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Show CHALMERS SftLES SHOW M 10QPERGEWTIKGRERSE Increased Sales Follow Good lil Roads, Says Paul Smith, IH Pointing to Development il of Territory in Past Year. ! IH . i jH 'With a showing ot 100 per cent in- i jH crease In the sales for the past six lH months over the corresnondlnsr iH months in 1914 wo have every reason ! hI to believe that old General Prosperity jil has planned a campaign of permanent jH occupation for the next twelvo 4H months," said Paul Smith, vice presi- iH dent of tho Selling Division, Chalmers ill Motor company, yesterday. iil "Having just returned from a tour H of western and middle western terrl- H tory, I can say unhesitatingly that I H have never talked with a more opti- H mistic bunch of dealers since tho early i H days of tho industry. The only ground ' H on which there is any trace of anxiety H shown is in connection with the attl- H tudo of President Wilson on the taxa- H tlon of moto rears They seemed to H bo agreed, however, that motor cars H this season, unless the government H puts an absolutely prohibitive tax on H motor cars and gasoline. H "If the immense revenue obtained H from an automobile tax were devoted H to good roads, the average motorist Jl in the statos I have recently visited, rtl would pay the bill gladly and In this vlH matter he would have the hearty co- mIH operation of the motor car manufac- ! I ! IH "The effect of good roads on auto- llH mobile sales is forcibly brought home f 'jH to tho man who visits western terri- f jH tory after an absence of some'months. - H Wherever good roads are laid down, automobile dealers spring into being ' ' and the sale of cars follows as a mat- , IH ter of course. "According to the figures given out ' iH by the Public Roads and Rural En- ' H gineerlng Office in Washington, nearly jH a quarter of a billion dollars, that Is !H $250,000,000, was spent last year in iH this country for highway construction H and maintenance. H "Although this means that we now ' 'H have 247,490 miles of hard-surfaced . jH road, that figure falls to stand out , H impressively when we realize that H there are 200,273,000 miles in the road ' H system of the entlro country. H "One feature which Impresses the H traveler who is used to concrete east- ern roads, is tho futility of building iH roads whose surfaces are not durable under present traffic. Many states , jH are spending two-thirds as much for IjH maintenance annually as they spend JH for new roads. Michigan as a pioneer IH in the concrete road movement is ijH showing the way to permanent roads '1 at the lowest possible cost of yearly 'H upkeep. H "Good roads construction within the i Jl next five years will mean the opening TH up of territory to the automobile JH manufacturer and a quicker and 'H cheaper way for farmers now living in H isolated districts to bring their pro- H ducts to market." jH oo H |