USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. I > Part 59
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Previous to the adoption of this plan, 40,000 men were employed each year to maintain a working force of 10,00G. In 1913, the year before the profit- sharing began, with an average working force of 13,632, the number of employes who left the Ford Motor Company was 50,44S. When profit-sharing had been tried for three years, the company had a working force of 40,903 men and that year the number of men to leave the employ of the company, for every reason, was 7,512. The rules governing the eligibility of an employe to partie- ipate in the profit-sharing plan after six months on the payroll were laid down as follows:
"1. Every employe twenty-one years of age who leads a clean and con- structive life, and is of proved thrifty habits. A married man must be living with and taking good care of his family.
"2. Any employe under twenty-one years of age who lives with and is the sole surviving support of a mother, next of kin, and leads a clean and constructive life."
A board of 200 advisers, employes of the company, passed on the qualifi- cations of their fellow-employes for a share in the profits. The first year seventy percent were found to be qualified. Three years later, ninety-nine and one-half percent of the employes came under the qualification.
Concurrently with the profit-sharing plan, and in accordance with the Ford idea of benefiting the social and financial condition of the employes, there was established the Ford English School. There were hundreds of employes who were unable to speak English, which hampered their development and also their value to the company. In May, 1914, the school was organized with one teacher and twenty pupils. The same month five experienced teachers took up the work and in September a call for volunteer teachers was made. The result was soon an enrollment of 2,200, which number reached 4,000 by 1920, the pupils ranging in age from eighteen to seventy-two years.
Notwithstanding the rapid progress of the company and the steady flow of wealth engulfing the stockholders, there were those of the latter who did not agree with the Ford policies of expansion, etc. Perhaps the first open break in the situation came with the resignation of James Couzens from the company. In November, 1916, the Dodge brothers, in their position as minority stock- holders, began suit against Mr. Ford as the majority stockholder to compel a larger division of earnings among the stockholders. Previously.Mr. Ford had announced the intention of the company to establish its own blast furnaces on the River Rouge, also to double the size of the plant. As part of their suit, the Dodge brothers sought to prevent Mr. Ford from carrying out his designs. They took the position that the Ford Motor Company had not the legal right to indulge in industry aside from the manufacture of motor cars, and also main- tained that the company as then constituted, was a violation of the Michigan laws in that it represented investment in excess of $25,000,000 to which cor- porations were restricted by the state laws. The Dodge brothers also assailed the policy of Mr. Ford in reducing the price of the product as production itself increased. Filing of the suit disclosed the enormous profits which had been
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CITY OF DETROIT
made for the stockholders. Among these disclosures was that in 1914, on a capital of $2,000,000, dividends totaling $21,000,000 were paid. In May, 1915, a special dividend of $10,000,000 was paid, and in October of the same year $5,000,000 was distributed. In 1916, it was stated, the company carned $60,000,000.
Work on the River Rouge blast furnaces had already started when the Dodge brothers began their suit. An injunction was issued restraining Mr. Ford from carrying on the work, but the court later allowed the work to proceed upon the filing of a bond by Mr. Ford for $10,000,000 to secure the Dodge brothers against loss if it should be decided that the company could not build the furnaces. While the court contest was being waged, the legislature also became a battle ground for the two sides. A bill was introduced at Lansing to remove the limit on corporate capitalization, which had the support of the Ford interests, the Detroit Board of Commerce and large corporations here. It was opposed by the Dodge brothers. The contest took its way through the local courts and up to the supreme court and was finally decided on sort of a compromise basis, in that both sides received compensation. The right of the company to expand was upheld, also its right to build furnaces on the River Rouge The minority stockholders were satisfied by the order of the company to disburse from its surplus $19,000,000 in dividends.
