Roseburg news-review., December 17, 1920, Page 3, Image 3

HOSFMHO NKWH-KFA IKW FHIItAV, HFCKVIIF.R 17. IICJO.
PAOE THTU:H
ADDRESS OF C W. MATflESflW I
delivered Before Dodge Brothers Dealers, Junior Ball Room, Adolphus Hotel
Dallas, Texas, 2 P. M November 15th, 1920
.. a .rv difficult for tua to
Gentlemen. wo j appreciate your welcome.
,, ,ou ho 'y difficult lor me to tell
d 11 wh.nDy I am for this opportunity of d Is
,u ho hapJblenl, with you around the family
;ui"K pr" , if you 1. a member of Podge
t.ble. l-a:h.on.. family and between us there
lhtv'Ubee".y -ecre... Everything that
"ornthers have done In their relationship
jge Bron na u ftn open bQok
wilh their deal. a fom them- We
' haVM Cu frankly; alwaya. why we have
un VinTo do ce tain things, ao today I am
S.i I- u ,ue ' ,he ,n8ide prob-
,,. of our br" predicted when I
TTr,Tanu ry last Every dealer ... then
" Dodg Brother, to ship him more cars;
deader a. urging Dodge Brothers to build
every dealer a a ,ac,orie8: to hire more
T to do more business. The records of that
" ' -in, will "how you that I told you then that It
U't d be Dodge Brothers policy never to expand
."a 'tpectacular fashion, but that Dodge Brother.
' VJum would be gradual, sane. Bound and safe,
S f Dodge Brothers and their dealers.
b We have thai expansion program on the way It
, seem strange to the public at large, that Dodge
Mother are now employing more than twelve
Sred hands dally, doing nothing but construct-
- nw larger quarters, In the form of new pro
w.e buiKs which, when equipped, will rep
?,nt vTue of approximately eight million dol
Dodge Brothers did not discontinue those
building operations, did not discontinue that ex
cision program. Just because cotton happened to
K for the moment or for the hour, at the lowest
nrire in its history, or nearly so; because cotton
ian not stay there forever. History is full and
overflowing with evidence that reaction equals
and always follows action, and I told you in the
same words last January, that we wanted you to
orepare for this very time. I told you then that
times were abnormal; very much so; I told you
then that It would be wise for every dealer to be
sure that he enjoyed the friendly interest of every
Dodge car owner, because he never could tell when
the time would come that he would need that
friendship in his business. That day has come.
You do need the friendship of every man to whom
you have sold a car; we believe you have It; we
believe you deserve It. Only yeslerday I called on
a large dealer who claimed six thousand owners;
six ihousand customers. "How many salesmen have
you?" I asked. "Twelve." he answered. I said.
What have you been doing for the past four
months for the present emergency? We saw it
coming months ago; we warned you then. Why
only twelve salesmen? If you had fifty salesmen,
even Ihen they could not call upon those six thou
sand car owners and make sure you have their
friendly interest. There are enough Sedan and
Coupe orders and. next spring, Touring Cnr and
Koadster and Business Car orders In those six
Ihousand car owners to absorb your whole quota
of cars for the next year, If you really own their
friendship, if you handle them right"
This is an emergency. We have got to meet It
like real men. We know we have been told time
and lime again, and we believe, that the best de
fense is a powerful offensive. This la the time for
action, not words. You have said you could do'
certain things, and. If put to the test, we have be
lieved you could do those things. We know, even
better than you do perhaps, that you can do things
and, furthermore, we are extremedy confident that
you will do them. We are putting. you to the test.
We very frankly and openly state that we are ship
ping you more cars today than we know you care
to have us ship you, but In the same breath, I am
going to tell you, gentlemen, be not alarmed, be
cause we know perhaps even better than you know
the limit that is safe, either for you or for us.
