Arizona republican., 1917-12-30
ID DEMONSTRATE
 AUTO NECESSITY

"Supposing,' says George L. Will | man, assistant sales manager and ad- | vertising manager of the Studebaker | corporation, I've should wake up some | fine morning and find that over night | some learned savant had decided that l the automobile was a luxury and an | unnecessary plaything, a toy for an over-grown boy, and that some four | teen hundred thousand farmers liy- 1 ing in the east, west and south-central states of this country of ours were told that they would have to give up their automobiles very soon because somebody decided that they were un- necessary and that no more were to be made after the present supply had run out.
 "Supposing that ukas were served on some four-hundred thousand busi- ness men in this country that auto mobiles were unnecessary, and that they had better get ready to buy horses again as soon as their present supply Of automobiles ran out. Supposing that our learned savant had decided that automobiles were not necessary ! to our armies, or to the Red Cross, or to anyone interested in transportation of the vital needs of war. It seems ! ridiculous, doesn't it? It is hardly less ridiculous than the amount of talk we hear and writing we read in reference to whether or not the automobile is a necessity.
 The Dominion of Canada alone col lects $4,590,000 a year in duties on the automobiles sent into Canada to SUD- ply the needs of Canadians; and our
 conservative cousins to the north are
 not giving s5,000,000 to their govern
 ment just to bring in toys. The prov 1 ince of Alberta has 10000 automobiles. An unprejudiced investigation in Can
 ada shows that "A per cent of the auto mobiles owned in Manitoba, Saskatche-
 wan and Alberta are owned by farmers
 and it is stated on good authority that
 one of the reasons why northwest Can
 ada has been such a wonderful pro-
 ducer of wheat has been because the general use of the automobile has in-
 creased the farmers efficiency, saved his horses for planting and harvesting,
 and carried a considerable portion Of the threshed wheat to market. We mention Canada because we know that Canada, after three years of war, is not buying automobiles as playthings or luxuries. Canada is buying them
 because they can make Canada more
 efficient and more productive.
 After this country has been in war J
 our great North Central and South
 Central states will need more autono-
 piles than 100000; but even if we do
 not supply another farmer with an
 automobile, it will require half a mill
 lion automobiles alone to replace the
 cars now in use in only twelve great
 north central farming states.
 Tt would of course be absurd to
 say that every automobile is an abso-
 lute necessity to the man who owns it. it would be just as ridiculous to say
 that every horse and carriage was an absolute necessity to the man who owns it today or the man who owned it ten years ago. but we do not con- demn the horse as unnecessary and a luxury because a. few sports had fine horses for pleasure purposes.
 q do not think we have to worry about the man who is going to buy the automobile because it's a luxury. We are pretty safe in assuming that
 even if his patriotism does not prevent
 the increased cost of living in these war
 times, it will prevent his extravaganza without the necessity of special legis- ! lation.
 Let us worry ourselves far more about how we are going to md 50O,0O0 cars year to take care of the farmers who really need them in twelve great farming states in this country; and while we are worrying, let us worry about the automobile needs of some thirty five or firty states not includ- ing these twelve great farming states
 Let us worry about the Canadian farm CT who will need his automobile next years just as he found it necessary this year.
 "The great problem before us today is not one of deciding whether the automobile is necessary or unneces-
 sary, but how we are going to find
 enough of them to take care of ths
 needs as absolute necessities to mil lions of people and most of them who II needed them to increase their efficinec!