Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-07-01
THE POWER OF
A GREAT IDEA
THE POWER OF AN IDEA

No one has yet suggested a beauty
contest for executives of the motor
industry, but before Major gets fin
ished with them it is at least an out
side possibility that someone will con-
ceive the idea Before that happens,
however, let us nominate John North
WHY'S, the Little Napoleon" of the
industry and the head of the WHY'S
Overland company, as the winner.
1t was probably with a realization
that WHY'S is one OF the handsomest
executives that Major rubbed his
hands with apparent satisfaction when
told he had consented to the delicate
operation of the caricaturist's pencil.
This is how it came about.
you're certainly doing a lot to i'm.
prove the looks of the automobile in
dustry with those pictures by Major"
chuckled IWillys to a reporter who was
trying to find out something about the
new car Overland is planning to bring
out.
"Oh, yes" laughed the reporter.
"Now how about yours?"
WHY'S started when he realized the
mistake he had made, but with a shrug
he showed the sportsmanship which is
the basis of his success and accounts
for his ability to take . chance and
usually come out on top.
"All right. Go as far as you like.
I have been operated on before" And
so WHY'S went under the doctors or.
ders and sat still for 10 minutes while
Major deftly sketched the classic.
Your interviewer tried to get him to
tell something about himself.
what is your hobby?' came the
question.
Building and selling automobiles,
was the reply. With that Willys
launched off on a description of the
extensive plans of his company dur
ing the past four or five years which
have led to the introduction of a new
four-cylindcr car He told all about
the new car, its many new European
features, how the engineers designed
it from the ground up" and the prep.
arations for it's manufacture in large
quantities He was we'll along with
the recital when Major stgEaled that
the sketch was completed.
"Well, that's a real story said the
interviewer.
Not YETI said Willys. We are
not quite ready to announce the new
job"
So the notes were ma ked conf
dential" the interview was over and
the interviewer had IL seek other
sources to learn about the man whU
builds automobiles, lives automobiles
and talks automobiles. The result
while not official is nevertheless un-
censored.
John N. WHY'S was born So years
ago in Canandaigua, N. Y, and from
the beginning he has Eeen his owlI
boss. His first business venture was
at the age OF IA when he bought Il
laundry business and within a year
sold out at profit. He then started
to study law, planning to go to Cor
nell, but with the death OF his father
he abandoned it. He became interested
in the then budding bicycle business
A few years later we find him at Ell,
mira with one of the largest bicycle
selling agencies of the time. About
this time the automobile was first
beginning to attract attention.
Willys bought one of the first auto
mobiles to be had in that part of the
country. He waa deeply impressed
with the new method of transportation
and proceeded to establish a connec-
tion with the industry. He became
sales agent for the Overland company
of indianapolis. In thosd days the
purchaser paid a deposit with the orr
der before the car was built. Willys
was doing a large and prosperous
business, andy an 1907 had deposits
for large number of cars when he
found that the company manufacturing
the cars was on the verge of receiver
ship. 1t required several hundred
dollars to meet the payorll at time
when cash was scarcer than the pro-
verbal hens teeth. lWillys borrowed
che money, going to everyone he knew,
beginning with the hotel clerk Then
he preached the virtues 7oS patience TO
the creditors and refinanced the COM
pany.
In 1903 he moved to Toledo and
bought the Pope-Toledo plant, nam
ing the new company the Willys-Ov-
erland company. In the first year,
with $4,000 capital, it earned ST.,
000,0 900, and it's development from that
date has been phenomenal When the
European war came along, he turned
the plants over to the government for
the manufacture of shells and gun
carriages. After the war, he again
indulged his hobby OF building and
selling automobiles.
What 1920 did to the automobile in"
dustry is a matter of record. WHY'S.
Overland, like others, came out of it
heavily debt-ridden. The burden dio
not feaze John Willys. He proceeded
to put his organization through q
thorough house cleaning. The results
began to show Immediately, but thu
work of reorganization continued.
After more than five years it may now
be said that the plans have been con-
summarized.
The company is in the strongest
financial position in it's history. Last
year it cid a volume of business ex-
ceeding $2OO,0O0,00O in plants carried
on the books at $27,000,000, which
probably constitute the smallest plant
investment per dollar of sales shown
by any other large automobile COM
pany. The new four-cyinder car
marks the fina touch to the to the
company's program for undermining
it's entire line of cars.