The next indication of individual disagreement with the Henry Ford expan- sion policy was the resignation of certain of the officials. The first was that of Norval A. Hawkins, general sales manager. Then came the resignation of C. Harold Wills, who had been associated with Mr. Ford from the very beginning and was regarded as not only the mechanical genius of the organization, but as one of the highest-priced men in the industrial world. Mr. Wills was the designer of many of the labor-saving machines used by the Ford Motor Com- pany and many of the improvements in the product. He is also a steel expert and has to his credit the perfection of processes which marked an epoch in the use of steel. Since his retirement from the Ford company, Mr. Wills has organized and promoted a new automobile company, located at Marysville, Michigan, where the Wills Ste. Claire car is manufactured, and has perfected the new steel known as molybdenum. Mr. Wills' resignation was followed by that of John R. Lee, former head of the sociological department of the plant, and lastly by that of Frank L. Klingensmith, recently the president and one of the organizers of the new Gray Motor Corporation. In the early part of the year 1919, Henry Ford himself stepped down from the active presidency of the company in favor of his son, Edsel B., who then assumed the presidency. This was followed by the purchase by the Fords of the entire stock of the minority stock-holders, a deal involving vast sums of money and which indicated a value for the whole property of about $250,000,000. This gave to Henry Ford and his son free rein to develop the business along the lines which they conceived to be "for the greatest good for the greatest number." The company has expanded in every direction, including the making of the low-priced tractor at the Dearborn plant, the development of the River Rouge blast furnaces, the purchase of a railroad to insure a coal supply, and in 1922 the purchase of the Lincoln Motor Company to manufacture the Lincoln car as the most popular priced expensive car. Something of the growth of the Ford Motor Company may be indicated by the number of ears produced each year, which is as follows:
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CITY OF DETROIT
1903-04 (to September 30th)
1,708
1905
1,695
1906
1,599
1907
8,423
1908
6,398
1909
10,607
1910
18,664
1911
34,528
1912
78,440
1913
168,220
1914
248,307
1915
308,213
1916
533,921
1917
700,000
1918
706,584
1919
790,558
1920
1,000,000 plus
The largest day's production was on October 28, 1920, when 4,688 completed cars were turned out. All of the Ford cars are made upon one style of chassis, with four styles of body-roadster, touring, coupe and sedan, in addition to the one-ton truck. The reports of the state labor commissioner for 1904 credited the Ford Motor Company with thirty-one employes at that time and 229 in 1905. The same commission in its report for 1919 listed the Highland Park plant with 41,489 employes, with almost 17,000 at the River Rouge plants, including shipbuilding, and 4,013 at the Dearborn tractor plant. At one time in 1920 there were 56,000 people on the payroll. The company maintains wholesale branches and assembly plants in all of the larger cities of the country. A discussion of the war work done by the Ford Motor Company is reserved for a later paragraph of this chapter.
In 1903 the Packard car was being manufactured at Warren, Ohio, by J. W. and W. D. Packard. The business was first incorporated in September, 1900, the original company having been the successors to the business carried on by Packard & Weiss and the Ohio Auto Company. The car then being produced was a mechanical marvel for the time, but the marketing of the car was not being carried on in the most advantageous manner. It so happened that Mr. Henry B. Joy, of Detroit, first saw a model of the car while visiting the annual automobile exhibition in New York City and immediately recognized its merits and value as a commercial product. With this in mind, Mr. Joy soon visited the Ohio plant, with the intention of buying into the company, but the owners were reluctant to become partners with outside capital, but at the same time were much impressed by Mr. Joy's ideas concerning the manu- facture and distribution of their product. Consequently, within a comparatively short time, Mr. Joy had entered the company as general manager and director. Immediately the business methods introduced by Mr. Joy became effective and he was soon allowed almost unlimited latitude in his work. This was the actual beginning of the great Packard manufactory development.
At this time Detroit was becoming known as the automobile manufacturing center of America and offered much greater advantages than Warren, Ohio, for the production of the Packard car. Accordingly, Mr. Joy succeeded in having the plant moved to this city, J. W. Packard still being the president of the
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company. The factory onee having been constructed and actual manufactur- ing started in the new field, Mr. Joy was repeatedly requested to assume the office of president of the company. In 1905, when the name of the concern was changed to the Packard Motor Car Company, he was formally chosen chief executive, which position he held until 1916, and for one year after this was chairman of the board of directors, resigning to enter the service of his country. Detroit's acquisition of such an institution as the Packard Motor . Car Company is almost wholly attributable to the efforts of Mr. Joy, which are also, in large measure, accountable for the great growth of the Packard here and its well-earned reputation as the most popular high-prieed ear in America.
