New-York tribune., 1919-02-02

say 1t went away to get into the war
mean that it not only got in but it got
clear in. No industry back of Uncle
Same gave more than the automobile
industry, and our industry gave doubly
since it rave quickly and effectively.
What the aggregate production of
the motor car factories amounted to in
turning the tide to victory already is
pretty generally known. 1t was big
JOB we'll done. So much has been said
about it, however, that the average man
in the street probably has lost sight
OF one factor which has been of trans
cendant Importance during the last ten
weeks. | mean this:
In those weeks, from the middle of
November to the present day, the au-
tomoblle industry has faced and con-
quered task as huge, in many of it's
aspects, as was our work of crowding
the fighting fronts with it's instruments
that brought success to our armies
That is, We have made ready for peace
time production and have switched our
plants from war work to a schedule
OF regular production which we hope
Will be sufficient to keep up with the
demand for passenger cars and trucks
until we have mastered the next bic
task ahead Of US, which is to further
expand our manufacturing resources to
meet the demands that will accrue fpom
the greatest era Of prosperity this
country has ever seen.
Task Well Handled
| question right now if there is an
other predominant industry in the
country that has grasped the task of
reconstruction and readustment within
itself and accomplished it as our indus
try has. The automobile industry has
marched steadily on-minus the beat Of
the martial air, but in step with the
spirit of the day and pretty we'll KEYED
up right now for the demands of the
future.
We had some time to prepare our
selves for war production, but for this
second task we had none. What the
Job amounted to can best be grasped
by citing the fact that right now this
country is short from 100000 to 75O 900
automobiles-ca which would have
been made and readily taken by Ameri-
can buyers had war not interrupted
everything.
In England to-day thousands of car
buyers are SO anxious to get new auto
mobiles that they are making deposits
with dealers with the understanding
that they are to get their cars if, as
and when the factories produce them
The price is not stated and the best
the dealers can do is guess at some ap-
proximate price. That state of affairs
could easily have obtained here were
it not FOR the resourcefulness of the
automobile industry as whole.
With peace arriving just at the be-
ginning of winter it was possible for
the factories to keep up with dealer
demands during the succeeding two
months after the armistice, although
we knew that volcanic demand for
motor cars was just under the surface
Of general conditions--ready to burst
into action when the public had had
few weeks in which to recover its
poise.
Demand Now On
The great demand now is on. From
an almost certain knowledge Of what
lies ahead of us in the next few
months, and during the next few years
I predict that the New York show this
week will see the greatest degree Of
interest that these events have ever
known. There are various logical rea-
sons for this belief, which any we'll
informed observer of conditions can
discern. 1t is natural that the pub
lie should want automobiles, and nat