Raskob Predicts

Two days before John Jacob Raskob, chairman of General Motors' finance committee, returned to Manhattan from a five weeks' vacation* abroad, the company declared its regular quarterly dividend of $1.25 and an extra of $2--$56,550,000 altogether.

Mr. Raskob made predictions: "The normal output [of U. S. motor cars] I should judge to be about 4,500,000 cars per annum. Figuring the life of a car as about five years, replacements should bring the annual normal output to about 5,000,000 cars. This figure has not yet been reached. . . ./- Last year General Motors' export business [193,830 cars & trucks worth wholesale $171,991,251] equaled in volume the entire business of the company ten years ago. I see no reason why ten years hence our export business will not equal our total business of today. Toward Henry Ford, Mr. Raskob exhibited the greathearted attitude of modern big business: "It is important to our country that Mr. Ford succeed. He controls so many sources of raw material and specializes in low-priced cars which are essential and important that if he were not in the business, the economic progress of our country would suffer. It is an actual fact that this progress depends in no small measure upon Ford being in the field of production." Then, with what might have been either sarcasm or concern, he added that he was surprised at Henry Ford's statement that he [Mr. Ford] was 1,000,000 cars behind orders. Said Mr. Raskob: "I thought at the rate of 8,000** cars a day Ford would be caught up by this time."

*Including a personal benediction from the Pope.

/-The highest production in any year to date was 4,500,000 in 1926, before Ford had abandoned Model T.

**Mr. Raskob was wrong: Ford makes only 2,500 cars a day; expects by July 1, to make 5,000 daily.