year Is a new office struc-
tlre to house the rapidly growing Of
Ace forces OF the Chalmers plant. AS
Chalmers production calls for $1,000
six cylinder cars by July i, we will
probably requisition the present floor
space OF the Offices some time in tho
spring.
Summing rp prospects for the COM
ing year, II would seem that nothing
save an upset of all present business
forecasts or detrimental legislation
can prevent the automobile industry
from establishing new records in
1916. 49,