Dodge Brothers will never do anything or permit
anything to be done to Jeopardize the standing of
their car in their family of dealers, or with the
American public. Those words were given you by
Mr. John F. Dodge, five years ago. You know how
faithfully that promise has been kept. In a family
of four thousand dealers to whom we must dis
tribute our product of six hundred twenty-five cars
a day, fifteen thousand a month, wo are bound to
make some mistakes; we may, now and then, ship
an eiira car, or an extra carload to some dealer,
who. perhaps, has not the funds to meet the ship
ment, and who may be embarrassed to meet that
shipment. We may find, and we have found some
few, only, of our dealers In the same predicament
that the dude was In, that Mr. Cameron tellB about:
A dude and a tramp met on the highway; the
tramp was after the dude's money, so he proceeded
to get it; the dude put up an awful fight, way be
yond anything the tramp contemplated. They
rolled over and over the ground; finally, the tramp
won out and got the man's money. He was look
ing at it on the palm of his hand, and counted only
thirty reus. "Why." he said. "I never knew a
man to put up such a fight like that for thirty
cents." "Well." said the dude, "it wasn't the
thirty cents I was fighting for, but I was reluctant
l reveal by financial condition." (Laughter).
," al ,nat applies, not only to our dealers, but
II at, n to gome of our dealers' bankers. Some
dealers havs wired us to stop a shipment which
we were asked to forward, explaining that, after
arranging with their banks they would be Informed
later that the banks did not have the money. There
re some bankers in the room, whom. I am very
glad, are here. There are some newspaper men In
me room, whom, I am very glad, are here; because
we have na secreta with the public, In the same
ense that we have no secrets with our dealer or
ganization. We want them all to know the story
it i j i8, bPCause 't Is an Inspiring story. If
liLi . Irlal business was on the same basis as
wise Iirothers business, today, there would be no
ft,lC' . Jhe "'""" People do not buy goods Is be
.?""'"'' dl not understand values; the reason
n y do not understand values, is because they
in rTfT teei1 ,RURht values; and the reason
trW h n, v''r been 'aught values Is because
nnH.reJleTei' had "'andard to go by. They
d"rM! Ihe ld "andard, but they do not un
nrnth 1 mo,or car atandard of value. Dodge
do Z "ar six years ago, undertook to
Th.7, ?'n ,hat had neT been done before,
motor r,rk to and d,d establish a standard of
vain. . if u: a "'andard by which motor car
th.r T,b' How dld the about to
. ThPV HDld.mlH 1 A . . ,. . , ,j
Hot hniM luniiru, iirai oi an, iney wuuiu
ih.y ,1! '."im conform to a price, but instead.
which . rar to conform lo an laeai
Public t. ,n h'f "D'nds. They believed the
Mtvd tl n"r e" ot a "rtain type; they
that thi. Public wanted a car of a certain type
to rii Z ?ld 0oTi buy; that would be safe
life uj I would 'T them assurance of long
"ling Lirt!HCal MrT,ce: ood looking, easy
aoi such . de car' at low Price. There was
Dodgi tTn,l" M that ,n tn market at the tinf.
"others undertook to and did build that
kind ot a car. I will give you a few Illustrations
to show you how they carried out their plans. We
will take, for example, the radiator. All radiators
up to that time had been made of brass. All the
types of radiators in the market at that time were
tried out. The tubular type of radiator was found
to be the most efficient; it was made of brass. Mr.
John F. Dodge Inquired how much more efficient
would that radiator be If its core was made of
copper. On test. It proved to be six percent more
efficient than the same radiator made of brass. Mr.
Dodge then said, "Our radiators will be made of
copper." He did not ask, how much more will It
cost If made of copper; he asked, bow much more
efficient will it be If made of copper. He did not
care what the cost was, because that cost would bo
figured in the selling price.
Another Illustration Is that of the starting gen
erator. Dodge Brothers tried out the I ading
starter generators. There were many well-known,
high-grade starter generators in the market, the
name of any one of which, in the specifications of
a new car, would have carried with It a feeling of
confidence. When I first read the specifications of
Dodge Brothers car and found the Northeast
Starter Generator specified It meant nothing to me,
or to you or to the public. Dodge Brothers did not
care anything about that. They knew what the
Northeast Starter Generator would do In the bands
of the car owners. On receiving the report of their
engineers, they decided to buy the Northeast Start
er Generator. It cost more than any other starter
generator in the market by a wide margin, but It
was procured because It was the best. You know
the result.
