The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1917-12-23
MODELLING THE MOTOR CARE Frank e Carpenter

outfit, by which the broken parts of
steel, brass or aluminium can be joined
together. There are usually several
hundred cars in each park. and the
machinists and other repair men are
under the command of a captain ana
two lieutenants. At present the armies
are doing all they can to have the
trucks and cars standardized. so that
the parts of one machine will do for
breakages in others.
There is no better place to learn
about the automobile industry of the
United States than Detroit This city
is the motor car center of the country.
1t has more than 10000 men employed
in the industry and it's output of cars
last year was about 100000 in NUM-
Der. During the fiscal year ending last
July a single company had sold more
than 10000 cars, and it's managers tell
me they have still 100000 untitled or
ders on their books The market value
of the cars turned out here last year
was more than s600.00o.000
Riding through the city, one sees
everywhere the evidence of the motor
car industry. He can count half mill
lion dollars worth of pleasure auto
mobiles at any hour of the day in Cad
almost every street carrying loads OF
automobile materials from plant to
plant. There are great factories de-
voted to making motor car parts and
accessories. and those making motor
vehicles are to be found in every part
of the city. Some were on the out
skirts when they laid their founda-
lions, but the city has gone beyond
them. Detroit increases so rapidly that
the people can hardly keep up with it.
They claim that they have now $4,000
population, and that at the present rate
of growth they will have more than
100000 in 1920.
During my stay here have visited
many of the factories There are 100
in the city. Some of the plants cover
acres, and one has 5000 or $4,000 men
on it's pay roll. l went through one
factory which has as much ground de-
voted to it as a 275-acre farm, and
walk gtderohuhh,am ed wti.ines
walked through machine shops which
if spread out would more than cover
| five fields of 10 acres each.
The buildings of the factories are OF
| four five and six stories. They look
like enormous boxes of brick, iron and
glass. They are designed and built
with the sole view OF efficiency of
| handling the materials increasing out
put and with giving sanitary conditions
to tie employees / might write pages
about the details of saving saw
everywhere. The buildings are arranged
so that the raw materials come in al
ore end of the factory and the finished
| cars go out at the other. There Is nc
waste of energy and no reduplication Of
work. In one establishment the build
ings are in units around craneways
which enable the freight to be taker
/! from the trucks on the railways and
| dropped down just where they are to be
used. In another the power house is sc
built that the coal is put in at the tor
of the plant, and it falls by gravity into
| the furna ces. which heat the boilers that
| in turn move the great cylinders of this
60o0-horse power engines on the floor be
low. That power plant develops 3600t
horse power and its engines are COM
hination of gas-steam type. There are
other engines which increase the horse
power to 5000, and that force is used
for the machinery of this one motor car
establishment alone. The power plant is
as clean as a Dutch kitchen. Its floors
are of mosaic white tile and it makes
one think of the bathroom of a million.
aire. The electricity is generated there
and there is great saving in coal by
use of gas producers. The company con-
sumes more than 100000 cubic feet OF
gas per day. or enough to light a large
city.
To give you some idea of these great
machine shops which are now being