The company started here in 1903 with $500,000 capital and employed about 600 hands. Every year brought an increased payroll and generally a substantial increase in capital stock. In 1916-17 there were 16,000 people employed and in 1919 the eapital stoek reached the maximum of $50,000,000. The last ineor- poration was on September 1, 1909. Seventy-four aeres of ground are occupied by the Packard plant, with 116 buildings and 3,000,000 square feet of floor space. The Packard plant is a city in itself and combines every advantage and convenience for the social, as well as the economie, welfare of its army of em- ployes. The Packard "Twin Six" and truek have become famous the world over, and the recent model, the "Single Six," bids fair to become equally as notable. The present officers of the company are: Alvan Macauley, president; F. R. Robinson, secretary; and F. L. Jandron, treasurer. Packard's part in the development of the famous Liberty Motor is detailed in a later paragraph.
The Dodge motor car stands as a tribute to the work of two brothers-John F. and Horace E. Dodge. As young men they learned the machinist's trade in their father's shop at Niles, Michigan, which was their home town. In 1886 they went to Battle Creek, Michigan, then after a brief period to Port Huron and thenee to Detroit. Here they found employment with the Murphy Engine Company. In 1894 they went to Windsor, Ontario, where they became machinists for the Dominion Typograph Company. Their ability to produce .excellent machine work and tools brought them to the attention of Fred S. Evans, a Detroit manufacturer. About this time the brothers invented the first ball- bearing bicycle, and after this accomplishment they joined Mr. Evans in organ- izing the Evans & Dodge Bieyele Company in 1897 and leased the plant of the Dominion Typograph Company at Windsor, carried on the business for two years, then sold out to a Canadian bicycle concern. With their plant equip- ment, the machinery and the cash received in the deal, they came to Detroit and in 1901 opened a machine shop in the Boydell Building on Beaubien Street. After many discouragements here, their business began to develop and soon they sought larger quarters, which they found at Monroe Avenue and Hastings Street. In 1910 they began the erection of their present plant, but already they had become connected with motor ear building, their first contraet of this character having been for transmissions for the original Olds runabout, the order having called for the manufacture of 3,000 sets.
When, in 1903, Henry Ford began the manufacture of his motor car, he asked the Dodge brothers to undertake the manufacture of engines, transmissions and steering gears in quantity production. This they did and so rapidly did their business grow in connection with the development of the Ford ear, that when they abandoned the Hastings Street plant in 1910 it was the largest and best equipped machine plant in Detroit. In the organization of the Ford Motor
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CITY OF DETROIT
Company, the Dodge brothers each took $5,000 worth of stoek, to be paid out of their profits on the manufacture of 650 chassis. Later, they acquired addi- tional stock. When, in 1919, the Fords bought out the minority stockholders, the Dodge brothers received $27,000,000 for their 2,000 shares.
It was in 1914 that the Dodge brothers decided to manufacture their own ear and built a million-dollar plant in Hamtramck, this task and the designing of the motor ear having consumed more than two years. Production of this car, however, began in 1914, and by 1915 the company had reached the eighth place in volume of automobile production of American ears and in 1917 were in fourth place. Six years after the inauguration of the business, the Dodge Brothers' Hamtramek plant represented an investment of $20,000,000, the buildings covering seventy-five aeres, while the produet ran from 750 to 1,200 ears daily. By 1917 there were 15,000 men and women employed by the eom- pany. An account of the war work done in 1917 and 1918 is given in a later paragraph of this chapter.
The Hudson Motor Car Company was organized in the year 1909 and incorporated February 20th, principally through the efforts of Roy D. Chapin, Howard E. Coffin, Frederick O. Bezner, and Roseoe B. Jackson. The company at first produced a low-priced roadster model, but has gradually improved its model and inereased its production until it is one of the largest of the moderate- priced ear manufactories. The business was first started in a small rented factory, but the demand for more room soon became imperative. Twenty-five acres of land were then procured on Jefferson Avenue opposite the old Grosse Pointe race track and a modern, conerete plant constructed. The authorized capital stock of the Hudson Motor Car Company is now $2,500,000. The report of the state labor commission for the year 1919 indicates that in that year there were 5,659 people employed by the company.
Affiliated with the Hudson Motor Car Company is the company organized as a elose corporation to manufacture the Essex ear, a medium-priced product of distinctive design and remarkable excellence. This branch of the company was incorporated September 21, 1917.
The officers of the Hudson Motor Car Company are now: Roy D. Chapin, president; Howard E. Coffin, Frederick O. Bezner, vice presidents; W. J. Me- Aneeny, secretary; R. B. Jackson, vice president, treasurer, general manager.
