New-York tribune., 1918-09-22
Automobile People
Are airing We'll
Enough, 1t Seems

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21.-It is an
odd thing that nearly any one who
comes to Washington to get something
in the way of materials that are lack
ing to build one thing and another.
when he fails to get it, says: "And
yet they're letting the automobile
people have the steel to build million
pleasure cars" So that. even if the
automobile folks themselves may have
an idea they are getting the worst of
it, the outsiders are all sure that the
motor car industry is getting all the
close ones and all the breaks. 1t de-
pends upon where you sit what the
show looks like.
AS a matter of fact, the automobile
people are getting the same treatment
as others who come to Washington. And
why should they not? They don't want,
any more than does any other group
of patriotic men, to do anything that
will interfere with the war programme
of the country. What's more neither
they ncr any other group is going to
be permitted to do so. Therefore it is
all waste time to say that any industry
is being favored ovar any other. 1t
simply isn't being done.
The programme of the automobile
manufacturers is going along in ac-
cordance with government wishes. No
one in the government has any idea
that tho automobile is anything but a
necessity. The important men in the
government use automobiles for their
own purposes as time savers of the
first grade All that old idea about
non-essentials has vanished. But the
authorities say: "There are 100000
automobiles to-day in the country. 1t
is al! light to build more, if building
then. doesn't interfere with war work."
From this idea arose the plan of limit
ing production for the last half of 1918
to SO per cent.
And that measure, by the way, affects
the large manufacturer only There is
no such limit upon the maker who
built, in 1918, 1900 cars or less. He is
permitted to go on to the full extent
of his abilities to get materials, al
ways of course without conflicting with
the war. And what with the permits
sicn to build cars for the rest of 1918,
and to get square with the inventories,
it is safe to say there will be some
new automobiles dribbling along all
through the first nine months of 1919.
AS for the truck manufacturers, they
are limited to one-third the production
of the past eighteen months, which is
not bad thing for them either, un-
less they made very few trucks in 1917
and a whole lot in the first half of
1913. hey are limited, as far as sales
go, g. proper users of trucks, and the
government idea is that they shall en-
courage those already truck users to
employ the old vehicles to the limit
before attempting to sell them new
ones.
Incidentally. the government doesn't
look with favor upon the soliciting
Of new business, believing that this is
to stimulate a demand where none ex-
lists. which would conflict with war
aims. For this reason the automobile
salesman is probably doomed and will
have to move into sone essential bust
ness. Thus far. kavever. drivers Of
motor trucks and of passenger cars
have not been called upon to change
their occupations. This applies to
chauffeurs of private cars where this
is their sole occupation, where they do
not act. Tor instance. as gardeners or
as helpers in any other way
AS to the rubber situation, it looks
now as if there would hardly be a
shortage of tires for automobile use. In
addition to the 100000 tons of rubber
permitted to be imported there was a
considerable stock on hand or in transit
to this country. Rubber was fixed at
40 cents pound. the lowest it has
been in ten years, t'ose familiar with
the trade say. And what is more, the
same authorities do not look for any
increases in the prices of tires in the
immediate future. They say with en-
phasis that they cannot foresee any
shortage of tires.
The automobile people have had rep
resentatives here for the past year and
they have been handling difficult sit
uation as best they could. To opLose
solely the argument that some one
would lose money to the war needs Of
the country wouldn't have been much
of an argument and they had to work
along ether lines. There we're some
persons. to be sure. who did oppose the
/ industry through prejudice. But these
things have been pretty we'll worked
out by now and the automobile indus
try stands better to- day in this place
than eve before