LETTERS TO , OVERSEAS READERS.
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No. 10.— The Moral of Some Recent Speeches.
THE SUBJECT matter of the speeches delivered at the dinner recently given by the Association of British Motor Manufacturers to the Imperial Motor Transport Council was devoted almost entirely to questions relating to Overseas trade, and I would, therefore, ask my readers to give .special attention to the reports appearing in the previous issue of this paper.
It will be seen that the matters chiefly discussed were the difficulties now experienced by the British motor industry and the causes of those difficulties. As regards the latter, Sir Hamar Greenwood put the fundamental point clearly when he said that no other country had made such sacrifices in its factories during the war.
' As a matter of fact, the great sacrifice -wee largely the result of the great power of adaptability. The industry tackled totally new jobs with wonderful promptitude and success, with the result that, after a series of changes of output to meet the national demand, the end of the war found the industry about as far removed from normal production as it could possibly be. It had put itself so whole-hearteilly into the country's work that it Was not found possible to return' -without delay to its natural business.
The result was inevitable. Output could not be reorganized in a day. The work of designing, building and testing new models is a long job. It was further complicated by difficulties in respect of labour and material.
This brings us to the. second great cause of the pmsent position. The motor industry is, to a very high degree, dependent upon other industries for what it calls its raw materials, but what are in fact manufactured products. The consequence is that delays in. the reconstruction of other industries hold up the motor industry. It is .a buyer of manufactured material and the motor manufacturer nowadays has just the same grievances 'against his suppliers as the would-be buyers of his vehicles have against him.. He finds that his purchases are not 'delivered at the agreed dates, and that when they are'delivered their prices have risen. Thus, his own 'calculations are upset and he in turn must increase his prite to the Public. , On this question of increased price as compared with increased cost of manufacture, Mr. Underdown made a general but authoritative statement. Had he been speaking solely of commercial 'vehicles he could have gone further and made even more definite claims to the effect that the rise in price to the public does not nearly balance the rise in cost of manufacture.
In the branch of the industry with which we are concerned here, there is not the faintest trace of evidence of profiteering. Things are, in fact, all the other way. Manufacturers are working at a very low profit in order to consolidate and extend their markets. The would-be overseas buyer of commercial vehicles can have no grounds for complaint on the score of price, evenwhen he compares the figures asked by corresponding foreign manufacturers of less experience and repute. His trouble is rather that he cannot get prompt delivery. c28
This is also the great trouble of the manufacturer who is trying to develop his overseas markets. He is making strenuous efforts, but one thing after another turns up to dislocate his plans. The latest, and by no means the leasteof his troubles is the strike of moulders. Without his supplies of castings he is entirely held up. A fewl extremists are, for that reason, endangering the whole future of the British industry in the overseas markets The question is whether the overseas buyer will show sufficient sympathy and patience to enable the industry to get into its stride before its markets are filled from other countries where the same sacrifices have not been made or the saint difficulties encountered in the same degree. I am sorry the question of providing roads fit for modern traffic was not given more prominence during what was otherwise a very complete discussion on the development of overseas motor trade. It was touched upon briefly both by the chairman and also by Prince Arthur of Connaught, and I should like to suggest to the Imperial Motor Transport Council that that body could do nothing more useful than the development of local organizations throughout the Empire charged with the work of maintaining constant pressure upon Governments and local authorities with a eiew to prompt enlargement and improvement of the road system. •
If we were to put the rolling stock of our railways on to light roughly-laid rails intended only to carry light, slowly-moving vehicles, the., esult would obviously be to make our whole railway system ,grossly inefficient. This, however, is only equivalent to what the greater part of the Empire is still doing in respect of road transport There ought to be, in every part of the Empire,. a branch of an Imperial Road Improvement Association, each branch gathering its funds from people in its own country whose interests are bound up with -road improvement, and using those funds for the education of public opinion and the exertion of constant pressure in official' quarters. The movement ought to be generously supported by those motor manufacturers whose principle is to provide really good vehicles for use under reasonable conditions, as distinct 'from the provision of specialized 'vehicles which, being designed for use on unmade roads, really pander to the policy of false economy that underlies the inaction so noticeable in most parts of the world in respect of the development of the road system. Seme buyers are inclined to jump to the conclusion that _they must be dealing with a group of people possessing no initiative and no organizing ability. Surely a glance at the war record of the motor manufacturer is sufficient to show the folly of this supposition. The'h he was working mainly, if not wholly, for, patriotic reasons. The bulk of his profits went straight back to the Covernmont. Now he is working primarily for himself. Is it likely that this change of motive has caused him to become neglectful of his opportunities and unwilling to exercise his brains in those very channels in which he has so lately proved himself to be exceptionally well qualified?