The Washington herald., 1921-03-13
MORE PEOPLE TRAVEL BY MOTORCARS ONPUBLIC +
Automobile Mileage Greater Than
That of Railroads, Figures Show,
Also Transport More Passengers

Perhaps no industry has felt the
changing conditions incident to the
readjustment period through which
We are now passing. more sharply
than has the automobile industry,
declared Alon @. Seiberling. And
declared Alton G. Seiberling. And
on the part of the buying public
has fallen OF somewhat. the ques-
tfon has BEEN raised In many quar-
ters as to whether the automobile
industry would continue to flourish
or whether II would dvindle away
and gradually become extinct.
"Pessimistic talk relative to the
future of the automobile industry
II rendered absurd by careful
examination Of the facts. The auto
industry il not going to smash 1t
10 here to stay. 1t has been built
on q solid foundation. because II
has become indispensable to mod
ern life and business Today 1t has
become as much a part Of the So
cial fabric as electric lights ana
wearing apparel.
SHOULD anyone say that the rail-
roads of this country were doomed
to oblivion in the near future, he
would be laughed at. But authorf-
tative figures show that the au-
tomobile Is a greater and more
comprehensive transportation factor
In America than the railroads.
Three Persons Per Car.
According to conservative statis-
tics, there are, in round numbers,
100000 motor vehicles In the
United States today. The average
yearly mileage Of each car Is 5000
miles, making a total mileage for
all cars Of 81 ,ooo. 10000 miles. An
other conservative estimate of three
persons per car places the total
passenger mileage at 63.ooo,ooo.eoo.
According to the figures given out
by the Association of Railway Ex-
ecutives for the year 1919, the year
ly passenger mileage of the rail-
roads was $4,000. 100000 miles 1t
Is thus observed that the yearly
passenger mileage of the eutomo-
bfles in the United States Ii 17,0oo.-
100000 miles greater than that Of
all the railroads in the country.
To carry the comparison further.
the automobiles in 1919 carried
4.500. 900. 900 passengers, whereas
the railroads in 1918 carried 1,124,-
100000 passengers, according to the
figures Of the Interstate Commerce
Commission
Additional figures prove that 10
per cent only of the cars are used
exclusively for pleasure. and that
30 per cent of them are used mainly
for business. These same figures
prove further that the average car
owner adds 81 per cent to his out
put through the use of the automo-
bile. Because of the automobile,
$500. 900 families have been enabled
to live in the suburbs and otherwise
improve their home surroundings.
Because 10 per cent of the au-
tomobfles In use are used for pleas
ure purposes, II Is no more right
to call the Industry q non-essential
and luxury than II would be to say
the telephone is a luxury merely
because a cerain 10 per cent OF the
calls are purely for social pur-
poses. 1t Is estimated, at the very
earliest, that the 'saturation point
and by that Is meant the point
at which the entire potential mar
ket is saturated with automobiles
lis ten years distant.
Need Large supply In 1928.
"Using this figure as a basis. and
estimating sthe life of the average
car 10 be eight years, 1t will take
approximately 100000 automo-
biles to meet the demand in 1928.
Thus the indications are that the
automobile companies of the United
States will permanently require all
their present producing capacity.
and a little bit more, because as
yet the greatest combined output
did not reach the 100000 mark.
These are our reasons for stat
ing that the automotive industry
has come to stay. and that 1t will
continue to flourish throughout the
years One well-known authority
has stated that 'thegreatest single
productive force in the development
of the United States in the past
twenty years has been the automo-
bile The present readjustment
period. which Is now nearing COM
pletion. will eventually prove to be
extremely beneficial to the automo-
bile industry, because when the pro-