Til?: OMAHA srN'DAV NKK: OCTOHKTI 2. 1010.
Good Fellows Who Look After the Destiny of the Automobile Trade in Omaha
- J -N-5 f f I ' I fWtf -T V l fh.cnce must be wielded
,; ''rv V V i V 12-7 zjrzxr
f jT" ' i . ft. , a '-jr Vl' " 1 II huuleviird system which;
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C. F. HOI T.
if
BISTORT OF AUTO IN OMAHA
Jtomwkable Growth of a Young? In
. , d us try in Tim City.
CENTER OF GREAT ACTIVITY
OsasJta Supplies All the Sarroand
turn C'-owatry -with Hruilni Haggles
tae BiiImh llhrlves at
All Tlari of (he War.
Twelve years ago Omaha sole ulm to
distinction In the motor world lay In the
fact that It had then acquired uB firm auto
mobile, a second-hand machine which one
of Its more effluent citizens had hnd suf
ficient temerity to Import and which could
It be compared with the giant machine
which flit about Omaha's streets these days
would appear but poor and Insignificant.
In those days, however, It wan a wonder
ful acquisition and the man who owned
it wi regarded much as would be a man
who. nowadays, would bring an aeroplane
to the city.
Today with thousand of fine automobiles
in the possession of Its citizens, with the
yearly retail trade in automobiles running
up well Into the millions, with four auto
mobile organization, with an automobile
sieilv.ay. with annual endurance runs and
mces and with un automobile show almost
unparalleiled In the country, Omaha oc
cupies a place alone among the cities of
the iest in motor affairs.
In the early days of the automobile, when
a mnn wanted a machine he went to the
manufacturer for It or bought It from the
agent of the manufacturer, who culled
upon him, there was scarcely any place
for the retailing of automobiles. As the
machines became more common, however,
and It became less and less of an event in
the family circle when an automobile was
purchased there came a call for a man to
occupy a position between the purchaser
and the manufacturer.
Auto Ran Impressive.
How well Omaha men heeded that call
can best be realized by a trip up Farnam
street. "The row" is becoming each year
more and more Important s an
Institution and it Is not surpris
ing that such Is the case when
one realizes that ,on cither side
of Farnam street from Klgh
teenth stteet to Twenty-fourth
and beyond it is next to Impog
aible to find a room -which Is not
occupied an a salesroom, garage
or repair shoo.
Most of these establishments are com
modious, well equipped for their purpose
and attractive to the passer-by. In many
of them one finds salesrooms fitted up al
most to the point of luxury and decorated
In a most effective way. In addition to
the automobile concerns which have ap
propriatetd Fat nam street for their own
there are to be found a number of shops
on Harney street about ft. equal distance
west. Smaller shops are found In every
part of the city.
I 'urine, the year 190(1 the automobile men
of t lie city drew into their coffers approxi
mately $4,000,000. of which Hiree million
went for the machines themselves and the
odd million for tires, lamps, tops and tile
thousand and one other things which go
to make up the modernly equipped auto
mobile. These figures do not take Into
consideration at all the vast amounts which
Omaha's auto us-ers spent for repairs, oil,
gasoline and the like.
It Is estimated that there are now In the
state of Nebraska approaching 500 automo
bile dealers and of these at least a fourth
make Omaha their headquarters. These
Automobile Full of Frisky Pranks
in i no plut cs win ic in
fluence must be wielded
to secure better st reels.
The extensions of the
boulevard system which
have been made In re
cent years are also
largely attributable to
tie auto users of the
ill;.'. Whn' Is true of
the city Iihs been true
of the outlying distric ts
of the slate. The Im
provement in the coun
try roads oi Iowa and
Nebraska during recent
ears has been unpar
alleled and in almost
every ease the change
can be (raced directly
to the efforts of ma
chine owueis.
lbccnt years ha e ,
s en a considerable ad- i
vancement in the use of
the automobile for bus- 1
Iness purposes In lliei
city. Although the num-1
1 er of niolor trucks In'
Omaha Is yet consider
ably behind (hat in
many places of a sim
ilar size, yet the num
ber is rapidly increas-
men it Is who divided the Jt.WH.WH aNnong . Ing and the total Is now In the nelghbor
themselves hist year and win seem in a hood of seventy-five vehicles. The pioneer
fair wav to divMe a greater amount during in the use ot ihese machines in me city
this year, for I here Is scarcely
of the manufacturers to nun out a nr.
which will stand hard knocks, a ear which
is suitable for the use of the farmer or
the business man. who is willing to sacri
fice symmetry of design and elegance of
finish to durability and strength. The com
pany which formerly bad Kalpli lingers
as Its general manager has recently
elected '. A. Italston of Chicago to that
position. This change. waS made at the
:ame time that the expansion was decided
u:on.
The annual endurance run which at
instituted this year, the automobile speed
way which has been constructed and the
lines which have been held upon IL haw
all been Indicative of ihe ever increi in
' excry effort vlll l't- made to druu to ih
i i IT the lame number of out of lor
peopie, especially .country automobile
dealers, which have attended the show li
Hie past.
