Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1919, Thomas G. Moses bought a car for the family. It was a new Elgin Six.
A “Chicago Daily Herald” advertisement announced, “New Elgin Six. Ready for you now. You don’t have to wait for after-the-war model and price if you want to buy a car now. The New Elgin Six is a full year and a half ahead of the times. And it is here now, ready for your critical examination. While the Elgin factories were making war trucks, the Designing, Engineering and Executive Staffs prepared for peace. They designed, tested, refined and perfected an entirely new automobile – new in design from radiator to taillight – a car that retains the notable sturdiness and light weight which won for the Elgin Six perfect scores and highest honors in many grueling endurance and economy contests. The New Elgin Six has 38 improvements and refinements, everyone a worth-while inducement to the purchaser. These new cars have been given the most strenuous and exacting trials over more than 20,000 miles of all kinds of roads. You will find no other car at the price equal to the New Elgin Six in Beauty, Performance, Durability, Comfort or Economy. We welcome the careful inspection of expert motorists. The more you know about a car, the more the New Elgin Six will appeal to you. Ask for our ‘Inside Information’ circular” (March 28, 1919, page 14).
The list price for a New Elgin Six was “$1485, f.o.b. factory” (The Dispatch, Moline, Illinois, 11 Aug 1919, page 6). $1485.00 in 1919 is the equivalent of $22,008.39 in 2020.
Other advertisements promised that it was a better car because, “It is more beautiful, rides easier, performs better, stands up longer, has a quicker pick-up, and goes farther on a gallon of gas.” Advertisers stated, “We welcome comparison of the New Elgin Six with any other car on the market selling for less than $2000. The keener your knowledge of automobiles, the more thoroughly you will be convinced that the New Elgin Six stands pre-eminent in the light six field. There is only one way to judge the true value of a motor car, and that is to see it and ride in it yourself. A visit to our salesroom is the first step towards genuine motor car satisfaction.”
At the end of 1919, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We have all enjoyed the car, and while it is rather an expensive, we felt that we deserve the pleasure that we derive from it.” On July 5, the Moses family took a trip in their car to Sterling, Illinois, his hometown. Of the trip, Moses wrote, “Rupert and family and the Madam and I started in our Elgin ‘Six’ for Sterling. Some trip. I say we certainly had a fine time, arriving in Sterling about noon. Put up at the celebrated Hotel Galt and fared very well. We started home on Sunday. Had a very good run home, having a few little accidents.’
Later that summer, Moses wrote of another car trip, “Rupert and I made several trips to Fox Lake where I made a few sketches. It is very nice to make the trip in a car, as we made it I three hours. The roads were not any too good.”
It was wonderful that Moses bought a car in 1919, but he was never drove the vehicle. It was his son Rupert who became the family driver. Even in 1929, Moses wrote, “Rupert gave up three days to drive our car all over Chicago and elsewhere.”
To be continued…
