New-York tribune., 1918-01-07

'A~"~ - iICut VI tht ar
plane, because great body of en-
ginecrs turned their talents to the per-
fection of the internal combustion en-
gine for the automobile. The expert
mentation necessary to achieve this
result might not have been carried on
for the sake of the airpane alone.
The public found the airplane a
marvellous thing, wonderful to look at
But even to-day the flying machine
would hardly be welcomed as a gift
by the average business man. whereas
part of his business equipment as are
the telephone, the telegraph and the
fast train.
Until the great war was suddenly
thrust upon the world, the market for
airplanes was limited to exhibition
flyers, a few army aviators, and small
number of youths with plenty of
money and even more nerve. Until
comparatively recently, the United
States army itself owned only twelve
airplanes.
Delighted by the Automobile
For the automobile, however, the
public Immediately found plenty of
use. 1t served and delighted. 1t made
money for its owner, extended his
range of activity and power, kept his
health and renewed his vigor, edu-
Gated him. 1t helped make his coun-
try great. not only by what it con-
tributed at home, but by carrying
abroad the worth of his engineering
and manufacture.
American motor car and motor
truck manufacturers have assembling
plants and service stations in all parts
of the world. And America is the
recognized leader in the quantity pro-
duction of high-grade internal COM
bustion engines The gasolene engine
provided new use for a great re-
source in fuel which up to the time
the automobile was invented had very
limited use. The gasolenc engine, too,
changed the whole social tone and
range of American farm life.
This device owes it's present per-
fection in large part to the devotion
of the automobile engineers. The sig
ral development of the engine, and
consequently Of the industry, is due to
the very usefulness of these engineers
They pioneered their own way and were
guided by their own experiments and
inventive ability.
1t is probable that some of the chief
est successes they have registered
would not have resulted if they had al
ways tried to proceed according to es-
tabllshed engineering methods.
Learning Ready to Hand
When the day of the airplane ar
rived all that the automobile engine
had become was at the service of the
aircraft engineers. Before the great
war was under way five months, J. G.
Vincent, now a maj or in the United
States army, was directed by the Pack
ard company of which he then was vice
president of engineering, to give his
close attention to the development of
Packard aircraft engine. Two twelve
cylinder engines of aircraft type were
turned out by the Packard expert
mental shops before America had en-.
tered the war
The day of Americas declaration of
war saw the automobile factories ready
to turn over to the government thou
sands of practised engineers, tens OF
thousands of skilled workmen schooleC
in quantity production, acres of fine
plants. and the results of years of ex-
perimentation and hundreds of thou
sands of dollars worth Of experimental
development. Nearly $500 Packard
men, scores of them good engineers ant
hundreds of them skilled workmen, arc
now with the colors.
More recently there has been a cal
for highly trained foremen and me-
chanics who are needed in government
service, and these are being supplied
Probably no other industry has bee,
called upon more generally than the
automobile industry, and certainly
none has responded with more valuabl,
contributions toward the winning ot
the war