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PALM AM QUI MERUIT FERAT

12th December 1918
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Page 2, 12th December 1918 — PALM AM QUI MERUIT FERAT
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

0 NE OF THE inevitable phases of the period of reconstruction upon which we are all now fairly launched will bring with it the not unpleasant task or recognizing in tangible form. out standing services to the nation that have been performed by individuals in the various fields of enaleavour during the war period. It is a foregone conclusion that there will be a veritable shower of further honours to be bestowed upon those who, rightly or wrongly, the powers that be are persuaded have yielded services of outstanding merit, and have not already been signalled out.

In a task of such colossal magnitude as was pet this nation in the middle of 1914—the kind of task that invariably brings out all that is best in our B22 Anglo-Saxon temperament—there were certain to be innumerable instances in which individuals would give almost "more than their best" for the common benefit. In such a. wealth of praiseworthy achievement it will indeed be a task of no small magnitude to differentiate, just as it is in. the case of soldiers in the field or sailors in action, when the riddle is sometimes solved by allowing those concerned to vote for their fellow who shall be honoured for all.

At the best it cannot be asserted with any confidence that in these epic days the nation only honours those who deserve it and never those who contrive such recognition. Let us. think for a moment of those Who may escape the receipt of a war-time deeoratioh. The whole motor industry has earned already, through not a few of its prominent representatives, honours both in the field and at home, and there will inevitably Be others of whom we have yet publicly to learn. Such, however, will only of necessity, concern a few, and it seems meet to put on record for those who come after us to learn the ascertained fact that the industry, with several very important branches of which we are specifically concerned, has, on the whole, achieved wonderful results which are, to those of us who know, definitely traceable to endeavbur that has been primarily inspired by the desire to serve their country. It is not 'necessary here to indulge in hectic heroics, but it is our desire that appreciation shall fall where honour is rightly and properly due. Contractors and sub-contractors to the Government are popularly supposed to be little prompted by motives higher than that of amassing fortunes big and little. Such a supposition it would indeed be hard to eradicate from the popular mind, especially in this stage of comfortable balance sheets and excess profit pickings. But it must be conceded that while the principal firms with which the commercial industry is concerned, have, quite rightly, been enabled very substantially to consolidate their loositions. they haye, as a whole, framed their dealings with the authorities in no sense whatever in greedy mood. To our own knowledge, some of the principal figures in the industry have over and over again given proof of their principal desire to do their bit and to do it mightily—with profit as a secondary consideration. It is to those men who, perchance, in the riot of honours of which we shall duly learn, may not happen to be signalled out for public mention, that we as a journal would offer our appreciative commendation. Let it go down to history, so far as may be in the pages of an established weekly periodicaOthat the commercial-vehicle industry, with few if any exceptions, played its part magnificently in the Great War, contributed in exceptional measure to the success of our arms in all parts of the world, took great risks and handled great problems with pluck and initiative for the sheer sake of the task itself, and is entitled to a share in the plaudits of the nation for a final result achieved in measure far more ample than most of us ever dared to hope. The motor industry as a whole is not out of the wood. There is no need to disguise theefact that there are troublesome problems yet to be solved, but so long as we have men of the stamina and ability who have carried the industry on such a wave of enthusiasm through the period of hostilities, we need have no fear that the problems of reconstruction will not only be surmounted but will be turned to amount to ensure an even greater future. All honour, then, to those who have achieved success in equipping our forces, in finer measure than any other belligerent, with mechanical transport of every conceivable kind, and who have done so primarily on account of their desire to share in the ultimate humiliation of the Hun—now so effectively accomplished. We have names in mind of outstanding performances, but per-. haps it would be invidious for us to mention them. Let it suffice that the industry generally know and appreciate their motives alike with their achievements.

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