El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-04-17
ACCESSORIES now ONE Of MAIN
BRANCHES Of MOTOR INDUSTRY

UuHiHGuLU Ut
ONE OF the best ways Of looking
~ forward is to turn backward FOL
a while. Standing as We are today
on the threshold OF what viii proba-
bly, be the greatest year SO far in the
history Of the aufomotlve industry
sc IS not only interesting but in .
real sense helpful &c look back Al
me first faint beginnings Of the su-
tomobile age.
Much has been said and much
more. fortunately, Is still to be said
concerning the conception, genesis
origin, ana initial development Of the
automobile IN al this historical
"reminiscences the motor vehicle has
beer looked upon as a complete unit
81 wei organized machine. as a
tlinE unto itself. This method Of ap-
nroach, it seems TO ~ Is rather mis-
leading Il neglects the part played
1f lle part ID the progress ana per-
lection Of the automobile. Il side
tracks the accessory: Il releEates 70
the BACKGROUND the component units
which when welded together by the
assemhler's art and produced in guam
uty make the automotivs industry
History OF Auto.
IN ether words. the history Of the
automobile is nothing more nor less
than the onward march OF parts and
acccssor ies-construing these words
On their brad sense.
TO begin with, what could be
more important than the motor it.
helt-and we need only look TO every
day trade urage (and to the rulings
or the commissioner Of internal rev
enue 70 realize that the motor IS
q
And so On, from 1icenseplate 10 head
light, and from the toppermost por-
tion OF ne top to the lowest piece OF
rubber In the tire
Looking back, then, TO the early
stages Of the parts and accessories
Industry. what do we find9 About
Is years ago this Industry comprised
q handful Of spark plug manufactur-
ers. several makers Of oil lamps for
cars, q few OF the pioneer tire manu-
facturers, barely breaking forth from
the bicycle era-cheSe and perhaps 4
few others graphing more or less
succeEstullT with problems or taking
the -hick cut Of motor vehicles.
Those were the days, you viii recall,
when get horse" was Etill q IA
NarQe- ana when the height OF the
automobile seats were exceeded only
nT the tronrlersmen OF the industry
who called forth in their @tin
wagons 10 brave a hooking world
Let this brief picture suffice for
clapse-anc what to do we find2
becomes Big Industry.
8rieily. we find parts and ecces-
sQrles industry grown 70 lusty man
hQod-en industry which has done
more 20 enhance the comfort, the
speed. and tho efficiency CT autom0-
bile transportation than any other
and which, because OF this achieve
ment has contributed richly to the
wealth and happiness OF the world.
Bald figures mean comparatively
little In these days when aarial IL
0rds with each setting sun. A bill
lion dollar congress (which 10 years
ago seemed 70 mark an euoch in
the history OF the Worid) would to-
day be pereIntorily ASSIGNED q the
small time three e day circuit
Passes Blllion-
Nevertheless a certain amount Of
Impressive Significance lies in the I
TACT that the parts and accessories /
Industry last year ran beyond the i
g all the stronger for the reason that
e IS based on the most conservative
estimates. To the lagman u may
'eem astcuuGinr that rale1 OF parts
md accessories should exceed q bill
ion and a half dollars-for q year
tlaAHA| AAAAA " INK NAAa LNallAA-A
u hostllities and the confusion at
.endant upon re1djustment and recon
struction-
me growth Of the parts and ae-
,essories industry may be gagged IN
vet another way. Consider, Il You
VII the organization which repre-
sents THAI Industry ia z broad, na-
ional way: the Motor and Accessory ]
Manual turers association. The ini- j
.ials II. A. ~ A." are not as inap- /
lropriate az they might seem at first /
blush, for necessity Is the mother Cor 1
lIAlLA) OF invention, and In what /
.iald has invention played 50 Import /
mt a part as the automobile indus /
Established in 1904.
Rsturning from this factetious !
hought to the more serious consid- 4
ration OF Industrial history, We find j
hat the Motor ard Accessory Manu-
actu1erE association was established 1
n 1908. with 81 charter members. To- Z
lay its fuu membership comprises
ONE $50 manufacturers-and the list /
s growing not only steadily, but
turdiiy from month to month. Twen-
y-fiTe new members were admitted
o the association since last July. A /
considerable number o. applications
g now pending
But these are merely the super
iclal figures OF EroWth-the out
ward indeces Of progress. The real
tory lies in the Underlying factors.
Each new accessory manufacturer,
ach new part" maker, each new
development BY an old manufacturer
epresent1 another step forwar1-oc-
asionally q seven league laap--in the
lereoric ascension Of the automobile
rom the nebulous mists Of new
anElcd contraptions." The develop
nent Of the parts and accessories by
american Inventive genius. American
acrorv production, and American
and advertising has
peued up to All mankind the uss OF u