Take the body. There never had been an all
metal body commercially marketed. All bodies
had been made of wood and sheet metal, sewed and
riveted together, squeaking, short-lived. Dodge
Brothers conceived the Idea of building a body
practically without Joints, In that all Joints were
electrically welded, without rivets, without wood;
a body that would carry a permanent finish, that
would not squeak, would not rattle, would last,
and at the same time, would be conspicuously
handsome. The dies from which these bodies were
built coat a quarter million dollars! a heavy In
vestment, especially when everyone said it is not
possible to build that design of body. This body
cost more money, but It was a better body. And
so, throughout the scores and scores of items en
tering Into the construction of the car. Dodge
Brothers strove to build into that car better value,
better quality. They did not know what they
would sell the car for; they didn't fix any price on
It, but when they had built enough of the cars to
determine the actual cost to build that kind or
car, they added to that cost a moderate profit, a
smaller margin of profit than motor car manu
facturers had been accustomed to adding; and to
that, they added a selling cost, a smaller selling
cost than anyone In the Industry producing In a
large way had been accustomed to add; to that,
they added a dealer's profit, a smaller percentage
of profit than other motor car makers had figured.
That total comprised the selling price. There was
nothing added for service that might or might not
be required, because Dodge Brothers determined to
build a car so good that It would need the mini
mum of service, unless neglected or abused, and
such service should be paid for, as and when need
ed, the same as you would buy oil. fuel and tires
as and when needed. Dodge Brothers were de
termined that the selling price of that car would
establish a new and acceptable standard of motor
car value.
I will jump quickly the Intervening years, un
til today, by making the simple statement that Mr.
H. E. Dodge made to me a few weeks ago, when he
said: "Today. Dodge Brothers' profit per car is a
smaller profit per car than when Dodge Brothers
first sold the car for seven hundred eighty-five dol
lars." I want you gentlemen to get the full mean
ing of that, and to do so, I am going to give you
some figures. There is a popular feeling fostered
by many newspapers whose editors are not suffi
ciently informed, that the price of materials that
enter Into the construction of motor cars, are low
er, and are becoming lower and lower every day.
What are the facts? The price of steel is no:
lower: the price of pig Iron Is not substantially
lower; the price of copper Is not lower. On the
contrary, pig Iron, today, sells for forty to fifty
two dollars a ton. We have In our yard enough
pig Iron to build all the Dodge Brothers cars we
can build between now and next May at the rate
of six hundred twenty-five a day, and that pig Iron
cost us twenty-nine dollars a ton. The market has
got to break from forty-two dollars to twenty-nine
dollars before the price of Dodge Brothers cars
will be affected. Coal, thousands of tons, cost us
six dollars forty-eight cents a ton at our plant, he
cause we bought it long ago, paid for it, and had
It delivered before the freight rates advanced. The
same way with sand, limestone, lumber, all kinds
of metals. Acres and acres we have, covered with
those materials, and paid for one, two, three years
ago.
The price of Dodge Brothers car today, is based
upon those costs. The price of Dodge Brothers
cars today is not a replacement price. I am sure
you know what I mean by a replacement price. To
illustrate: a friend walked Into a shoe store during
the war period to buy a pair of shoes for his little
daughter. The price given blm was six dollars.
He bought the shoes, then on looking them over
found a price tag on the bottom of one shoe,
marked four dollars fifty cents. Through that
price had been drawn a line, and over the line was
marked six dollars. Why? Because, to replace
that pair of shoes on the day they were sold would
cost more money than the original price at which
the shoes were bought and the sale price made. A
four dollar and fifty cent price would have given
the merchant a legitimate profit, based on what the
shoes actually cost him at the time, but he sold
them at the replacement price, tjeacuse to replace
the shoes would have cost him more money. He
therefore made a double profit on the shoes. In
other words, he profiteered to that extent Dodge
Brothers have not done that. The price of their
car today is based upon pig iron at twenty-nine dol
lars per ton, coal at six dollars forty-eight cents,
etc., and the same down through hundreds of Items.
