The Passing of the Fitter-Driver.
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The problem of trained drivers for vans and omnibuses is slowly emerging from the stage of uncertainty. History repeats itself unerringly.; hence we are only witnessing a repetition of the circumstances under which railways struggled more than 70 years ago, and of the difficulties which impeded commercial motor transport in the years 1900-1902, The employment of fitters as drivers was largely the practice, nolens voiens, during the early days of these two epoch-marking periods in the records of internal communication, but with dire results. An unwonted love for their old work in the shop, which seemed to make the men's fingers itch to have out a piston, connecting rod, or any other part indiscriminately, asserted itself to the confounding of discipline. Delays, broken shifts, and the failure of reliefs, were the result where the organisation of many units depended on the obedience and practical efficiency of each driver, whilst the disconsolate owner of a single road wagon had no choice but " to grin and bear it " when Too per cent. of his plant was thus put out of action. Chaos is probably the only word which aptly describes the condition of internal administration, both of railways and mechanical haulage undertakings, before the underlying principles of the solution for the driver question forced themselves upon those responsible for the management of the original companies. And when they were appreciated, time alone came to the rescue. Again, no real discovery can be recorded to anybody's credit : on the contrary, not a few engineers and reputed business men deserve to be blamed for a gross lack of discernment and judgment. But wisdom after the event is a quality possessed by thousands; it is only the few, the very few, who are endowed with the foresight that counts in such matters. Locomotive and motor vehicle engineers, at the outset of their respective careers, were equally faced by a multitude of bad points in the engines they had to run, and by a dearth of men who knew how to face the unknown possibilities of the road. It must be admitted that this combination of factors promised at least varied results, and it is equally clear that the unexpected happened as often as was humanly possible. So long as the engineer was unable to guarantee his construction to hold together in toto for, say, three months, or some of the fittings to perform their functions for more than one-hour spells, a few fitters in close attendance were a necessary evil. And there was only a gradual departure from this enforced practice, according to improvements in the machines supplied—whether for use on rails or on common roads. It may be said in fact, that the passing of the fitter-driver, and the substitution of another class of man, is a measure of the degree of mechanical excellence which has been attained by designers. Railway prac. Lice, of necessity, is somewhat differentiated from that for road motor services, because the railway engine-driver's training has to be weaved into a huge system of inter-dependent departments, signal codes, and the like : the cornmon feature is the evolution of a special genus or type. The key to this most welcome development in motor transport conditions is two-fold ; the adoption of high factors of safety by the manufacturers, and their wide introduction of automatic control to the exclusion of the personal element. Cer.. tainties hay.' been retained, and fresh mechanical devices have replaced uncertainties which previously existed. We have arrived at the time when the town driver has little more to do than to steer, to work a regulator lever, and to apply the foot-brake : the sole characteristic required is a little nerve, and the sole branch of actual experience is a inure or less lengthy acquaintance with traffic conditions. In the country, it is true that the absence of a running-shed, which practically means the want of skilled supervision, leaves room for the fitter-driver, who also has intelligence anti common sense. Do not let it be supposed that the picked and proved men are to be ignored and thrown aside. There is a higher sphere of labour for the fitter-drivers, who have virtually served a second apprenticeship in the long years of roadside breaks-down : they can now become road inspectors, deptit or shop foremen, or assistant engineers, and none can be found to rival them in sterling worth to their employers. We have decried the view that any new methods or laws have been brought to bear upon industrial development by either railway or motor vehicle engineers. We can recognise in them nothing better than additional examples of Adam Smith's doctrine of the division of labour, and of one much older still—" The labourer is worthy of his hire." The classes from which drivers of commercial motors can be drawn is admittedly large, but the steady man, and the man of resource, will always command his wage : it is only for isolated vehicles, and where a reliable engineering shop does not exist, that the fitter-driver will necessarily survive.