Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1917-01-05

E1OUIU we Shall oSh OuA 1couCAo Ia IAAS
vicinity of Spillville to make one tier
take the place Of two.
Some action!
Nothing was ever SO impressive as
our tour of the great plant that turns
out WHY'S Overland cars.
Our Pullmans all parked in the COM
pany yards. There was room enough
for there are ;even and three-quarter
miles of track within the plant
Each man got card containing
picture of Mr.. WHY'S and an auto
graphed message of welcome from
him. Next thing we knew we were
lined up on the steps of the stunning
rev administration building getting
photographed. z-.-
Elevators shot us to the company's
own restaurant on the sixth floor.
There we had a corking breakfast
AT each plate was copy of the live
new Willys-Overland house organ,
"The Starter" It mapped our days
program.
Then started our tour of the plant.
Our guides were carefully picked
men. They knew the plant from end
10 end, and the parties were small
so that each member of the party
could have his questions answered.
Nobody ought to try to sell WHY'S
Overland product without knowing
this plant. You can't grip the immen-
sity Of the proposition till you do.
It is no piker business.
Twenty-f million dollars are tied
up in land, buildings and machinery.
not to say a word about the stock of
parts and raw material.
M From the roof of the wonderful ad-
ministration building, which stands
out like state capitol, you get great
panorama of the plant. You can then
readily believe that it occupies los
acres. with 4,4s6.6s0 square feet Of
floor space in daily use and a pro-
sdpction capacity Of NO cart day.
You can appreciate the growth
from $50 employees in 1908 to 1890
in 1916.
One thousand persons, more than
the entire manufacturing force of
many company, work in the admin
istration building alone. This struc-
ture, 375 feet long, has every facili-
ty for rapid work, including dicta-
phones, it's own telegraph and tele-
phone system and a mail handling de-
partment that does about everything
but write the letters.
Three hundred and Lightweight
persons can be fed in the restaurant
at one time.
n But this is nothing to what hits
when you cross into the shops. 1t
is whirl of action, yet all is system.
Parts by the untold thousands are
here, with a value into the millions
Of dollars. There are lines Of motors.
We never saw so many crank shafts
together. Our guide said 6,000-wed
have believed 10000.
There is stock in bins, stock in
yards, stock along the walls, connect
ing rods, frames, tenders, mudguards,
hoods, rims, springs, axles, torsion
tubes, transmission gears, shafts,
brake parts, steering rods. pedals
It is an unending procession.
Every thirty days sees an average
of 1000 tons of steel come in. 1t is
handled by a magnetic crane that en-
ables two men to do work that for
merly required thirty.
There are amazing machines.
The toggle press, for example, held
us all. This monster, with it's pres
sure of 1000 tons, shapes cold steel
like cardboard. A piece of metal fed
to it comes out as side frame. 1t
can make 1000 of these in an eight
hour day.
Other mighty machines stamp out
radiator shells, tenders, cowl dashes
and doors.
IS You take off your hat to the drop
forging machines. Down comes the
hammer and the fiery piece of iron is
beaten into shape. The complete
drop forging of the front axle can b.
accomplished with one heat.
Every kind of part requiring
strength was drop forged while we
looked on, axles, crank shafts,
brake assembly rods, brake and con-
troll rods, spring shackles, gear
blanks and brake rod sectors.
We saw the company's accurate
system Of die making. It calls for q
special workman on each detail. One
works on the shaper. another on the
~1annp and a third nm die ai0kiDR