Were Dodge Brothers forced to go Into the open
market and buy at today's prices the materials
which they employ In building their car, the higher
material costs at today's market prices would force
them to Increase their present selling prices. Some
materials can not be bought one, two and three
years In advance; we can only get certain materials
from quarter to quarter. It la the advance In cost
of such materials and the constant advances In cost
of labor which caused us to advance the price of
our car in six years from seven hundred eigbty-flve
dollars to twelve hundred eighty-five dollars 61
grand total. What other commodities can you name
tbat show only tbat advance since the year 1914?
Now, I want ti say something for the Informa
tion of the bankers who are present and for the
information of the newspaper men also, and I hope
all of you dealers will tell your bankers when you
return. Your bankers are your friends. We ask
you to cultivate your bankers, to know them bet
ter, and let them know you better. To those of
you who haven't a proper bookkeeping Bystcni, we
urge that you procure as early as possible. Dodge
Brothers Uniform Accounting System, which will
enable you to carry in your pocket every day a
statement of your affairs, so that when your banker
asks you how you stand, you can tell him exactly
and he will know you are telling facts. You place
your banker In a very difficult position to help you
when you don't know exactly the affairs of your
business; when you don't know exactly how you
stand, and it Is surprising as we make the rounds
of our dealers to find how many do not know the
actual condition ot their business. Those are the
dealers who are the first to complain of their bank
ers not giving them hearty co-operation. The
banker wants to go the limit with every man who
deserves credit. It Is a hardship on any banker to
turn down a patron. I believe that Dodge Iirothers
dealers have been able to get from their bankers,
generally, throughout the United Slates, the limit
which their banks could legitimately, fairly and
reasonably extend. Now, on the other hand, I
want you to remind your banker that there Is a
difference between Dodge Brothers motor car
values and values of other commodities. When he
questions the value of Dodge Brothers car as se
curity for a loan to warehouse that car, ask him If
he can name any commodity, any slock or bond,
even bank stocks or government bonds that have
fluctuated In value as little as the value of Dodge
Brothers cars. In six years there has not been a
fluctuation of ono one-hundredth of one per cent
In the value of a Dodge Brothers car as security to
a loan. A barik or banker loaning money on a
Dodge Brothers car knows that he Is loaning money
on something that Is worth very much more than
the amount he loans. Dodge Brothers car prices
have not fluctuated; the only change has been a
change upward, not downward. To our knowledge
no banker has ever lost a dollar on a Dodge Broth
ers dealer In the history of Dodgo Brothers Insti
tution. NotDodge Brothers dealer has ever failed
In business, to our knowledge. Is that not a record
that should Inspire your bankers' confidence? That
Is the kind of mortality record on which banks,
bankers and Insurance companies would like to
base their rates.
Why have no Dodge Brothers dealers failed in
business? Because Dodge Brothers policy will not
let them fail In business. In the first place. Dodge
Brothers do not select their dealers at random. I
was New York District Representative in my first
association with Dodge Brothers. It was my duty
Ihen to select the first dealers who were chosen in
the New York and Philadelphia districts. My In
structions were to Belect the best doaler in each
city, and in so doing, to be governed by the rulo of
the three C's Character, Capability and Capital;
Capital last; Character first. Wo had applications
from nearly all dealers then In business. I would
take- theao applications In to the bank. The bank
was the first place I "would" pr1 would explain
the object of my call and would ask the baTl1trTl.
kindly Indicate the best dealers In that city in the
order of their Importance. When I got that bank
er's opinion, I would go to another bank and re
quest the same Information. Invariably, the Judg
ment of the bankers agreed In one, two, three, four
order. Was there then any uncertainty In my mind
as to what doaler I would choose in that town? Not
a particle. And that, gentlemen, is the way you
have been chosen; and that Is one reason why we
know that your bankers are willing to go to the
proper limit to help you.
