The Commercial Motor in Australia.
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By Our Australian Correspondent.
r. In 1909, before I had been very long in Australia, I came across a, Bill before the Lower House in New South Wales dealing with the width of tires on all vehicles. The effect of this, if it became an Act, would have been to compel all commercial-motor vehicles to run on wide steel tires or both front and back wheels. I immediately took the matter up on behalf of TEE Commenciae Moron, with the Minister -in charge of the Bill, who recognized that atlequ.ate. provision for these vehicles had not been made, and introduced the necessary amendment forthwith.
Foolish Application of Motor-vehicle Tire Act.
Anot dissimilar Act was passed in Victoria in 1905, under which all vehicles are compelled to have 1 in. of tire for each 9 cwt. carried. One quarter of the total load must be on each wheel, and the narrowest tire must be 'taken as the standard for all. A few weeks ago some legal luminary of weak intellect discovered that the Act might be made to apply to motor vehicles and, ignoring the fact that they were rubber shod, and that the distribution of the load is more or less divided, two-thirds on the rear, and one-third on the front axle, induced various councils to institute prosecutions on the basis that the measured width of the front tires multiplied by four failed to comply With the provision of the •Act. When one Considers the different construction of a horse-drawn and a mechanically-propelled vehicle; the respective use of iteel and rubber_ tires; and the totally different distribution of the load, too say nothing of the transmisCion of power, one can o:Jy think what a hopelessly childish effort it is to institute a series of such prosecutions after the Act has been in force for 12 years, ahd the country is at war, fighting for its existence.
, Americans Gaining a Footing.
Indications are by no means wanting that American manufacturers of commercial vehicles are gaining some footing on the Australian market. There is no doubt, too, that Americhn business methods of selling, coupled with standardized epare parts in adequate quantity and at. fixed pribes, appeal particularly to the country user in-Australia.
No Increase in Electrics.
One thing, however, which I anticipated some 15 months ago, has not borne fruit, and that is a considerable increase in the number of electric vehicles. At the time I last referred to this matter several such machines had recently appeared, and the electric light department of the Melbourne City Council was making special provision to supply the current at special rates. As far as I know, since then there has not been a single new vehicle purchased.
Good Work of American Representatives.
There can be no doubt that up to the present the American factory representative of motor-vehicle_ manufacturers does more than justify himself. He 'calls regularly upon the concessionnaires in the different States ; encourages them in their work of selling; assists them whenever possible ; and keeps them up to the mark in studying the interests of the factory. Ineapacity, negligence or laziness is immediately punished by the loss of the agency, and a new agent is appointed. On the other hand, with the factory representative on the spot, the agent knows that he will understand if there are any local ondition s which interfere with the sale of the vehicles.
The Australian Character.
Strangely enough, it has only occurred to me within the last two or three weeks that perhaps there is another reason why the American method of selling C48 suits Australian conditions better than the British. The British idea of Australians is probably a combination Of exponents of socialistic experiments and extreme narrow-mindedness. There is probably sufficient truth in this to enable one to place the former in the towns, and the latter in the country. Much then roacts on the other, and makes the 'difference more sharply defined; arid more pronounced. It is notorious that all farmers are innately conservative, but it is only in Australia that I have found such conservatism going to the extent of fighting against measures in their obvious interests.
An Example of Bigoted Conservatism.
As an example of this in Victoria the Road Users Association foreseeing the extreme difficulty in securing the money for the road maintenance, quite apart from further road construction, addressed a, circular letter to all the shire councils inviting them to discuss a universal. wheel-tax as a means of raising the necessary revenue. One of these councils whose shire is in a wheat-growing. district in the country, sent a reply, part of which reads as follows : "It is surely bad enough for the man on the land to have to pay the numerous taxes already placed upon him, bat to cold-bloodedly.: propese to tax his poor gig 5s., his dray 10s., and 'the traction engine used to draw his threshing and chaff-cutting plant,. £21 per annum, so as to assist in making motor roads for the benefit of your members seems just about the limit." Now -the suggestion under consideration is purely one, of getting rbads in such a condition that traffic 'can get through at all, e.g.. removing fallen trees, repairing broken bridges, filling in deep ruts, etc. The 'council responsible for this letter ednsists, to a. man, of farmers, and their individual pockets and those of their ratepayers would be affected to the extent of from 5s: to 40s. per annum, in return for which their. roads, would, -withoutquestion, be maintained in such a condition that they could be used for traffic
in all weathers. • The American Method of Selling..
It will be readily seen how the American system of selling pans out. The commercial vehicle is brought to the farmer, and a demonstration takes place on his own property. He is invited' to inspect the stock of spare parts next time he Visits the capital, and he is landed a list of the prices at which they can be bought. All that he believes because he sees it.
The British System. On the other hand, the British manufacturer, who
sells to and not through an agent, invites the farmer to visit the capital and see a -lorry running over city streets. He is told that he can get delivery of his wagon in, say; two or three months as the particular size he requires is not in stock, and he is assured that he will be able to get any spare parts he may require at reasonable priees. In the case of the American dealer, the farmer sees everything for himself, whilst in the ease of the British dealer he is asked to take all statements on trust. That, however, his temperament declines to allow him to do. Convince him, and his socialistic aspirations will lead him to adopt it, and make.much ef it, but until he is so convinced his conservatism will cause him to hold back.
Methods Which Endanger the Industry.
Six years ago, I believe that I alone in Australia was -urging British manufacturers to come to Australia, and exploit the market, and not to sell their wares to shipping houses to do what they liked with. To-day I am one of a. number who is urging the self7 . same thing, but whilst I hear much of what British manufacturers intend to •do after the war, I see that to-day they still go on in their old sweet way. I know quite well that the British manufacturer is in the hands of the Government., and that he is full up with war work, and I reeceglize all that he is doing, and I raise my hat to him foir it. There is, however, no earthly reason why he should continue writing silly letters to his agents, or why he should allow. overgrown office boys to write insulting letters to, or respecting, responsible people on this side. I am. writing only about. what I know, and have seen with my own eyes, and it is painful to think that some of the largest and most influential of British manufacturers of to-day are permitting such things to go on in their establishments. If they were injuring only themselves it would be bad enough, but as each such occurrence is handed round in the trade as another example of the British manufacturers' methods, it is simply criminal in that it is striking a direct and hard blow at what should be a thriving and rapidlydeveloping British industry.
Necessity for Responsible Men.
I regard it as the most urgent thing in connection with the trade that responsible men should be appointed as factory representatives, if not for single factories then for groups. I desire to emphasize the term " responsible" men ; there are British manufacturers who are inclined to get bold of men whose Sole aim as a representative will be full order-book, and who perhaps find extreme difficulty in the correct use of the aspirate. A few years ago American mantle e facturers fell to some extent into this error, and sent men to Australia simply with instructions to dispose of so many hundred cars, and as these men were of the guessing and calculating talkative variety who did not care what method they adopted they did not a...little harm. This mistake was quickly realized, however, and the American factory representative of to-day is an educated gentleman and business man who, although he may possibly sell fewer cars in a given time, studies the best interests of his firm, and builds up a lasting business. It is an old saying that a man may be judged by the company be keeps, and I urge upon British manufacturers to remember that they will be judged abroad by the representatives they send out.