Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-27
BUSINESS HORIZON
W|DENS STEADILY
Oakland Motors President
Sees Lasting Prosperity
in Outlook.

Consideration of all the indications by
which one may peer into the future of
American industry leaves only one pos
sible deduction. - prosperity looms
ahead, Greater prosperity than ever
before. Prosperity-genuine, solid and
lasting, according, to A. r.. CLANCY.
president of the Oakland Motor Car Co,
Should this deduction prove wrong,
then every gauge on the gigantic ma
chine of American business is wrong"
he declared and comments: Here are
a few of these indications.
THE 1928 crop returned the largest
yield that Nature has given our farm
erS since 1920. AS result 1t is esti-
mated that the purchasing power OF
our agricultural population has in
creased by something like Z or 8 per
cent. =.
"A steady improvement has been
registered in practically all branches Of
industrial employment.
THE Nation is earning close to $780,
000,000,000 annually and has a total
wealth of approximately five times that
amount.
THE automotive industry, now sup
porting about 10 per cent of our popu-
lation and ranking on par with agri-
culture in the creation of wealth, has
Just finished year of record produce,
ton. And it enters 1929 with a me-,
lilentum of production and sales that
augurs we'll for the entire year.
..,~ .,r.-r Industries Active. ~,
steel, copper and many other key
industries are exceptionally active.
Corporation earnings are at high
level. -.
: SqAnd of equally vital Importance Is
the fact. that the Nation now is as
sured of at least four years of admin
istration by a President whose vast
and varied capabilities probably are
unsurpassed in any individual among
our millions of citizens.
ut is true that money rates have
been high, but it is my belief that
many large American corporations ar
ranged for necessary financing when
low interest rates prevailed. 1t may
be logically assumed that the higher
rates Of recent months are. unlikely to
exercise any substantial adverse eject
upon business in general.
Business horizons are steadily
widening The world Is larger. And
pQoAl1CoS ID UCALlk AOlkC O1l OH 4tl11A1StGty
larger scale. The last five years have
seen. Standardization and migration
of industry which have brought produc-
ton costs sharply downward. In ma
jority of cases these economies have
been passed on to the consumer. He
receives more for his money. And as
his buying power thus increases, he
contributes further to the aggregate
turnover, quickening the currents
through the channels Of trade. Bank
clearances and the growing tonnage OF
freight carried by our railroads reflect
the accelerating business pace resulting
from these favorable factors.
Machines Cut Costs.
Science, discovery and invention
have contributed nightly to present
prosperity, and in no direction has this
been demonstrated more emphatically
than. in the automobile industry. A
new process is invented which performs
a factory operation In few seconds
less time; a new machine is developed
that does certain Job more accurately
or at a slightly lower cost.
"The new machine or the new
process is adopted Immediately. Re-.
cause, multiplied by immense produc-
ton, these few seconds or those few
cents or that slight gain in quality as
sumo such tremendous proportions that
replacement of the old by the new be-
comes highly imperative.
THE automotive industry, now gen.
orally recognized as the most accurate
barometer of American business con-
ditions, in 1928 eclipsed its best pre-
vious record with total production of
something like 100000 units. And 1t
should establish a still higher record
during 1929. For in addition to the
demand from those who in 1929 viii
buy their first automobile, and the de-
nand from the sharply increasing num-
Der Of multiple car families, and the
demand from the rapidly expanding
foreign field, the American automobile
manufacturers now face the greatest
domestic replacement market in the
history Of the industry.
Must Replace Cars -. +.
according to figures compiled by
the National Automobile Chamber of
Commerce, our American and Canadian
factories produced l6,832, 1873 passenger
cars and trucks during the years 1928
TO 1926, inclusive. These vehicles, rang
ing from three to six years old, now
have attained the age at which they
soon must be replaced by cars Of cur
rent production. This demand, to-
gether with that occaSioned by the
need for scrapping thousands of cars
Of even greater age, should provide
manufacturers with a record replace
ment market. r, -
The old bugbear Of an automobile
Saturation point apparently has disap-
peared In the face of magnificent road
construction programs. The Nation
now builds about 10000 miles of new
highways every year. And as the coun-
try continues to present larger and bet
ter road. facilities, the demand for au-
tomotive transportation will show a
corresponding increase r.
+. meanwhile the export market also
continues to grow. American auto
motive exports have doubled during the
last five years. Gradually but with
inevitable certainty, the automobile is
displacing the ancient forms of trans
portation that have served the world
for countless centuries. One hundred
and seven countries now buy passenger
cars, trucks or buses. Last year this
market absorbed more than $4,000
motor vehicles, or 10 times the number
of automobiles that the United States