Kight at this point I wish to say that generally
speaking the amount of credit which any fuirmlnd
ed banker gives to any dealer la determined by the
dealer himself. His moral character and business
ability are his best assets. He should studiously
and industriously Increase those assets to a point
where hf4 banker has absolute confidence in him
both dealer and banker will thon be In complete
accord and harmony. But until you have convinced
your hanker that you have the character and abil
ity necessary to conduct properly your business
affairs so that he knows he is properly protected
you have not done all that you should do and you
have not the right to blame your banker.
If you are somewhat careless In the conduct of
your business is It not reasonable for blm to ex
pect that you will be likewise careless in the re
payment of your obligation to him.
Again I say you must establish character nnd
business ability.
Ultimately it should be the aim and objest of
every dealer to get into a position to be able to
finance himscslf.
Then you have not only shown your ability but
you are In an enviable position.
Now, Dodge Brothers chose you, and they feel
responsible In a large measure, for your success,
and when I say that, I say a great deal. They do
not feel that It Is proper and right for them to let
you drift after they ask you to burn all your
bridges behind you in order to launch Into the
business of selling Dodge Brothers cars. They
watch over you; they send their representatives to
call upon you; they ask you to tell all about your
affairs. Some of you, perhaps, do not like to show
your statements. Some of you, perhaps, may feel
that e are prying Into your private affairs, be
causf mmetimes we do ask a man to indicate how
much he is spending In building bis new home;
what his personal expenses are; how much money
he Is taking out of bis business to finance other
personal ventures; what time he goes to work In
the morning; how long he takes off at noon; when
he leaves at night, etc. A good many of our deal
ers have told us we are going a little beyond the
limits of common propriety in asking those ques
tions. We have two motives In doing so; one is
to give our dealers the benefit of our advice as to
how best to succeed; the other Is that wo believe
you owe to Dodge Brothers the obligation of prop
erly organizing and properly financing and running
a business they helped you to establish. You have
not alone an obligation to yourself you have one
you owe to Dodge Brothera. Your banker will not,
and rightfully so. think much of you If you are not
diligent In your business. If you get around at any
hour of the day and leave at any hour of the after
noon, he should not think much or you. if, on
the other hand, you establish and deserve the repu
tation with your banker, that you are carefully and
thoroughly watching your business, he Is certainly
going to have greater confidence In you, especially
If he finds that, with that diligence, you also have
the ability to manage your Interior organiiatlon,
and are prepared at all times to show him a cor
rect financial statement. There probably Is not a
man in this room whose statement has not been
criticised by us at one time or another. We are
not going to let any Dodge Brothers dealer fail In
buslneea If we can help It.
You may hare thought lately that we have
shipped you cars beyond your need, more than you
have ever had before. Do not be alarmed; we
shall know when the stopping lime comes; w have
every rouon lo believe that you will nod every car
shipped. We will not ship you beyond what you
will be able to take care ot. asjumtng, however,
that you haw enough money In your business to
function normally. If any ot you are running your
business on a shoe-string basis, we demand that
you arrange promptly to adequately tltianco your
business so that it will be on a sound business
basis. A merchant In any other kind ot business
will not carry on his shelves a hundred thousand
dollars worth of goods In order to enjoy a net an
nual profit of ten, fifteen or twenty thousand dol
lars. But some Dodge Brothers dealers, because of
their experiences during the past six years, when
they have not been able to get enough cars with
which to fill their orders, feel that they should
make a profit ot ten or fifteen thousund dollars
with very little cash Investment. Indeed, ten or
fifteen thousand dollars of investment la about all
that some of those dealers think they should carry.
They apparently have given but 111 t lo thought ot
building for the future.
Wo do not want you to be dismayed by th
present emetgency because no mutter how many
days t he sun mny shine during the year there are
certainly days in which the sky will bo filled with
the blackest kind ot black clouds. Sometimes,
those clouds last for days before they pass away.
Sometimes they pass quickly but they are sure to
conte sooner or luter and unless you aro prepared
for them yoti have not been as wise and forehanded
as you should have been.
