Striking Appreciation of the Technical Press
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December 5 we published a lead ing article entitled " War Work of the Trade Press." Curiously enough, on the very day that this went to press, Mr. John Pascoe, deputy-chairman of British Timken, Ltd., entertained to luncheon the leaders of the Trade and Technical Press of the country, the date coinciding with the 21st anniversary of the incorporation of that concern as a limited liability company.
Mr. Pascoe, in proposing the toast of the Technical Press, said that the gathering was an unusual one, in that the company had no story to put over, because although it was the 21st anniversary of the incorporation, it had been. making tapered roller bearings for well over 30 years. He would, therefore, devote himself to considering its relations with the Press.
Britain, he said, possesses a very fine Technical Press. The company saw its merits and advertised in it, for whereas one representative might call on six people in a day, a technical journal might—and often does—go half way around the world in comparatively little time. This helped the company to get known, and has played a large part in the building of the Timken organization, Looking back, he felt that the company had benefited considerably from co-operation with the Technical Press. Looking forward, he hoped that the relations with it would always be good.
He was greatly impressed by the way the Technical Press is doing its job amid very difficult conditions of paper supply and man power. It is performing very real and vital services to industry, and its work is an essential part of the drive for higher production. Even in peace-time, it is possible for only some of the larger industries to Organize really representative gatherings of men from all parts of the country; yet the technical journals stage a conference of the particular industries they serve, either once a week, bi-monthly or monthly.
They give news of the latest results of research and of the practical application of new production ideas. It is often through.their articles that we are able to read the views of experts, to meet and talk with whom many an industrialist and technician would willingly journey the length of this country. They abstract the essential points from the journals of other countries, and in .doing so save industry an immense amount of time and trouble. They act as an exchange of information on welfare and other works-management problems of great importance at all times but vital in our war-time production drive.
A technical journalist is the key man of his industry's brains exchange.
He hoped that the powers that be would have due regard to the difficulties of the Technical Press-and not aggravate them. He also hoped that something could be done concerning paper problems, for technical journals are the newspapers of industry—one might put it more vitally and say the newspapers of production. Too much paper is being wasted on publications which have very poor claims to service to the community. There is no waste about the circulation of a technical journal, and each copy is nearly always read by more than one technician—often, in fact, by a dozen more executives.