Life, 1920-07-22 · page 6 of 40
Life — July 22, 1920 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **advertisement for White Trucks**, published in *Life* magazine (page 142). The ad promotes White Company of Cleveland by emphasizing six types of stability: of the maker, policy, product, quality, price, and ownership. It highlights that White Trucks have proven reliability through extensive mileage records and widespread fleet adoption. The ad includes specific claims: 3,501 White Fleets comprising 40,919 trucks, and testimonials about service infrastructure and investment value. This represents typical early 20th-century industrial advertising—targeting business buyers by stressing corporate reliability, manufacturing consistency, and proven track records rather than using humor or satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FIRST STABILITY EHIND a truck investment, as behind a financial investment, you need STABILITY of value most of all. Without it you have no investment. Without it your purchase is an uncertainty. The White Truck has many dif- ferent values in and behind it, but they all can be summarized in the one word STABILITY. Stability of the Maker: The White Company is the foremost truck maker in this country, solidly built up and steadily expanded, with re- sources and an organization which make for continued leadership in the industry. Stability of Policy: Since the first White was built, the company has never deviated a hair's breadth from a fixed policy: to build trucks that will do the most work for the least money. Stability of Product: White Trucks have stood up and kept going day after day, year after year, in all kinds of service and under all sorts of operating conditions. There are a few records of 500,000 miles; a number of 300,000 miles; more of 200,000 miles and many of 100,000 miles, with the trucks still in daily service. Stability of Quality: Regardless of the cost of material, the quality of White Trucks has been unvaryingly high grade. Stability of Price: During the past five years White prices have increased a mere fraction of the average advance in truck prices. -Expanded output and steadily improved manufacturing efficiency have stabilized both quality and price in the face of increased costs of labor and material. Stability of Ownership: The Annual Roll Call of White Fleets in actual service, listing owners of ten or more Whites, has no parallel in the truck industry. It is graphic proof of the most remarkable truck ownership in America; as remarkable for the quality of the ownership as for its extent and steady growth from year to year. The Roll Call contains the names of three hundred and fifty concerns with a total of 12,674 Whites. All together there are 3,691 White Fleets comprising 40,919 trucks, exclusive of single-truck installations. Stability of Service to Owners: White Service facilities have been built up step by step to keep pace with an expanding distribution of White Trucks. This growth has required years of development, and an investment of millions, White Trucks are an Investment of recog- nized earning power, backed by a responsible truck manufacturer with years of successful experience, thousands of trained employees, tens of thousands of trucks in active service, adequate capital and a nation-wide service organization. THE WHITE COMPANY CLEVELAND White Trucks