This nation Ih too rich the American peoplo are
too progiesslve the fundamental principles un
derlying your business, and ours, and the business
ot the nation are too Bound for any national calam
ity at this time. Times have been too abnormal to
continue unchunged. l'rices have been too abnor
mal to continue. A change for the better is about
due. The pendulum has swung too tar In the op
posite direction, it cannot continue to swing in that
direction longer, because the world needs our crops
and needs our manufactured products. All statis
tics show that. The government reports show that.
I read something in the Dallas News this morn
ing, that I would like to repeat:
"A large potential demand has been crcnted and
there is every indication that the vacuum will bo
filled by eager buying when retail prices approxi
mate those hitherto regarded as normul. All
Americana aro not thriftless and extravagant fools.
There are ninny who have worn old clothes and
refrained from buying new house linen and other
necessities for the last three or four years. They
are able to t.ny and will buy largely Just as soon as
reusonable prices reward their patience and self
restraint, und while the luxury trades may suffer
by deflation, there Is every reason to expect thut
those who deal In staple and necessary commodi
ties at reasonable profit will soon be as busy as
over."
We do not want to say anything that may causo
any of you gentlemen to Infer Hint we believe times
are going to change for the better over night. They
are going to change for the better Just in propor
tion Jo your cfforis to change them in yous respec
tive districts. In yo'ir line of business.
Dodge Brothers built for the threo months'
period ending July, August and September, forty
three thousand threo hundred sixty-one cars; the
greatest production of motor cars of passenger
cars with one exception, for that period of time
In the history ot the Industry. There are In the
hands of our dealers today, or enroute to dealers, a
lesser number of Dodge Brothers cars than wo
have built In our factory and shipped since the first
day of October, which means, that every car that
we shipped from our factory for the three months'
period ending September 30, is today In the hands
of their users. During that period, gentlemen,
when wo were building that quantity of cars thnt
enormous quantity of cars your competitive deal
ers were Belling nine motor cars for every one
Dodge Brothers car you sold. The ratio may not
-apply in the various parts of Texas that you gen
tlemptf'TPTrwiut liupjilies throughout the United
Sliites. Wo know (hat In" some districts the rntlo is
three to one; that there are only .three curs of
other makes not counting Fords to GVory ono of
Dodge Brothers cars. What Is the ratio In your
city? Whut it will bo In the future will depend
upon what you make It.
Now, I will attempt to tell you briefly what our
plan is. We aro building today, as we sit in this
room, six hundred twenty-live cars dully produc
tion. Wo will build tomorrow six hundred twenty
five cars. We will continue to build six hundred
twenty-five cars every day, if you dealers can show
us that you can deliver them if you and your fel
low dealers throughout the country can delivur
them. Just as soon us Iho time cumes. If it does
come that our dealer organization can not absorb
six hundred twenty-five cars a day. Dodge Brothers
will not build six hundred twenty-five curs a day.
We have stocked you, some ten p.T cent, some fif
teen to twenty per cent, what we have believed you
could absorb. The uveraco for the whole country
Is about ten per cent. We will curtail or we will
suspend production lieTure wo will overload our
deulers or fotce our dealer to suffer losses. Some
dealers have Indicated that they fear that Dodge
Brothers might force them to take so many cars
they would "get In, wrong" with their banks.
Dodgo Brothers will never do that; do not be
afraid. Wo cun not bo one hundred per cent per
fect In our Judgment, and we may have mailii sotno
mistakes In over-shipping somo dealers, but If we
have, gentlemen. It Is b cause we have been en
couraged by other dealers to do so; because we
have dealers In our organization who, fortunately,
are taking as high as two hundred per c nt of their
allotments; one hundred seventy-two per rent for
the entire San Francisco District; one hundred
fifty per cent for the New York District. We are
shipping -to those dealers in the San Francisco Dis
trict seventeen cars for every ten that their agree
ment allotments call for. They are making a l"t
of money. We under-estimated their requirements
when writing their agreements. Some dealers are
receiving more cars than they can absorb. Oft
times it is because the dealer has not tried or
worked as hard as ho should.
