Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-26
DETR OFT AUTOMOBILE PLANTS
WORKING AT FULL CAPACITY
Certain Companies Are Prepared for
Slackening Should Slow-up
Come in June

The United States Department of
Commerce last week issued complete
figures for April, showing all records
broken, with a total output by all fac
tories of 620,656 units. OF these $751;
255 were passenger cars, 1877 trucks
and 1,454 taxicabs.
The total, it is said, brings the num-
Der of cars manufactured in the first
four months of 1929 up close to half
the number produced in the entire IL
months of 1928, or 2,072, 941, as COM
pared with 4,358,759. Never before has
such a staggering total of output been
crowded into any four months period.
This week saw the first appearance
as a public speaker of Joseph B. Ora
ham, president of the Graham-Paige
Motors Corporation. He Is the eldest
cf the three Graham brothers who took
over the Paige-Detroit factory less
than three years ago, when 1t was
clipping" and brought it back to peak
activity and prosperity.
The Graham boys, as they are known
in Detroit. are modest and talk little
from platforms, even to their own en-
ployes. At trade assemblies they let
moving pictures do the talking for
them.
Prohibition Was Influence.
Before the Detroit section, Society Of
Automotive Engineers, however, Joseph
3. Graham spoke, and he admitted
that the Volstead act was the indirect
cause of the brothers getting into the
truck business some years ago as
division of Dodge Brothers.
In 1918, in Indiana, he explained, the
Grahams had four glass factories and
were manufacturing 1000 gross OF beer
bottles every "a hours. Then along
came Volstead, and they virtually were
out of job. Thereupon they decided
to go into the truck business, and the
affiliation with Dodge Bros. was the
result. This carried the Grahams into
the management of the Dodge factories,
following the passing of Horace and
John Dodge. The Grahams retired
when the Dillon-Read interests &C
quired the Dodge business, but then
re-entered the field by buying control
of the Paige Co.
William j. McAneeny, new president
Of the Hudson Motor Car Co., presided
last Monday over the first annual
meeting of the organization since his
election. In doing so he followed a
line Of predecessors, all of whom were
among the group that founded the bust
ness, and which included j. L. Hudson,
Roy D. Chaplin and r. B. Jackson.
Car Named for Hudson.
Mr.. Hudson is remembered as the
head and founder of Detroit's largest
department store, and the Hudson car
got its name from him.
Mr.. Chaplin, now chairman of the
board of the Hudson Co., is a past
president of the National Automobile
Chamber of Commerce. Mr.. Jackson
died in France early this year. How
ard E. Coffin, also among the Hudson
founders, has retired from active work.
He Is remembered as one Of the great
automotive engineers.
At the meeting two additions were
made to the Hudson board. e. Shell
drick, for 10 years with the company,
was elected secretary. Both Mr.. Shell
drick and c. c. Winningham of C. C.
Winningham, Inc, an advertising
agency, were elected to the board.
Hudson, as the figures of recent
months have shown, has been having
peak activity, manufacturing 1900 cars
day. It was revealed this week that
the number of dealers and distributors
for this company in the United States
has risen to 5000 since January /.
the company'S export operations are
expanding, and cars shipped abroad
may total rs, 900 this year.
Another appointment made this week
was that of Charles s. Crawford as
chief engineer of the Adam Opel Co.
the German factory recently acquired
oy General Motors. Mr.. Crawford
Joined General Motors year ago, after
being chief engineer for the Stutz Co.
at indianapolis seven years.
tCopyright. 1929. by North American News
paper AIiance.)