Life, 1920-03-04 · page 4 of 78
Life — March 4, 1920 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **advertisement for United States Tires**, not satire or political commentary. The headline "Go to a Legitimate Dealer and Get a Legitimate Tire" addresses a genuine consumer problem of the era: counterfeit and substandard tires being sold by unscrupulous dealers. The ad criticizes the "irresponsible tire dealer"—the fast-talking salesman who claims to offer bargains but actually sells inferior products. It warns buyers against "rents and track slots" that wear away tire tread. The message is straightforward consumer advocacy: purchase from authorized dealers to ensure quality. The photograph shows early automobiles on a road. This reflects early 20th-century concerns about product authenticity and consumer protection, before modern regulations existed.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Go to a Legitimate Dealer and Get a Legitimate Tire wee HIS year the American peo- ple will spend more than $900,900,000 for automo- bile tires. Tires are one of the largest items in the motorist’s budget. The cost is making even care- less buyers think and inquire. And the more they inquire, the smaller will grow the influence of hearsay and the irresponsible tire dealer. * * * We have all met the man who takes his opinions ready-made. He tells everything he knows. He knows more about every car than the man who made it, where to buy the cheapest truck—how to get the biggest bargain in tires. He always arouses a certain amount of wonder in the un- knowing. They never think to ask him where he gets his secrets. “Somebody says” and “every- body does” are responsible for Every time you drive your car along a track or a rut ina country road you are taking some life out of your tires. Worn frogs and switches often cause smallgyts, whichare rapidly enlarged by:thg action of gravel and moisture. Rets and track slots pinch the tire, wearing away the tread where their edges strike it. It is well to avoid such places as much as possible, more wrong impressions about tires than anything else you can think of. It is on the people who come under the influences of these phrases that the irresponsible dealer thrives. * * * You generally find him with the name of a standard tire dis- played in his windows to give an impression of quality. But when you get inside the first thing he begins to talk about is price and substitution. What the thoughtful motorist is looking for today is better tires. He goes to a legitimate dealer and gets a legitimate tire. The quality idea—the idea of a quality tire, of a dealer who be- lieves in quality—is commanding a greater respect from a larger portion of the motoring public all the time. It is the idea on which the United States Rubber Company was founded—on which it has staked a greater investment than any other rubber organization in the world. Build a fire that will do more, a better tire than was built before, and you are sure of a large and loyal following. We have never been able to build enough U. S. Tires to go around. United States Tires United States @® Rubber Company Fifty-three Factories The oldest a1 d largest Rubber Organization in the World Two hundred and thirty-five Branches comicbooks.com