We do not want you to feel that we aro going to
jump on you If you have a few bad months. There
Is Just one feeling we wunt you to have In your
hearts, and that la thnt you are giving ili;e
Brothers one hundred per cent of the best efforis
that are In you. We have Just two classes of deal
ers: Co-operative and non-co-operatlve. I am ex
tremely happy to tell you gentlemen that, when I
left Detroit, I asked for the records tip to the luht
minute, and there wasn't a single dealer In the
L'sllas District on the non-co-operative roll. (Ap
plause). It may be, on that account, we have Im
posed upon some of you. If wo have, we will do
our best to make amends, as time goes on, because
you and wo are in this business to stay. Every
thing that you have done has been recorded.
We have a very strong feeling that you realize
the seriousness of the present crisis and that you
will do everything humanly posslhle to do, to help
us over. We have como to you us members of our
business fumlly, and to tell you frankly, we need
your help, nnd we expect and know that we arc
going lo get It. We need your fullest confidence,
and we will never abuse-lt. We never have, and 1
am sure that everyone of you feel that we never
will.
We consider It good business for a dealer lo lay
aside one motor car for every order he has for
future delivery, provided that order Is a bona title,
signed, cash deposit order. Do not fool yourselves
with verbal orders, or with orders without cash
deposits. Some of you have done It In the pant,
but do not make that mistake in the future; it Is
not go business. We have dealers who now have
accumulated over th hundred orders ututnst
spring deliveries. We believe that, as wo no Into
the winter months, selling will grow easier, and
you will get more and more orders for spring or
future deliveries.
The curve of Dodge Brothers dealers' effort la
upward. You are adding mora salesmen. You are
paying closer attention tJ your business. The curve
of your competitor In the automobile business Is
downward. He is letting his salesmen go. he U
discouraged. Why? For many reasons. First,
and foremost, he perhaps wasn't the right dealer
to start off. He wasn't the right man to be In the
automobile business, and after he got In It, he was
under-financed, or perhaps he did not establish his
standing with his local banks, or perhaps ho was
handling a line of cars on which the price were
fictitious, did not have any meaning, or perhaps
those prices were cut so that the poor dealer's
mind was in confusion as to what the value of the
car might actually be. Perhaps ho is discouraged,
because the profit he bas made In his business was
not what ho thought ho should make, and he
would have to render service without charge. He
has had to meet all sorts ot emergencies that he
never dreamed he would have to meet In the auto
mobile business, so that when this real test came,
he turned the key In the door and passed away.
Wo are sorry tor him. We aro not glad at all for
the nilrfortune that has hofallen your competitor.
Hut the fact is that the morale ot many an auto
mobile dealer Is crushed; bis spirit Is broken. He
has no firm platform on which lo stand. How can
ho look his customer in the eye and state that he
believes the car la worth the price, without ac
tually knowing as you do the true value on which
the price Is based? Everyone of you can look your
customer In the eye and tell him wilh conviction
that the price la right, and why It cannot be
changed. The very look In your eye will carry
conviction, knowing the facts as you do.
Some few have asked why we will not guarantee
the price unill May first, or some other future time.
It has taken six years of time to educate the public
that Dodge Brothers have no models or series of
cars. Those of you who were in the automobile
business six veara ago well remember tha hard
ship It was for you several months prior to fie
automobile show time to do business. Everyone
wnitiug to see the new models; to learn the new
prices. Dodge Brothers took the position that they
would not burden their dealers with that hardship;
that we would place a price on our cars that would
be right; we would make changes In the car from
month to month during the year, at any time we
found It possible or necessary to do so. In order
thnt you could do a twelve months,' year round,
business in Dodgo Brothers cars. That principle
tins been adhered to steadfastly, and you know to
whut grout benefit to you. Now, were we to fay
we will guarantee the price say to May first, your
customers and prospective customers would divide
themselves into two classes. The first group would
say, "I will wait till May first, when the price is
changed." The second class would say, "If I buy
today, you will rebate me?" and then there would
follow a discussion of rebates rather than of car
value, w ith the result that the prospect would pass
out of your salesroom, perhaps offended, and some
other dealer would g' t hold of him, and you would
lose that order, it is far better to state the fact
that the reason why Dodgo Brothers car prices
cannot he reduced, Is because there never was any
excess profit added to the price of the car, and
therefore, there Is none now to take off.
