THE PRESENTATION TO MR. BRISTOW.
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A Well-deserved Recognition of the Good Work of the Secretary of the C.M.U.A.
THE lunch which, on Wednesday last, was given by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to the council and members of the Commercial Motor Users Association was rendered particularly notable by what was described by Mr. E. S. Shrapnell-Smith as an interlude.
After the toast of "The King," given by Mr. J. Mauglifling, Mr. Shrapnell-Smith, as president of the C.M.U.A., was called upon to make a presentation to Mr. F. G. Bristow on the completion (on the previous day) of 21 years of service with the association, first as assistant secretary, then as secretary and, later, as general secretary.
Mr. Shrapnell-Smith said that the presentation was made on behalf of the whole of the members, and he thought he could net do better than to read the text of the first page of an illuminated album which was being presented with a cheque constituting a subscription in which every division and area of the associaton had participated. The text of the -address is as follows :—
" To Frederick George Bristow, Esquire, Barrister-at-Law of the Inner Temple, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, Foundation Member of the Institute of Transport, Associate of the Institution of Automobile Engineers.
" The National Council of the Commercial Motor Users Association (Incorporated) desire to express to you their appreciation and esteem of the increasingly devoted services to the membership and organization of the association which you have have rendered during the 21 years throughout which you have so ably discharged your progressive duties as assistant secretary, secretary and general secretary to the association.
"The prominent position now held by this national organization, to which His Most Gracious Majesty the King has been pleased to grant his patronage, the marked growth and representative character of its membership and the recognized influence which it exerts, are due in a very large measure to your tireless energy, exceptional administrative abilities and the exemplary manner in which you with unremitting care have studied and watched the interests of owners and users of commercial motor vehicles throughout the United Kingdom.
" Your unfailing courtesy, your tenacity of purpose, your genial disposition and willingness to assist at all times in furthering the development of road motor transport have commanded our admiration and earned our affection.
"In expressing to you our warm regard for your high personal character and loyalty, we venture to convey to you our cordial wishes for abounding prosperity and Success." To this permanent memorial the council of the association had added a beautiful silver rose-bowl, suitably inscribed, and Mr. Shrapnell-Smith remarked that not only had Mr. Bristow been a secretary, but in every way he had been a fellow-worker and, therefore, a true colleague. An unexpected addition to the proceedings came from Mr. Charles R. Whitnall, who had originated a second presentation from the Divisional and Area secretaries as a token of their own appreciation and affection for the general secretary.
A cablegram from the Tasmanian C.M.U.A. and a letter from the C.M.U.A. of Melbourne were read, and then Mr. Bristow, who was received with every token of warmth and cordiality, said that although he, of course, knew of the coming presentation, yet his reception had rather caught him unprepared. He made the most delightful and graceful speech that we have ever yet heard from a man in what, to a person of modesty, is always an extremely difficult position. He said that these presentations sometimes mean the singing of the swan song of the recipient at no distant date, but be felt that this was not the case with him, because he knew that he was at the opening of the most virile and interesting portion of his career in connection with the Association.
He drew a comparison between the position of the roadtransport industry in 1906 and to-day, saying that in that year there were 4,000 commercial vehicles giving employment to 10,000 men ; to-day, there were 400,000 vehicles giving employment to just over 800,000 men. Road transport had undoubtedly become one of the chief industries of the country. He referred to the people with whom he had worked, and said that he was proud to acknowledge Colonel Crompton, the grand old man of the motor movement, as his mentor, whilst in Mr. Shrapnell-Smith and his tireless energy he had found many incentives to go ahead even against physical disability. He paid a compliment to his friends on the technical Press, and to the secretaries of kindred associations, and then spoke highly of the loyal and devoted staff of the -association, mentioning Mr. Taylor and other employees by name, and he concluded with a graceful reference to the help and inspiration which he had always received from his wife. Although Mr. Bristow was obviously feeling the strain of the occasion, his speech was well delivered and made an extremely fine impression.
The speeches that followed were all kept commendably brief because the presentation had occupied a certain amount of time, although none too much, in the view of those who were present Mr. Maughfling said that there was at the Show a little danger that the freight vehicle might be forgotten owing to the outstanding attractiveness of the passenger vehicle, but he wanted, on behalf of the manufacturers, to assure members of the association that freight carriers loomed as largely with them as did the other type. He put in a plea for combined effort in offering a good case for an alteration in the basis of taxation, and he showed, taking a 4ton vehicle as an example, that in this country the user pays approximately fl Is. per week whether the vehicle be used or riot whereas in Germany the equivalent tax is 17s., in France Ss., in New York 5s. 6d., and in Italy 4s.
He also urged users to appeal for smaller steps in the scale of taxation. It was wrong that makers should be called upon to design vehicles in order to dodge the scale of taxation ; the design of vehicles should be based on the need for carrying a given load. He looked to the six-wheeler to help enormously to carry the British-made vehicle into overseas markets.
Mr. Shrapnell-Smith, in acknowledgment of the toast of " The Commercial Motor Users Association," which had been proposed by Mr. Maughfling, thanked the society for its hospitality and said that he was '...ratified to see that the industry had reached such a stage of development that, in his opinion, the Exhibition should be held yearly (to this there was only one dissentient voice—from a well-known manufacturer). Mr. Shrapnell-Smith emphasized his point by saying that the more the buyer and user and the manufacturer can be brought together the better. He said that the obviously deep interest which visitors were taking in the passenger vehicles showed that fine bodywork always catches the eye—and attracts the passenger ! He referred to the forthcoming application of the railways for more general road powers, and said the idea of co-operation and co-ordination between road and rail appeals to all and wins general assent in the abstract. These principles can in practice no doubt he applied equitably to road transport as to other businesses. Road transport is, now, not merely a 'contracting job, but an integral part of every business. Hence, our Legislature may well pause before it places this new weapon in the hands of the already powerful railway labour unions, and must, by refusing to approve schemes which threaten control and domination of road transport by the grouped railways, guard against forging yet another shackle for British industry.