TRAINING THE YOUNG IDEA.
Page 25
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It is Here Argued that Agents for Parcel Carriers and Light Vans should Train Youths to become Drivers.
By "Vim."
I
. N my last article I tried to make my fellow-agents
see that the dearth of lads of the errand-boy class who have knowledge of the care that a motor vehicle requires and of driving is, in all probability, restricting sales of parcel-carriers and light vans.
Whether I succeeded in my object, or not, I do not know ;but I am certain in my own mind that a free supply of boys between the ages of 15 and 20, capable of managing small motor vehicles in a reasonably safe fashion, and not above sweeping out the shop or doing any of the other menial jobs that ordinary errand-boys have to do, would be a great incentive to tradesmen to go in for a quicker form of transport than the bicycle.
Not only would such a supply encourage shopkeepers to indulge their own yearnings towards motor delivery, but we may take it for granted that no trained lad would rest content until he had convinced his employer of its advantages. Thus a very active and insistent band of missionaries would be sent forth into the land of shops to propagate the doctrine of mechanical transport—with not unprofitable results to agents for goods vehicles. The question is, how to provide this supply. There are boys enough in all conscience to furnish the raw material ; but we have to choose the right sort, ensure that it shall be moulded rightly, so as to produce finished articles of the required kind, and devise means for carrying out the moulding process. The selection of the material should present no real difficulty. Although, perhaps, one individual in a hundred will never be able to drive a car because his brain is so made that it cannot control his hands and feet without conscious thought, it is a fact that almost any fairly intelligent being can be taught to handle a motor vehicle, and, by rigorous training, to handle it comparatively well. This is proved by the number of wooden-headed drivers one meets with from time to time, who, while apparently devoid of intelligence, are, nevertheless, quite good at the wheel.
I think we may take it that any boy who has enough sense to be able to deliver parcels to the correct addresses, who is honest, and who haa a sufficiently orderly mind to dress himself tidily, has in him the makings of a decent driver for a parcel-carrier, and of a light van when he reaches 17 years of age. In considering the moulding' process, we have to keep very ,clearly before us that what we have to produce are errand-boys who can drive motor vehicles without smashing them up in a month, or even in a, year and not drivers who can do errandboys' work. There is a considerable distinction between the two. Unless that distinction is grasped and care is taken to mould in the right direction, we should only Succeed in producing a number of youths with the fixed idea in their heads that they were "motor drivers" and entirely above accepting jobs as errand-boys. In which case, our last state would be worse than our first, for shopkeepers would find that they would have to employ one youth to drive and another to deliver to houses, sweep out the shop, take down the shutters, and do all the rest of a shop lad's duties.
Therefore, I do not advocate that agents should catch boys straight from school and take them into their repair works to learn the craft. For one thing, owners of parcelcars do not want quarter-baked mechanics as drivers ; they want drivers whose knowledge of the mechanism of an automobile stops dead
short at respect for its frailty and intricacy. More knowledge only leads to meddling; less results in the brutal treatment complained of by the tradesman employer of my last article. For another thing, a boy who has once tasted the delights of dabbling with greasy bits of motorcar and has enjoyed the liberty commonly ruling in repair works, is never likely afterwards to settle dawn to work which, to him, would seem to be beneath him. A better plan would be to gather in boys who are already employed in delivering goods for the smaller shops, and to give them the opportunity of bettering their status by acquiring the art and practice of driving, not that they may regard driving as their business but as an indispensable accomplishment for in proving their present positions.
Now for the means of carrying out the moulding process: I suggest that instructional classes held for preference in the evenings or on early-closing afternoons, would attract all that is best of the young labour in any district. The classes could be free, or a small fee could be charged. The purpose of the fee would not be to provide profit for the agent holding the classes, but to keep away boys who might want to join for the fun of the thing, and to prevent those who did attend from forming an impression that the scheme was another Government stunt, paid for out of the ratepayers' pockets, and therefore .to be lightly treated. The cost of running ,a class once a week would hardly be worth
oensidenng. •
The motor agent himself, or his manager, or salesman, should undertake the role of instructor, and as for appliances, a few models, diagrams, and actual parts of cars would be amply sufficient for the theoretical part of the tuition. It would not be my idea to give any " running repairs" instruction, although some practical demonstrations of the way to use a spanner and hammer without doing damage would certainly be incorporated. in the lessons. The chief objects of the theoretical course 'would be to inculcate in the pupils an appreciation of the beauty of mechanism, an idea of the cost of mannfaeturing vehicles, and, therefore, the need for care in using them, an understanding of what goes on inside an engine and how gears function, a, belief in the superiority of motor transport over other forms of transport, a holy dread of tinkering, and a hearty contempt for those drivers who treat their vehicles badly. Also, I think—yes, I may say I am surethat some words might.be introduced now and then to impress on the pupils that the agents from whom the most reliable parcel-carriers and light vans could he obtained were not unknown to them!
For practical diiving lessons an old motorcycle combination or carrier would be required, and, on occasion, the use of a small van and a Ford. Most agents have such things on their hands from time to time, and I imagine that few would find much i trouble n fixing up some sort of car on which to give their pupils road tuition.
To turn out a finished and experienced driver by means such as I have outlined would not be possible ; but the lads who had been through the process would be in a fit state to be turned into competent drivers almost at a moment's notice. The completion of their tuition would be carried out on the actual carriers and vans bought by their employers.
To stimulate the interest of those employers in motor delivery, it might not be amiss to send them periodical reports of their lads' progress.