rom $50,000,000 a year in this industry was a puttering mechanic when the
twentieth century came in. If we capitalized Henry Ford's income, he is
probably a richer man than Rockefeller; yet, as recently as 1905 his
possessions consisted of a little shed of a factory which employed a dozen
workmen. Dazzling as is this personal success, its really important aspects
are the things for which it stands. The American automobile has had its
wild-cat days; for the larger part, however, its leaders have paid little
attention to Wall Street, but have limited their activities exclusively to
manufacturing. Moreover, the automobile illustrates more completely than
any other industry the technical qualities that so largely explain our
industrial progress. Above all, American manufacturing has developed three
characteristics. These are quantity production, standardization, and the
use of labor-saving machinery. It is because Ford and other manufacturers
adapted these principles to making the automobile that the American motor
industry has reached such gigantic proportions.

A few years ago an English manufacturer, seeking the explanation of
America's ability to produce an excellent car so cheaply, made an
interesting experiment. He obtained three American automobiles, all of the
same "standardized" make, and gave them a long and racking tour over
English highways. Workmen then took apart the three cars and threw the
disjointed remains into a promiscuous heap. Every bolt, bar, gas tank,
motor, wheel, and tire was taken from its accustomed place and piled up, a
hideous mass of rubbish. Workmen then painstakingly put together three cars
from these disordered elements. Three chauffeurs jumped on these cars, and
they immediately started down the road and made a long journey just as
acceptably as before. The Englishman had learned the secret of American
success with automobiles. The one word "standardization" explained the
mystery.

Yet when, a few years before, the English referred to the American
automobile as a "glorified perambulator," the characterization was not
unjust. This new method of transportation was slow in finding favor on our
side of the Atlantic. America was sentimentally and practically devoted to
the horse as the motive power for vehicles; and the fact that we had so few
good roads also worked against the introduction of the automobile. Yet
here, as in Europe, the mechanically propelled wagon made its appearance in
early