New-York tribune., 1918-07-14
See Where All Things
That Go Into Cars Must
Be Brought From
By George M. Dickson,
President National Motor Car and
Vehicle CORPORATION

Vehicle Corporation
If he were not 100 per cent patriot
the American automobile manufacturer
would find it easy to sympathize with
the war lords of Germany, who have
been driven to such desperate measures s
by the shortage of raw materials that
they now have seized all the metal
door knobs in the krazed Kaiser's king
dom for use in the making of ammuni-
ton.
For the maker of motor cars Is hav-
ing his own troubles in getting the
materials he needs for even a curtailed
production. The situation was never as
acute as it is to-day, although the au-
tomobile manufacturer felt the pinch
Of the war boot long before Uncle Sam
made his epochal and sacred covenant
to win or die with the Allies in their
fight for world democracy.
In fact, recent war measures of the
government-the requisition of about
four-fifths of the total steel output for
military needs and the restriction of
crude rubber imports for 1918 to about
100000 tons-have served only to make
a fve-year-old problem more difficult
of solution, so far as the automobile
manufacturer and the maker of parts
and equipment are concerned.
1t is not difficult to explain this un-
precedented shortage of raw materials,
either past or present, if you apply
geography to the problem. For you
will find that the products entering
into the manufacture of an automo-
bile come from all parts of the world.
After sfixing the widely scattered
facts must be taken into consideration
Several of the countries that formerly
produced automobile material, includ-
ing France, Belgium, Germany and
Austria, are now exclusively engaged
in the business of war-a war that has
enslaved their miners and metallurgists
, in the trenches and dealt a deathblow
to their international trade.
The neutral nations also have been
hard hit. Not only have the German
submarines been a menace to shipping
but many of the boats that once pliec
| between these countries and the United
automobile materials are now being
used for the transport of foodstuffs
and military supplies.
The steel market is typical of con
ditions that have resulted in the
scarcity of automobile materials fol
| the last five years. Before the out
break of the world war, three of the
most important alloys used in The
production Of steel came from foreign
countries -ferro- manganese and chro
MUM from Austria and Germany ant
tungsten from the South American re
publics bordering the Caribbean Sea
Belgian steel also was extenslvel!
used in the building of high-speet
motors.
The war, however, stopped the ex
portation of ferro- manganese ant
chromium from Europe and limited tht
shipments of tungsten from Soutf
America. Other sources of supply hac
to be found and new mines developed
The titanic struggle across the Atlantic
was still young when tungsten mining
in this country experienced a boom
Colorado fields. which once were con-
sidered unworthy of exploitation be:
cause ofs the low percentage of meta
they would yield, become veritable Ell
dorados within a year.
The automobile, before it is assem-
bled, is a sort of international hash
Much of the fine wood that is used for
trimming the car-Circassian and black
walnut and mahogany-comes from
South American forests. France, Rus
sia and Argentina contribute thousands
of hides annually for automobile up
holstery. French clay is a vital in
gredient of the porcelain cores foI
spark plugs. The tire maker depends
on Brazil and the Malay peninsula fol
crude rnbber and exports, cotton from
the South Sea Islands to tougher the
casing fabric. Holland and other flax