Arizona republican., 1920-09-19
AUTO INDUSTRY
 IF TREME NDOUS
 SIZE AND VALUE

With capital invested of over s2.- 100, 100000 and an annual production of over s2,50o 900 900, the automobile in- dustry. the youngest giant among the great industries of the United States, is giving the meat packing, steel works, printing and publishing and foundries and machine shop industries a close race for the supremacy in the great American industrial fabric
 With almost S,000.000 cars registered. and the value of those in service at around four billion dollars, the imagin- ation of the public is staggered when these figures are contemplated
 The rubber companies of the United states have turned out tires and tubes to the value of approximately $70o,- O0o,000 in the past 12 months. Our total consumption of rubber is about o0,000.o00 pounds of rubber per year and the automobile is responsible for in the neighborhood of 500, GOO, 900 pounds of this enormous total.
 There are now over three automo : piles to every freight car, and automo- piles are doing about twice as much passenger traffic as the railroads. About three million people of the pop ulation of the United States make their living from the automobile business.
 Looking back over the years cover- ing the birth and subsequent develop ment of the automobile, the following sacts will be seem
 The car registration for 1911 was e77,000; 1912, 010.0 900; 19I3 125o. 900 :: 1914. 1,735.00O; 1915, 2,470 900; 1916. 3,54e.o GOO; 1917, 4.94o,000; 1918, 5.945. 900; 1919, T.523 900 and so far this year the registration approximates over S.000. 900 cars.
 The total wealth of the United States is over 300 billion dollars, and raf f.[- I in automobiles; and those connected with the automobile and affiliated in dustries.
 The average price per car has steadily dropped since 1907, except for minor fluctuations from year~to year Back in 1901 the price of an automobne averaged s1,304; in 1904, s1.33S; in 1907, S2.141,; in 1909, s1 96S; in $19f2, $1,274; in 1914, SSH; in 1917, $552; in 1918, ss12, and in 1919, s745.
 With the increased cost of nearly every material that goes into an auto mobile, together with the increased wages paid in e20 the average price will have been raised somewhat when the final 1920 figures are available.
 The values per car are the prices realized by the manufacturer and not those paid by the user. In the early days of the industry. automobiles were light, poorly designed and high priced. The high prices resulted from the lack of large scale production. Be- tween 1907 and 1917 costs of production and the enormous output reduced the costs of cars tremendously.
 Tn current production of the country is now about three million cars par year
 Gasoline to the extent of over two billion gallons have been used in the past 12 months. In 1913 with the rela- lively heavy weight of cars. the rubber consumption per car was 126.4 pounds, but since them, there has been very rapid reduction in the weight of cars and today. the estimated rubber con- sumption per car is 67.9 pounds.
 The value of the gasoline used. fig uring current prices, is about $500, 900, ooo- The rubber in it's erpde form is worth s214.000, 900. Made up@-eto tires and delivered to the retail consumer the. value of the annual rubber usSs would figure about s700, 0,000
 One of the features characterizHns the American automobile boom during the past ten years was the manner oi British investments.
 Tn 1900 there was very little planta ton rubber produced practically every bit of rubber used being forest rubber coming for the most part from Brazil the Congo and Sumatfa
 In seven years. plantation rubber su perceded forest rubber, less than q
 
 coming from the natural forests
 From 1903 to 1912. London saw gigantic rubber boom. every perso who could raise nickel putting it int, plantation shares.
 The speculation resulted in hug sums of money being lost, but tn worlds rubber production was givel such a stimulous that rubber droppe, to 40 cents a pound in 1919, althougl before the war It ranged from 60 cent to "a cents. Rubber was one of tn few articles that did not go up in pric when everything else did.
 The automobile has attained a per manent and important place in Amer ican business and social life. The vas majority of the cars are in the hand of the masses of the people, and wit such a wide distribution. it is ponte out, the industry and it's affiliate branches. are given very great degre of stability.