Of the association which promotes ti e
show and which, is composed entirely of
lea eis. .1. J. I'eriKii N piesldent ami
I'laiko I'owell secretary.
BABY SHOP IN SMALL TOWN
I'rorils l Not !. Circat. but 'lle
Help In Numerous
If a woman living in a small town
can spa it a front room .she ca.i easily ami
to her income by keep. tig a baby .-hop with
a coiiutr of five and ten cent ari.cl.s
declared a woman, quoted by Ihe New m i
Sun. "I have averaged a lew cents over
t:U a month for the laM fifteen mom i
in such u venture without in any wa in
hold that the automobile Is gaining upon tf i l-'i io Willi m household wee k.
Omaha's people and of the progress which 'Though "' husband has a good ".-i-ha,
loe.1 ma ih.ng automobile Hues, lion, we have such a brood of young obil-
during the vcat. j "' " 1 1""k,'1 al"'," f,,r 8,,m" wu "
, , . , , ,, add to our Income in order to give
Il Is expected, however, mat the nlxth , i , -i.i. si
oiniii t'li nieninn'.-. ' '
j girl to begin music lessons and botli hei
and her brother to begin wilh a French
teacher.
supply shop In the city which is not san
guine that the. . ear's business will exceed
that of last year by from L"0 to 30 per cent.
a garage or was the storz Mrewing company ano mat
Machines Here.
estimate the number of
5 HrS
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!l a n y
Local dealers
automobiles In Omaha as between 1.000 and
1,'JOO. liranling for tlie sake of argument
that the smaller of the two figures is the
more nearly correct, w e si ill have a car for
every S people In the city, which is far
from a bad showing when the distance of
the city from the big automobile manufac
turing centers Is realized and II Is borne In
mind that the total has jumped from one
to a thousand In hut twelve short years.
Of late much has been said of the auto
mobile as a detriment to society anil
economists of more or less elevated siand
ing have pointed the linger of scorn at
the automobile and named it as the prin
cipal cause of the high cost of living.
Whether or not these wise men are correct
In their conclusions it is undeniable that
the automobile, in Omaha at least, has
done immense good.
Only a few years ago Omaha s pavements
were a disgrace to a city of its size and
the condition in which the unpaved streets
as well as the pavement was kept was an
eyesore. During the hist twelve mouths,
however, thousands of feet of the worst
worn streets of the city have been resur
faced and If plans as yet only tentatively
announced materialize. many thousand
more yards of new paving will be laid
within another year.
For this change a great deal of credit
must be given to the atiMmohf le owners,
for It Is almost generally true that the men
who own automobiles are men of influence
concern still owns the largest of the city's
I rucks, it being a huge three-ton affair
with immense power.
There are two Clstlnct classes of trucks
In town the heavy vehicles, which are
used by the breweries, the Ice dealers and
furniture businesses and the lighter trucks
which do delivery work and general haul
ing for the retellers and smaller whole
sale merchants.
The use of these machines has in most
every case been satisfactory. One firm re
ports a saving of over $100 per day in the
expense of its delivery system Hnd otliers
give reports almost as enthusiastic. The
capacity of the trucks -In Omaha ranges
from one to three tons.
Omaha Makes Anton.
The ltogers Motor far Company. Whose
plant Is located at llulston. is t lie only
Omaha plant engaged in the manufacture
of automobiles. Tills coipany which lias
been engaged In the business but a very
short time has only recently decided to
Increase Its capacity from mm cars a year
to j.Oik.1.
The first machine manufactured !n
Omaha was turned out a few weeks ago
and to date but twenty-five have been
placed upon the market. That the demand
for these should be so large as to Justify
the company in so vastly Increasing its
capacity bodes well for the place which
Omaha Is .one day to occupy ns a man
ufacturing point for automobiles.
The cars turned out by the ltogers com
pany are of three kinds and the tiling
which Is sought above all otliers in their
manufacture is durability. It is the aim
hel I in tlie Auditorium some time late
in February, will give a better indication
of that progress than any event which
Omaha has yet been privileged to wltuehs.
The Omaha Automobile Show associa
tion, which has always had the event In
charge, and which has, each year, made
it u bigger success than II was the year
before. Is laying plans for the coming
show which far eclipse anything yei at
tempted. Some of these they are willing
to dlMcloHC but more of them they will
not make public until later in the year.
Pros tied fur Aiilo Miovv.
The dates for the event have not. us
yet, been definitely decided upon, but the
dates will probably be about tlie same
as those on which last year's' e.vcnt oc
curred, the third week in February. The
date set by the local men will depend a
bit upon what dates are chosen by the
New York and Chicago dealers, for many
of the same cars which are exhibited at
those places will come here for the week
of the Omaha exhibition.
