The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-04-28
HOW FORD
BEGAN MAKING
AUTOMOBILES
Built His Car to Ligh-
ten Farmers
Task

Work" written by himself in Nc
Clure's Magazine for May, witt
the collaboration of Samuel Grow
Their, author and editor.
And Mr.. Ford still feels the same
way about farming. Not that h,
has anything against farmers, h
points out, but there is TOO muol
hard hand labor on farms" Be
cause he was born on a farm anC
knew without question Just wha
farming means, MIR. Ford invented
an automobile with which he HOPED
first to enlighten the farmers tasI
and, second, TO aid people wltnou
q lot of money in their search fol
enjoyment and business relief.
That, in a nutshell, is what Mr.
Ford's article gives as the reasoI
for the Ford car. Incidentally it i:
the reason for his interest in farn
tractors and for a lot Of other
things which have happened in De
troit recently
The automobile, however, barely
escaped being a watch. Mr.. Fore
had a desire to do fine mechanical
J work and his idet.s naturally tul1,-
ed to watches and knew what made
the wheels go around in every one
/ of them. II 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 RETAINED when he figured out
that watches were not a necessity
and so would not be sold.
Gust how | reached that sur
prising conclusion is difficult to
state, now" he observes.
But combination OF the farm
and the watch, and the sight when
he was only II 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 CHANGING at that engine,
studying it, watching changes,
reading and thinking, Mr.. Ford
branched out into the automobile
| industry.
OF course, says Mr.. Ford, the
horseless carriage was a common
idea. He had it, as did several other
inventors. But MIR. Ford figured
that steam was the best means for
moving his car and he set about a
machine TO operate by steam. He
built one. and it ran. But it had de-
fleets, lots Of them. ne very care
fully points out most of them.
When he found he couldn't work
out his difficulties to his satisfac-
ton, he turned to gasoline-and
50 was born the Ford.
at was in 1890 that ! began
work on a double cylinder engine
he writes, "because it was quite
impractical to consider the single
cylinder for transportation. "
Shortly alter that the farm was
left behind definitely and com
pletely, when Mr. Ford went to De-
troit as an engineer and machinist
for the Detroit Electric Company
at exactly $45 a month. The Job
wasn't much in itself buS its great
beauty lay in that it kept him out
in his work shop for he had spare
time and he employed it.
Two years later Detroit got q
thrill. ug-chugging down its
main streets came the gas-buggy.
In the seat was Henry Ford. Be
hind it Was a string OF frightened
horses and curious people. In front
of it was bulwark of wondering
thousands. Henry Ford had found
a way to ride without horses to
drag him.
The machine, however, was
slight problem. To begin with it
blocked traffic. Not that it stalled
but every time hi stopped the
crowd started and ne could not, in
safety, leave the car moment. Al
ways 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 show down
with the city authorities. At last,
writes Mr.. Ford, although there
were no speed laws, no traffic or
dinanceS, he had to get permit
from the Mayor to operate the
machine.
"Thus for a time" he continue,
Il enjoyed the distinction Of be-
ing the only licensed chauffeur in
the country
Mr.. Ford ran that first machine
900 miles until 1896 and then
sold It. 1t took him four years
to make the first sale Of Ford
automobile, but he Immediately
did what he has done since-put
his profits into building rev
and better car.
All this time, Mr., Ford was
working as an electrician with the
Electric Company. He had become
a foreman at $125 a month but
his gas engine experiments were
not popular at the shop. The
trouble was they believed in cleo
tricity completely, and were at
least mildly sceptical about gag
Fairly soon, therefore, Mr..
Ford left the electric company.
That was when a group of men
willing to take a chance stepped
in and organized The Detroit Au-
tomobile Company. Mr.. Ford was
chief engineer. He owned small
block of stock and it was his car
they sold. There were disagree
ments over questions of finance
and auto development. and Mr..
Ford quit. He took his patents
with hin, opened the famous one
story, brick shed and proceeded
to build and sell about p cars.
About that time-it was then 1902
Mr.. Ford won a road race in one
of his own cars and business be-
gan to pick up.
Formation OF the Ford Motor
Company was the result.