Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-08-18
Surprising Cost of Automobiles.

The Railway Age complies and pub
fishes statistics, which disclose what it
calls the astonishing fact" that the
American public is spending approximate
ly the same amount annually for running
and riding in automobiles as it is spend
ing for all of its railroad transportation
freight, passenger, express and mail. IL
points out that if the public should find
the recent advance of 81, $50, 900 IN
railway rates burdensome. it can COM
pletely offset this additional cost of rail-
road transportation by reducing its use OF
automobiles 25 per cent. 1t estimates
that after the recent advances in railway
rates of 81, $50, 900, 600 a year have been
put into effect the annual cost of railroad
transportation 10 the public will be about
So, zoo, 100000 or assuming that the
average family contains five persons,
about s3O5 per family. 1t estimates that
the public alreadyis spending over $6.OOO.-
100000 year, or $3.50 per family. for
operating and riding in automobiles, 81
per cent of which are passenger cars.
'The air doubtless will soon be filed"
says the Railway Age, with outcries
from the advocates of government owner
ship of railways and sef-appointed
spokesmen of the public because Of the
enormous increase in the cost Of living,
which, it is alleged, the advances IN ran
rates will cause. But as long as the public
is voluntarily and gladly spending over
$4,000, ,000, 600 a year, for using automo-
biles, not including the cost of building
and maintaining highways, it seems
doubtful if it will find it very difficult to
pay substantially equal bill for the es-
sential service of railroad transportation
''The reader who has never given any
study to the data regarding the COM
parative amounts that the American
public is paying for the two kinds of
transportation-railr and automobile
doubtless will have some curiosity re-
gardinu the details of the American pub
lies automobile BILL In the year 1919
the number of motor vehicles of all kinds
registered in the United States was T.
623, ,551, and at an average cost OF 81 2O0 |
they represented an investment OF 3d.
las. .260, 900. The valuation placed by |
the Interstate Commerce Commission on |
all the railroads in its recent rate decision |
was only SIS, 900, 600 600. Therefore. the |
public now has invested in automobiles
almost one-half as much as the valuation |
placed by the commission on the railways |
"It is estimated that the number of
new cars which will be built and sold this
wear will be 2.25O,o00 while the number |
that will be retired from service will be /
about .525. 900. This would result in
net increase in cars Of service Of 725,OoO,
or e13 per cent 1t seems safe TO assume
than an increase of 912 per cent in the |
number of cars in service viii cause an
increase of at least 915 per cent or s522,-
27O, 600, in the country's automobile |
bill This will make it in 1920 approx
imately S6,02o,O00, 600" and the inn
portant item of cost in the continuation
and maintenance of improved public
roads has no place in this estimate.
1t cannot be said that the automobile is |
any longer a luxury Of the rich. There is
now one for about every 13 persons in /
the country, or about one for every 2t2 |
families. It has become very demo-
cratic institution.