GARAGE PROPRIETORS

Southland Times, Issue 19247, 10 June 1921, Page 6

GARAGE PROPRIETORS

ANNUAL MEETING. MOTOR TRADE PROSPECTS. The annual meeting of the Invercargill Garage Proprietors’ Association was held last night. There were about fifty present including a number of country members. The president of the N.Z.G.P.A. (Mr D. Crozier l and Mr J. J. Cousins, secre'.ary, were among these present. The president (Mr J. A. Vickery) re-“ marked that when the Association had been formed in April, 1917, it had included only the cycle and motor cycle trade; three months later the motor trade had been brought in. Since then the Association had developed greatly. It had been unfortunate that country members had not been always able to attend the monthly meetings, but they could rest assured that they received the benefit of a number of things of which they might not know although a resume of the proceedings was sent to them. Mr A. Russell was elected president and Mr C. E. Watts was elected chairman of the motor car section and Mr J. D. Campbell chairman of the cycle and motor cycle section.

After the newly-elected officers had returned thanks for their elevation the health of Mr Crozier was proposed by the chairman. WILL PRICES DECLINE?

Iff responding, Mr Crozier, who has just returned from a trip to America, mentioned that the association was one of the strongest of its kind in New Zealand. He explained that the association did not exist only for its own protection, but with the object of raising the standard of integrity in the trade, thus gaining the confidence of the public. It had done a great deal'of work in Wellington, in connection with the tariff, for instance, laying much evidence before the Government as would show the benefit the motor car was to the country. Further, the work of the association was going to improve conditions for the public. He knew that in the near future they would be able to get tyres cheaper than for a number of years past, and the same applied to petrol. Mr Crozier went on to refer to the trade depression existing in New Zealand at the present time. When he was in America recently, he said, the depression was just as bad as it was in New Zealand to-day. A great number of people in this country had stopped purchasing because they expected prices to come down. They were inclined to think that, because they saw thirty shilling hats being reduced to ten shillings, motor cars would do the same, but he could assure them that this was not so. The association had investigated the position pretty thoroughly, and the investigation showed that there were not as many extra cars held in New Zealand as the public thought and those in hand were held by pretty sound firms. He considered, in fact, that there would be a shortage within the next eighteen months. When in America he had gone through factories that instead of employing thousands of hands were employing only hundreds, and, in some cases dozens. The. Americans had decided that they were not going to over produce again. By private letters received from the editor of the Motor Age and the Motor World he had been advised that business was resuming gradually and some of the factories were up to 50 per cent, of their normal strength. His latest information showed that the sales were exceeding the production. This looked as if there was going to be a shortage and no likelihood of a reduction. Christchurch was one of the first towns to feel the depression, and business had now restarted although it was not booming. Auckland, which had carried on longer than Christchurch, was now experiencing the depression that Christchurch had had in February, but Auckland would boom again before very long and that would be the case all over the country. In California he had got into touch with the associations, Mr Crozier continued, and he had been impressed by the fact that wherever there was an association conditions were better than where there was none. In America, and he thought the practice should be followed here, it was customary to let the public know as much about the activities of the associations as was possible. In California there were two conferences a year and the public were invited.

SPEECH BY MR COUSINS. The health of Mr Cousins being proposed in eulogistic terms by the president, Mr Cousins responded in a lengthy and highly interesting spew?h. He stated that the day of individual interests was past; and combinations for mutual protection were justified, but they should be careful that they ga\e the public a quid pro quo, and took the public into their confidence. The Association really stood as much in the public interest as their own. They wanted to make the automobile as accessible and inexpensive as possible and all their efforts should be directed towards that end. The motor business was only in its infancy, and it had outgrown the supply of qualified experts in the business the world over. The public had probably had reason to complain that the service had not bee i as good as it might have been. The public did not understand the difficulties the trade was up against. Part of the Association's aim was to improve the status of the mechanics, to improve the garage appliances and, generally, to give the public the best service possible. Mr Cousins went on to speak of the activities of the Association. Its membership included 93 per cent of the trade in New Zealand. In the four years of its existence it had collected and spent something like £6OOO, but the most important part of its work had been to enable the members to understand each other better. If they could realise where the trade would have got to but for the organisation, they would realise some of the steps that had been taken. Four years ago the motor business in New Zealand was being done by 5,000 people in all branches of mercantile life, now it was being done by 15000 people, all recognised traders. Four years ago one man in the business would hardly speak to a rival, but now they were all prepared to consult with and help each other without fear that their actions would be wrongly interpreted. The public had come to realise that the association stood in their interests as well as its own. This was shown by instances that he could quote in plenty, and he advised that, if any member of the local public had a complaint against a member of the association, a committee of investigation should be set up. The association had settled many disputes throughout the country that otherwise would nave gone to law.

The present time was a crisis in the trade, Mr Cousins continued. He claimed that he had as much knowledge of the trade in this country as any man. He had been consulted and advised by leading men from America in the wholesale trade, and, from his knowledge, he knew that the depression was only temporary. Produce was the main necessity for New Zealand, and then came transport for that produce. Motor •traction was playing a great part in the problem of transport, and it would play a much greater part, but it was necessary chai., before this was availed of, good noads were provided. The association had been working on this problem for three years and the results were nearer coming about than they might think. They had agreed with motor users that they were prepared to contr.bute to the cost of maintaining the good roads, but a basis of settlement with die public bodies could not be reached. The Government had taken advantage of this to hold up the Good Roads Bill promised last session, but a conference between mo tor traders and users had been arranged and he believed that a settlement would be reached. The Motor Bill and Tariff Bill were other matters that the association would have to watch. In regard to these questions, he indicated that, on top of what had been done before the Tariff Re vision Commission, it was intended to let each branch of the association meet theii members before the next session and put .he position before them. In Australia the motor business was only about one third greater than in New Zealand, due to the taxation imposed by the Labour Government. A car costing the American farmer £250 cost the Australian between £650 and I £7OO. The ordinary car should not sell at

more than £5OO. The day when the car was purely a vehicle of luxury was over as Australian statistics, which showed that only 5 per cent were used purely for this purpose. Mr Cousins concluded with the statement that he had been assured by a representative of the automobile interests in America that New Zealand would get only the cars that it was prepared to order and pay for. Therefore, he did not expect a tremendous reduction, but a shortage in the not distant future (Applause). The rest of the evening passed in song and story, interspersed with toasts.