Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-09
MEN AND MONEY
BY NJ. S. Rukeyser.
(CoDyright. 1927

Numerous individuals have volun-
teered to act as coroner for the auto
motive industry
The skeptics are ever ready to
| interpret each short-term recession as
| the beginning of the end of the auto
mobile industry. There has been a
| recurrence of that feeling during the
showdown of the latest three months,
| although it should be observed that
| there is greater recognition of the
fundamental utility of the automobile
industry than there was a few years
t ago.
| ReceSsions in the motor industry are
seasonal just before the close Of the
old year and the opening of the new.
! In 1927, the recession has lasted
somewhat longer than in recent years.
Workers in the industry have felt the
! fun shock of the quieter demand, be
cause of the current policy of manu-
facturerS to attune their production
schedules to demand. When demand
says production falls off, and unem-
ployment IS one of the results.
Fewer Are Employed.
According to the Detroit Board of
Commerce, there are $4,000 fewer EN-
ployed now than in the corresponding
week year ago, but the current
trend is upward. LAST month there
were more than $4,000 out of work.
Detroit workers figure on seasonal
shutdowns, and the majority of them
seem to prepare financially for such
temporary cessations of earning
power. And yet the demand for new
merchandise naturally falls off with
temporary industrial slumps.
The curve of production in the auto
mobile industry has already begun to
move upward 1t is reflected in the
employment figures, and also in sta
tistiCS of car loadings.
f.. G. Wilmer president of Dodge
Brothers, Inc, told me that he sees
signs that the consumer demand for
automobiles is picking up again and
he anticipates further gains with the
advent of Spring and the opening up
of snow-ridden areas. The Dodge
company, he said, is producing be-
tween 500 and 900 cars a day, which
is in excess of so per cent of peak
capacity.
L asked Mr.. Wilmer about the
forthcoming new Dodge six, which
was graphically announced at the au
tomoDlle SHOWS.
Will BE Ready Earlier.
I'VE said,' Mr.. Wilmer volunteered,
that the new model would be ready
by July /. We shall probably have it
ready before that time. We have not
yet definitely decided on the price.
I'VE do not expect to produce the
new model in large quantities at first.
In the first year we shall probably
produce about $1,000 of the new car,
which represents about 10 per cent of
the number of Dodge tours sold dur
ing 1926. The new car will involve
no pioneering, but will be built on
principles which have long demon
strated their worth
Asked concerning his expectations
for 1927, Mr.. Wilmer said: Il think it
win be a good year, though after the
tremendous two years the industry
has just had the volume may not be
quite as large. 1 look for increased
competition. l think the continuance
of easy money is distinctly favorable
for the general business situation"
Mr.. Wilmer took over executive di-
rection of the Dodge enterprise last
year after the Dodge widows sold out
to Dillon, Read & Co. Mr.. Wilmer in
association with Clarence Dillon, had
already proved his capacity in the re-
organization of the Goodyear Tire and
Rubber Co., which the Dillon bank
ing firm financed and reconstructed
after the setback 1t experienced in
1920 and 1921. Incidentally, the work
of the Dillon group is now being chal-
lenged in the courts by minority
stockholders favorable to the Seiber-
ling interests, which were ousted from
aafivp m N a crar1ont NV fhn Di1lnro Fl Y,y,o
Was i'm Steel Industry.
Before Mr.. Wilmer undertook the
direction of the Goodyear concern,
his business experience was primarily
in the steel industry. He had met
Clarence Dillon at Milwaukee in 1910
just after leaving school at a time
incidentally when Mr.. Dillon was
just beginning to get established in
Wall Street as a junior executive to
the late William A. Read in the firm
which bore his name, but which has
since been changed to Dillon, Read
& Co.
Just as Mr.. Dillon's rise in Wall
Street has been meteoric, Mr.. Wilmer
has emerged as q new industrial leader.
He is young in age and in manner,
tall and with sharp features. He has
light brown hair, and Vivacious blue
eyes. He is analytical and studious.
Mr.. Wilmer shares the management
of the company with F. j. Haynes,
former president, who last year be-
came chairman of the board of di-
rectors. Mr.. Haynes at the beginning
of the century met the late John
Dodge in a bicycle factory in Canada
in which the former was superinten-
dent and the latter general manager.
Since the death of the Dodge brothers,
Mr.. Haynes has been chief executive,
having played a principal role in turn
ing a machine shop into giant enter
prise which was sold to Wall Street
ha mixers for SIG nnn nn0