The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-20
By WILLIAM l.. MATTERS President of Georgia AutomOtive
 Dealers Association.

have received scores of letters and telegrams from dealers regarding the attitude of the federal reserve bank of Atlanta to automobile paper. These inquiries are due to press notices re garding statements made by M. $ Wellborn, governor of the federal re- serve bank of Atlanta, in recent ad- dress in New Orleans.
 Mir Wellborn has been quoted as stating that in the present restriction of credits on all luXuries he would place the automobile as number one on his list of essentials. He, how ever, qualities this statement by say ing that credits should be allowed on cars used for strictly business pur- poses.
 MT. Wellborn's utterances on this subject have been very unfortunate due to the fact that he has either not made his position in the matter entire ly clear or else he has been badly mis- informed regarding the use of passen- ger cars.
 In the first place it has been proven beyond a doubt that the present-day passenger car is strictly utility prod uct, as much so as street cars, pas senger trains, and steamships. It has also been proven that the percentage of automobiles used strictly for pleas ure purposes is so small that 1t is moi worthy of consideration
 MUST USE COMPARISON
 In order to see clearly any situation we must use comparison. That is the only method by which values can be arrived at. Following this policy o1 condemning the automobile as a luxury and a non essential purely because two or five out of every hundred are pleas ure- cars shall we also call our pas senger and Pullman trains luxuries and non-essentials because a small per centage of it's users are on pleasure bent? Shall we call telephones lux ury and non essential because some people visit upon them and because housewives save time In using then rather than making trip to the butch CT or candlestick maker? I could gt on indifinitely illustrating the fact tha there are scores of other products O utility that are Also used for pleas ure and in some cases the pleasure percentage is much greater than il found with automobile owners, yet w never hear them called luxuries or non essential.
 If the automobile is a luxury and non- essential then it is a on-essentia and luxury to have good roads, fol thero were none until the advent O the motor car and in Georgia during the past few months the state has col 1ected $1,7s0,S10.S3 to be used in build ing better roads in Georgia.
 If the automobiles are luxuries ant non essentials, then 1t is a luxury ant a non-essential to make it possible fo the farmers children to attend city schools, the tired farmers wife at tending city theatre and the farme1 himself saving many hours once spen on the road with Maud" which ar. now spent in the field with the help O Lizzie" Nothing has ever done a' much to make farm life more attrac tive as the automobile and nothing la increased land values as much as auto and the good roads that follow:
 AUTOS SAVED PARIS
 In thinking of the utility of thu automobile cannot but remember thu part motor cars placed in saving Pari during the first onslaught made by tn Germans. Cars and taxis of all kind were communicated and the time savet by their use in rushing men to thu