I would like to remind you of a few paragraphs
In an advertisement that appeared in your papers
Sunday:
"Dodge Brothers' great works are operating at
full capacliy every day.
II Is good to be able to say to you that Dodge
Brothers' Implicit faith In tho good will that grows
out of good value is being vindicated by everything
that Is going on in their plants today.
You know well that Dodge Brothers dedicated
themselves, from tho very first, to the production
of a car which should rise superior to all external
conditions, and be, In effect, and in fact, a law unto
tlHCHlf.
They wer supremely satisfied, to begin with,
that good motor cars supplied a great and perma
nent human need.
They were sure that no matter what happened,
" llu're would always hi? aii Inexhaustible market for"
the particular kind of a car they hoped and planned
to build.
They were convinced that (hey could produce a
car so sound In value, so saving, and so satisfactory
to Iho individual ownor, (hat no outside influence
could shake Its hold upon the public.
The simple facts, as they exist at thla moment,
are so Inspiring Hint we are prompted to share
them with everyone who shares with Dodge Broth
ers their faith In sound business principles.
Dodge Brothers are more strongly and soundly
enli-cncheil In the good will of the publio at this
moment than ever In their hlsiory.
Kvery good result which John and Horace Dodge
counted upon when they committed themselves to
tho principles of building good will by building
good vnlue. has come to pass.
Their certainty thnt peoplo will always discover
u meritorious product, set it apart, prefer it and
reward it. Is continuing to come true with each
und every succeeding business day.
Dodge Brothers Motor Car Is in demand because
Dodge Iirothers Motor Car meets a definite eco
nomic need nnl satisfies a human craving for hon
est nnd suli.stantlnl value.
Its market will continue to grow, and the pro
duction continue lo Increase to mee( that market,
as long as merit continues to be the determining
factor in motor cat's and in all other manufactured
products." (Applause).
I have received a telegram from our Director of
Distribution. Mr. J. K. French, this morning. In
which n"o says "We are all going olio hundred per
cent. Tell the Texas dealers assembled that they
are all directors of diftlrihiitlon. Twenty-two thou
sand employes on the Job this morning for them,
nnd we need (heir help. Mr. Jennings wants to
know if dealers realize they are actually Dodge
Iirothers ralestnen and If they realize the value of
service nnd owners good will In promoting growth
of business. .Mr. I'helps says only twenty-three
Texas ileal, rs have nsked for his assistance. You
know whai Mr. I'helps offers you for twenty cents
in his direct-mail campaign."
(Jentleinen, l-t mo assure you that every cam
paign that Dodge Brothers has offered to each ona
of you is n proven success. We are asking you to
siwnd that twenty cents for an advertising cam
paign, which hoe proven that It will bring that
money back to you many times over.
I feel that it Is only fair that I should make an
announcement to you of a moderation In one
Dndeo Brothers policy. The fundamental principle
of tmsincsB on which Podge Brothers built their
dealer organization was that the dealer must make
money. Kvery policy we have Is built around the
dealer's success, la cause If he does not succeed, we
can not succeed, so we watch his success and build
to the end that he shall succeed.
During tho war period, we did not insist upon
exclusive representation. Since the war ended, wo
haven't Insisted upon exclusive representation.
Until the present lime, we havo been unable to
supply our dealers with all tho pars they could
sell. It dhl not seem fslr to us. therefore, to ask
dealers having exe. ss capital and excess energy, to
refrain from taking on oilier lines of cars or to
continue handling other lines of cars. In conjunc
tion wilh Dodge Brothers car. We did indicate
long :o;o, however, thnt we did not favor the prop
osition of a Dodgt: Brothers dealer taking the
profits accruing from the sale of Dodge Brothers
cars to build up competitive lines of cars. We
havo been very broad, we believe, In applying the
principle thnt we should not dictate to our dealers
loo arbitrarily bow to run their business. But to
day conditions are changed. We can now supply
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