On November 8, 1908, there was incorporated the Hupp Motor Car Company under the laws of Michigan. The present company, known as the Hupp Motor Car Corporation, was incorporated November 24, 1915, and took over the business and factories of the old company at Detroit and Windsor, also the plant of the American Gear & Manufacturing Company of Jackson, Michigan. The business was started by R. C. Hupp. The Hupmobile, as the product of this company is called, is known wherever automobiles are sold and is one of the most popular of the medium-priced ears on the market. The eompany is capitalized for $6,500,000 and is officered by Charles D. Hastings, president and general manager; DuBois Young, vice president; Arthur Von Sehlegell, vice president, secretary treasurer. The plant is located at Mt. Elliott and Milwaukee avenues. About 1,700 people were employed by this company in 1919, according to the state labor commission report.
The Maxwell Motor Corporation, with its Detroit plant located at Jefferson Avenue and the outer belt line, has an authorized capitalization for $37,471,500. This organization was incorporated May 7, 1921, under the laws of West Vir-
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CITY OF DETROIT
ginia to effect a reorganization and merger of the Maxwell Motor Company and the Chalmers Motor Corporation. When purchasing the assets of the Maxwell Motor Company, the Maxwell Motor Corporation secured all rights, title and interest in the Maxwell Motor Sales Corporation, the Briscoe Manufacturing Company, the Newcastle Realty Company and the Maxwell Motor Company of Canada, Ltd.
The Maxwell Motor Company, one of the merged companies, was incor- porated under the name of the Standard Motor Company in Delaware on December 31, 1912, but adopted the Maxwell name January 18, 1913. At a receiver's sale in this same month of January, 1913, the company purchased the United States Motor Company, the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Company, the Dayton Motor Car Company, the Columbia Motor Car Company, the Alden- Sampson Manufacturing Company, the Brush Runabout Company and the Briscoe Manufacturing Company. In the following April the Flanders Motor Company was bought. On September 1, 1917, the company leased the Chalmers Motor Corporation for a period of five years, but in 1920 it was shown that the Maxwell owned more than ninety-five percent of the outstanding capital of this company.
In May, 1921, the company, which had been placed in receivership on April 9th, was sold under an order of the United States District Court for $10,915,100 and the property was acquired by W. P. Chrysler and H. Bronner, representing the Maxwell-Chalmers reorganization committee. On May 7, 1921, as stated before, the company was chartered under the present name. The officers at this writing are: W. Ledyard Mitchell, president; Carl Tucker, vice president; L. W. Linaweaver, secretary; Walter M. Anthony, treasurer; T. H. Thomas, comptroller. Plants are operated at Detroit, Dayton, and Newcastle.
The Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company was incorporated in 190S and has an authorized capitalization of $5,000,000. In 1919 there were 1,534 on the payroll of this company, which has three plants in Detroit, the principal one located at Fort and Mckinstry. Harry M. Jewett is president of the company. .
The Saxon Motor Car Corporation was incorporated November 23, 1915. In February, 1917, the plant of the Saxon company was completely destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of $2,000,000. This was the most costly fire which ever occurred in Michigan. A new plant was constructed and leased to the United States government, but later was sold to the General Motors.
The King Motor Car Company, formerly a Detroit corporation, incorporated in 1912, was purchased at court sale in December, 1920, by Charles A. Finne- gan, of Buffalo, and his associates. The King car was the pioneer of eight- cylindered machines.
The Liberty Motor Car Company, located at Charlevoix and the Detroit terminal railway, was incorporated in 1916 and has an authorized capitalization of $2,750,000. The officers are: Percy Owens, president. J. O. Low, vice president ; D. E. Williams, secretary and treasurer.
The Lincoln Motor Company was first incorporated in 1917 for the manu- facture of Liberty motors, with a capitalization authorized at SS,000,000. Henry M. and Wilfred C. Leland were the principal organizers. On January 17, 1920, the company was reincorporated for the manufacture of automobiles of high grade, with Henry M. Leland as president of the company. In the latter part of 1921, the business depression and other reasons forced the company to
PAIGE-DETROIT MOTOR CAR CO.
