Arizona republican., 1921-02-20
Studebaker Reports
 Great Year Closed

Announcing that 1920 was 'sbv far
 the best year in the history of the or
 ganization and predicting even greater success during the coming F months.
 A. R. Erskine, president of the Stude- baker corporation of America has writ ten personal letter to Barret and Pottberg, the local Studebaker distrib- utors, thanking them for their part in
 the organizations prosperity. ! Mir. Erskine's letter, in part follows: We are together starting upon an other years business, which I firmly ! believe will be the greatest and best | year we have ever had. As important i members of the big Studebaker family, you are as much interested i it's achievements and expectations as we
 are at the home office; especially at i this time when business conditions are | somewhat unsettled.
 While you are, of course, more in- | terested in the future than in the past you will be glad to know some facts ! about your company concerning last year because these facts prove what you doubtless have suspected; that l 1920 was by far the best year of our history; that we made greater progress I in the development and expansion of 1 our plants and markets than probably
 any big company in the industry, and
 laid the foundations which will insure
 greater achievements for all of us in
 the year 1921.
 "1-Studebaker cars stand higher in the estimation of owners and the pub 1 lie generally than ever befCce. Prac- ] tically without exception our customers
 are satisfied and our best advertise ment
 ! '.2-The public bought from our deal
 CTS $115,000,000 worth of Studebaker products, which is 40 per cent more than they ever bought in any previous year.
 ''3-The relationship between our dealers and ourselves is based upon a mutual confidence and understanding and sincere cooperation. Without ex- ception our dealers were prosperous al 1920, despite conditions of the industry
 and as far as we know not one of them
 lost money or went into receivership
 This is a remarkable record which
 proves the character of our dealers and
 the soundness upon which our relation
 ship is based
 "4-By the sale for cash at S105 per
 share s15, 5,000,000 of additional common
 stock, and the issue of stock divi-
 dend of s15,000.000 dollars of common stock, the capital of the corporation
 was doubled last year, and it's total tangible assets now amount to 10000. 00o, which makes it one of the biggest
 and strongest corporations in the auto mobile industry. The corporation has
 no bonded indebtedness, and it's bank loans are comparatively small. By completion of the new auto mobile plant at South Bend, at a cost of $20 600 0o0. we doubled the manufac- turing capacity of the corporation, which Is now 500 cars per day. i've completed the final liquiGa- ton of the farm wagon and slkein busi- ness and no longer manufacture horse drawn vehicles or kindred lines. Our vehicle plant at South Bend is now entirely devoted to the manufacture of closed bodies, stampings and other au- tomobile parts, which increasingly en- ables us to eliminate middlemen's prof it's from the cost and price of our cars. I've spent s2,500,000 last year in the development and construction of homes for our employees, which are | models of beautiful industrial develop I ment and our dealers are invited to ] inspect these developments when they visit South Bend.
 50 much for last year. Now for the future! What has 1921 to offer us :? We have the plants, we have the ! products, we have the money, we have the sales organization. and above all we have the confidence and respec- the public What greater opportunities l could any man ask?
 \ We are determined that 1921 shal i be the greatest year the Studebakel ee1 organization has ever had. We expeC to sell at lest s150.000,000 worth ot