OCR Text |
Show SLUMP IN THE AUTO BUSINESS. Bottom Seems to Have Dropped Out Notwithstanding Boosting Efforts of Manufacturers. Now York. Indications point to tho bottom having fallen out of tho automobile auto-mobile buslnes. Tho manufacturers, It Is reported In trade circles, are making strenuous efforts to keep up a show of continued prosperity, but It Is nlso said that they aro not selling sell-ing their product, but are storing machines ma-chines throughout the country at their various agencies to prevent tho public pub-lic realizing tho true conditions of tho market. Several large concerns are laying off men and giving all sorts of reasons rea-sons for so doing except the statement state-ment that they aro overstocked. Two or threo of the largest factories recently re-cently closed entirely, ostensibly for tho purposo of taking Inventory, but tho workmen were not given nny definite def-inite time nt which to again report for work, and it Is not expected that these factories will again be in operation oper-ation tills year. A well-known automobile agent of this city snld yesterday that all cars would undoubtedly bo selling nt from 25 per cent to 50 per cent less than present list prices within tho next two or threo months. Ho added: "Tho troublo with the automobile business Is thnt the farmers and people peo-ple of tho smaller cities nnd towns havo not taken as kindly to the Idea as was anticipated. Tho farmors find thnt tho cost of keoplng them In ro-palr ro-palr and oporntlon Is more than the cost of keeping horses to perform tho samo work, and whllo there wns, for a time, n tendency among the farmors to invest in tho machines, tho defand for enrs from this class of buyers has practically stopped, and I venture to say wo will not again sell to tho farmers farm-ers to any extont until prices are materially ma-terially reduced." |