HOME OF THE HUDSON SUPER-SIX
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CITY OF DETROIT
enter the hands of a receiver. The plant is located at Warren and Livernois Avenues. In February, 1922, the plant was purchased by Henry and Edsel Ford.
The Studebaker Corporation was incorporated February 14, 1911, as a consolidation of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company and the Everitt-Metzger-Flanders Company, for the manufacture of Studebaker auto- mobiles. Factories of this organization are located in South Bend, Indiana, and Walkerville, Ontario, in addition to the Detroit plant. The general offices are located at South Bend. The Detroit plant is located at Brush and Piquette, and in 1919 there were 2,487 people employed
The Columbia Motor Company, having an authorized capitalization of $6,000,000, is officered by the following: J. G. Bayerline, president; William E. Metzger, vice president; A. T. O'Connor, secretary and treasurer. The plant is located at 6501 Mack Avenue. In 1919 there were employed about 150 men on the average.
One of the most recent of the automobile companies organized in Detroit is that promoted by Messrs. Everitt and Flanders and Capt. Eddie V. Ricken- bacher, for the manufacture of a motor car known as the "Rickenbacher." Another organization of recent date is that of the Gray Motor Corporation, fostered by Frank L. Klingensmith and Frank F. Beall, with the object of making a low-priced car.
The history of the Detroit automobile shows has an important bearing upon the industry itself. The first show was given in 1902 in the Light Guard armory, which also housed the 1903 and 1904 exhibitions. From that date, cach year, the exhibition of automotive products has been held as follows: 1905, Riverview Park; 1906 to 1913, Wayne Gardens; 1914, Ford Branch building; 1915, Detroit Lumber Company plant; 1916, Riverview Park; 1917, Billy Sunday tabernacle; 1918, Simons Sales Company service station; 1919, Crosstown garage; 1920, Ford Branch building; 1921 and 1922, Morgan & Wright Building.
The Commerce Motor Car Company, manufacturers of light delivery trucks, was incorporated January 12, 1911, with an authorized capitalization of $700,000. The officers of the company are: Walter E. Parker, president; H. B. Bennett, vice president; Frank A. Bradley, secretary and treasurer. The plant of this company is located at 7434 Mackie Avenue. About 160 men are employed during full production.
The Federal Motor Truck Company, corner Federal and Campbell Avenue, was incorporated February 10, 1910, for the manufacture of motor trucks. Their product now consists of trucks weighing one, one and a half, two, three and a half, and five tons. The company has an authorized capitalization of $2,000,000 and is officered by: Thomas E. Reeder, president; Martin L. Pulcher, vice president and general manager; W. C. Rowley, vice president; H. J. Warner, vice president; Charles F. Mellish, secretary; and Edward P. Ham- mond, treasurer.
The Standard Motor Truck Company, 1111 Bellevue Avenue, was incor- porated in 1912, with half a million dollar authorized capitalization. The officers are: Albert Fisher, president; A. E. Fisher, vice president; F. J. Fisher, secretary and treasurer.
The Denby Motor Truck Company was incorporated December 16, 1915,
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under Delaware laws to succeed the company of the same name previously incorporated in Michigan.
The Acason motor truck is also manufactured in Detroit by a company of which H. W. Acason is president. The plant is located at 2821 Jefferson Avenue.
Among the incidental benefits of this industry to the community has been the impetus which it has given to the good roads movement. The automobile manufacturers have vied with the owners in the effort to create for this county and vicinity one of the best road systems in the country.
There are other automobile towns in Michigan, but Detroit's interest in the business is much greater than that of all the rest combined. According to the report of the State Labor Commissioner the number of persons employed in the industry here was 135,000 in 1917. The number similarly employed in the five other automobile cities was as follows: Flint, 18,262; Lansing, 7,875; Pontiac, 5,747; Jackson, 4,683, a total of 36,567. In Flint, Pontiac and Lansing this business accounted for much more than half the whole number of indus- trial employes.
Taking all industries together, according to the industrial census of 1914, which is the latest reported, Detroit and its manufacturing suburbs had a little larger manufactured product than all the rest of the state combined. In the following individual classes in addition to automobiles it had a larger product than all the rest of the state; brass and bronze products, men's clothing, women's clothing, copper, tin and sheet iron products, electrical machinery, iron and steel work, patent medicines and compounds, printing and publishing and shipbuilding. In some of these there is a very large percentage of excess.
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