Assembled or Made Under One Roof.
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WE are afraid Mr. 'R. P. Bradley takes our quotation from W. S. Gilhert's humorous lines too seriously. The quotation he takes to heart is from the song of the Lard High Executioner in " The Mikado," who enumerates the persons whose heads he might cut off should there be a shortage of criminals. We had not the slightest intention of suggesting that Mr. Bradley should have his head chopped off simply because we do not agree with him in the matter of building motors of parts which can be bought ready made.
In our opinion, there is just the difference in a motor assembled from the various parts which can be obtained from a number of firms, and a good British production made under one roof, as there is in the appearance of a man dressed in ready-made reach me-down clothes and, one properly tailored.
We. will admit that when components or clothes are bought ready made, the first cost may be less, but for good service, general efficiency and ultimate economy the components or clothes made for the job wiil be found the better in the long run.
Taking Mr. Bradley's points in the order in which he gives them, our answers are as follow. Many users have, by now, had an experience of American and British vehicles running side by side and doing B18 the same work, and we feel confident thatthe majority will agree with us.
1.—Mr. Bradley points out the " Froth-ion-neat advantage of using standard components." We are by no ineans sure that, taking into consideration all points, the economy has been proved.
2.—Mr. Bradley says the use of such components is growing, here. The practice of using standard components may have extended here, but, in our opinion; it is not wise to carry it to the extent of some of the American makers, who have turned themselves into more or less putters-together of a hundred and one bits which they can buy ready made, with -little consideration for the harmony of the whole.
3,—Mr. Bradley hopes this growth will continue, as he thinks it will enable British manufacturers to capture the trade now going to the 'importers of foreign Vehicles. British manufacturers have always been renowned the world over for durability and sound construction and, although, for the moment, we may be hard pressed, owing to circumstances quite outside the matter of methods of production, we should not like to see our manufacturers adopt the assembling of parts not designed as a, whole, as we feel sure that it would lead to the rise of a number
of -irresponsible assemblers of cheap reach-me-down parts, and would eventually destroy the reputation for general excellence and durability which we undoubtedly enjoy.
Mr. Bradley asks: "Are there no concerns in Great Britain which have gone out of the business? "• Our answer to this is, obviously, that such a thing as a firm going out of the business is not altogether unknown here, but such casesare extremely few and far between, and their numberforms a marked contrast to the appalling figures of American failures quoted by. Mr. 3./laughfling. So appalling are these figures, which extend over a number of years and go back far before the war, that we fed-that great credit is due to the courage of those American manufacturers who have set out on a road so thickly strewn with the whitening bones of previous travellers.
In the face of this, we do not think such results can logically be held up to the British Manufacturer as indicating the right way to conduct his business. The failures ofBritish manufacturers of commercial motors have been so few that there does not seem much reason for the user to go worrying about getting his spare parts from a number of different firms. With few exceptions, we have yet to learn that spare parts of American vehicles are easier to obtain than those of British manufacturers.
As regards the boosting of American methods, it must always be remembered that the examples we see here are usually the best that country produces. We have seen American invasions before and have seen our manufacturers stick to what they considered the right policy instead of taking fright and blindly copying their competitors. A similar state of affairs existed many years ago in the cycle trade and our manufacturers drove the American bicycle off the English market without copying the American design or methods, but simply by sticking to, what they knew to be a better model. In the history of engineering here, the same thing has happened, and, in many cases, the Americans have had to copy English methods to enable them to hold any part of the English market.
Our advice to manufacturers is, make the best article you can and the most durable one, and, although times may be hard just now, You will win in the end.