Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 104, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 March 1917 — VISITED DIG OVERLAND PLANT [ARTICLE]

VISITED DIG OVERLAND PLANT

Rensselaer Gentlemen Inspect Gigantic Automobile Works. The party of Rensselaer gentle-, men who left last Friday with Dr. J. Hansson, the local Overland agent, for Toledo, Ohio, where Mr. Hansson got four new cars Saturday and drove through to Rensselaer, had the pleasure of going through the big Overland plant—or the most Interesting department of the plant, rather —Saturday forenoon while Mr. Hansson was using his persuasive powers In huLrylr.g np his order for the four cars, so that we might get started back home. Even then it was about 4 p. m. when the cars werfe driven around at the east end of the splendid big new administration building of the company, a building which probably cost better than $1,000,900 and Is very fine indeed.

Several weeks ago The Democrat printed an article on the visit of the thousands of agents of this company to the Overland plant, giving in detail what ohe sees in passing through, and we will not therefore burden’ the reader with a repetition. But it is indeed a most interesting sight to go through this plant and see for one’s self the various stages of . an auto In embryo, the stages the parts pass through in the making, assembling and turning out the finished cars at the rate of. about 1,000 per day. Even then the company can not keep up with orders, and many agents who go direct to the factory in the hope of getting several new cars and driving them through rather than wait for the slow stages by freight, or hope to get cars in this way ahead of, other agents who have perhaps ordered their cars shipped through, go away but partly satisfied. For example, Saturday morning we met an agent from Pennsylvania and a party of thirteen men up town who were going out to the factory to get fourteen cars to drive through to his home. He could only get four. Another agent from Peoria, Illinois, wanted eight cars. He got two. So it is a compliment to Dr. Hansson’s persuasive powers that he got all four of the cars he went after, after - first being told that he couldn’t get a one until this week. We noticed scores of coal and a few flat cars loaded with autos—three machines to each car.—at the extensive loading platforms, covered with canvas and ready to be started out to their destination;

saw one train load in which, there ; were twenty-two coal cars so loaded, because it was impossible to get the box cars -for shipping them. Tt was not to he wondered that the j l*oa 1 companies could not get cars for shipping coal when they were using so many coal cars for shipping , autos. The people can do without coal but they must have the automobiles. The roads leading out of Toledo for some miles are very good indeed, mostly roclq bound tarvia, but before we reached AVausseon, some twenty-six miles out. we encountered some soft roads west of Delta and decided to stay Saturday niglit in Wausseon which was reached about 7:30 o’clock, very slow pro• press having been made the last few uriiles. At 4:30 next morning the landlord, who had been told the night before to rouse us out at this hour, was right on time, .and shortly after 5 we were- again on the way. Better roads had been promised on west from, Wausseon

to Bryaru but in'Tact thoy were much worse, and we stopped for breakfast at Stryker, only about twenty miles from Wausseon, at 8 ■ o’clock. ;On to Bryan and a part of the way until we ..reached- Butler. Indiana, the roads' were quite bad for most part-, caused from their being constructed of apparently a poor grade of gravel and the fact that hundreds of cars are being driven through on this rdad every week from factories in Ohio and Michigan to local distributing points, because of the inability to secure cars fast enough to ship them by freiglit, and as a result the roads are all cut to pieces. This route is along for part of the way, at least, what is called the “Lincoln high wav,’’ but like our own Jackson highway in north of Rensselaer, it is a delusion and a snare. Of course, there are some small stretches of permanent improved road on this line, such as

brick, concrete, etc., near the larger towns, and in a few years there will he many more miles of such road, the only kind that “stands up” under the vast volume ! of automobile traffic. 1 We took dinner Sunday at Butler land expected to readh South Bend !by about 5 o’clock. However, the J roads were not in condition to I make good time, although they ! were a vast improvement over the | roads we had encountered in Ohio, jAs the.«.writer had to be home on Monday morning he was forced to leave the party at Ligonier, which was reached at 5 o’clock, and took! a New York Central train for' Gary, an even 100 miles from! Ligonier, and thence went across ! ,to Hammond by traction car, and reached home at 11:10 Sunday night. j Mr. Hansson and party got in at j 8 p. m. Monday, coming via Goshen. Elkhart, Mishawaka, South Bend, Laporte, Valparaiso, Kouts, Wheat- ’ field and Gifford, and report having had fine roads all the way from Ligonier. perhaps fifty to J sixty miles of which in the vicinity of the first natned towns | were brick or concrete. They stayed Sunday night at Goshen, i making the run from/ there Monday, about 150 miles.