Omaha, which la tlie pioneer city of the
west in the mailer of automobile shows,
will have her pick of the dutes left after
the principal eastern cities have chosen
theirs, and the dale of (he exhibits at
Lincoln and Sioux t'lty, which are this
year to have automobile shows for the
first time, as well as those In other
western cities, will be. determined after
Omaha announces Its date.
List year there were over fifty ex
hibitors In the Auditorium and about -Til I
cars were on the floor. This year It Is
expected to Increase this number, us
every dealer will get more space than be
had for the last exhibit. It is hardly
likely, however, that there will be on ex
hibition of traffic vehicles this year, as
it Is desired to confine the ixhlblts to
the floor of the auditorium. The extent
of the Omaha show can be imagined when
It Is borne in mind that last year there
were but five fewer exhibits than at tlie
Chicago show.
South Omaha night. Council Bluffs
night, Lincoln night. Society night and
the other features which have made the
Omaha show so popular in years past
will, in all probability, be retained and
"X began by taking in a lillle fine needle
work always children's clothe-. One set
I made was not satisfactory to the woman
who had ordered it. nod she told luc I
might try to sell il ami so pay myself
for my work. I sold it to tlie second per
son who saw tlie set.
"After that experience 1 made other
sets, not to order, but just to fill in my
time. They sold so well that before 1 knew
It 1 had gathered a number of custoineis.
Then realizing that tlicic was no bah;
shop In our town 1 determined to see what
could be done in our spare front loom.
II look about two years for me to woil.
the husimss iqi to its present stand, thai
Is, clearing ;f a month.
'Of course 1 don't make all the baby
clothes 1 sell now, though 1 did when I
began. Gradually as my trade Increased
I secured Ihe services of various woniei
in the (own w ho could sew well and pi e
f erred to do tile work at home. When I
get orders 1 turn the materials over to
them and seldom see the garments until
completed. Then 1 examine them i loscly
both as to fit and finish.
"Hcsldcs these garments made to order
I keep on hand a supply of staple baby
clothes. As they are niuiie when my sew
ing women have no orders (o till I can
affoid to sell them at a lower profit than
those made to order. I have found It u
good plan to keep a good supply of sui il
garments.
"I look upon tlie addition of (lie counter
of little odds and ends, nil selling al c:lh r
5 or HI cents, as almost an Inspiration.
Th Idea came to tile because often
mothers who came to order or buy gar
ments would bring their older chlldien
along and the children weie dlsappolnl.il
at not finding something on sale thai
could be bought for them.
"You see hi a small town when the atr
age child goes to the store il expects to
get some bit of candy or toy. At first 1
thought of having little incxicnslve things
on hand to give away, but when I cam'
lo figure out the expense 1 soon dhscoveied
that my profits were too small to permit
of my offering such inducements. Ii
naturally followed that 1 cho.ild gel little
tilings to sell."
Sin ifc -
I nn p p. l 1. II
2
of
1S11
El
OND
in
n
HANI
OVEKLAND WINU WAGON CA TT A MOHAN".
1
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Whan a wooden propeller was placed
In the rear of an Overland test car and
pushed It by Its own creative force a m le
a minute In a race with Brooklns In a
Wright Itrvthes' aeroplane, many parson
wandered
Greater cause for wonder Is yet In store.
Will II. Brown, vice-president f the com
pany, proved himself a man of ideas and
orally took tb wind wagon to a secluded
Munlry spot alone the White river, at In
auvnajsjlia, recently. He then placed It
upon a small float and fasten- I It .securely.
By meniw of lres attached to the Meerlng
whe'l and then lo the rudder l.e wax en
abled to take a unique "boat joy rid-.''
To Ills surprise he couia not "turn he;- in'
full force. A strlklnj feature is that when
toe propeller gets to
tln.es a minute and th fiont elhiea up
stream with ease, the woo.;?n bai je slnU
under the water's surface, and to persons
on the bank the car gives the appearance
ft running on th top of th river. The
"Overland Wind Wagon Caltamoran" ha
beaten every lunch on the river.
The drive haft of the car is not con
netted with the differenltul. The wooden
propeller Is ihe same as used on an aero
plane and is eight feet long. The car
levolviiif about bl ! weights .V j.O"n.ls Three more win I
wagons are Ix -ins bu.lt. as great demands
lor them hav e sprung up at c unity and
state fairs all over the country, other
tricks will be performed with this wagon,
promises Will H. Brown. ,
ARE THE BEST IN THE CITY FOR EVERY KIND OF AUTOMOBILE REPAIRING
FOR WOOD WORK, IRON WORK, PAINTI C
FOH ALL KINDS OF TOP WORK.
FOR NEW TOPS, DUSi HOODS, SEAT COVERS
We Cun Equip Your Car With Any fcityle ol
"LIIVIOCJSINIE BODY"
And Save You Money. Sec LJs At Once
We Have Three Whit3 Steamers at Dig Bargain Prices. Finest
Possible Condition. See Them Quick.
18th and Harney Streets
Omaha