The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-05-07
EVOLUTION OF
THE FORD CAR
Obsessed With Desire to
Aid Accomplishment
With Less Labor

NEW YORK, May 5.-tAfo on
a farm drove Henry Ford into max
ing automobiles.
Mr.. Ford says so himself I'm an
article which he calls MY Life and
Work" written by himself in Nc
Cures magazine for May. with the
collaboration Of Samuel Crowthor
author and editor.
And Mr. Ford still feels the came
way about farming. Not that he has
anything against farmers. he points
out, but there Is too much hard
labor on farms" Because he was
born on farm and knows without
question just what farming means,
Mr.. Ford invented an automobile
with which he hoped, first, TO light
en- the farmers task and, second, to
aid people without a lot Of money
in their search for enjoyment and
business relief.
That, in n nutshell, IL what Mr..
Ford's article gives as the reason
for the Ford car. Incidentally 1t is
the reason for his interest in farm
tractors and for n lot OF other things
which have happened in Detroit re-
Gently.
The automobile. however. barely
escaped being a watch. Mr.. Ford
had desire to do fine mechanical
work and his ideas naturally turned
to watches he says. At one period
OF those early days he had 800
watches and knew what made the
wheels go around I'm everyone of
them. IL was then he thought OF
the possibility of making a watch
for 80 cents. In fact, he says, he
almost started in the business but
refrained when he figured out that
watches were not necessity and
so would not be sold.
Attracted to Machinery.
"Just how I reached that sur
prising conclusion is difficult to
state. now" he observes.
But a combination OF the farm
and the watch, and the sight when
he was only 12 of a road engine was
too much for anything plebian in
Mr.. Ford's future. He started to
consider the possibility of machines
and after glancing at the engine.
studying II, watching changes, read
ing an d thinking, Mr.. Fora
branched out into the automotive
industry.
OF course, says Mr.. Ford, the
horseless carriage was n common
idea. He had It. as did several other
inventors. But Mr.. Ford figured
that steam was the best means for
moving his car, and he set about
making a machine to operate by
steam. He built one. and It ran.
But 1t had defects, lots OF them. He
very carefully points out most of
them. when he found he couldn't
work out his difficulties to his sat
isfaction, he turned TO gasoline
and 80 was born the Ford
ut was in 1890 that | began on
a double cylinder engine" he
| writes, because it was quite i'm
practical TO consider the single
| cylinder for transportation"
Shortly after that the farm was
left behind definitely and COM
pletely, when Mr.. Fora went to De
troit as an engineer and machinist
| for the Detroit Electric company at
exactly S45 IA month. The job wasn't
much in itself but its great beauty
| lay in that it kept him out in his
workshop for he had spare time and
he employed 1t.
Two years later Detroit got n
thrill. Chug- -chuEging down its main
streets came the gas-buggy. In the
seat was Henry Ford. Behind 1t
was a string Of frightened horses
and curious people. In front of 1t
was bulwark of wondering thou
sands. Henry Ford had found a way
to ride without horses to drag him.
The machine, however, was a
| slight problem. To begin with 1t
! blocked traffic. Not that 1t stalled,
but every time Mr., Ford stopped
| the crowd started and he could not,
in safety, leave the ear a moment.
| Always there was some curious soul
who would climb aboard, play with
the brakes or the clutch and then
| trouble commenced.
Finally it came to a showdown