1955-12-13 — Page 4

/Page. 4

THE BRAIN

THE "CHINA MAIL,” TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1955,

BEHIND THE

MOTOR CAR REVOLUTION

H

ARRY FEEGUSON

is lean, bespectacled,

earnest, nacetle, He

looks and talks like

By LES ARMOUR

Exhibition of Aviation

whs

a university professor. But opened, Ferguson determined to he acts with the self go to I.

mussurance

daring and

He came home with a new

11 was But For-

bravado of a bull fighter ambition: to build an airplane. In those clays it was hard with an atom bomb in, his

enough to build

airplane pocket.

anywhere!

in Belfast

51 He is an incurable idealist next to impossible. and he is

guson was determined. funtastically guson # Buccessful business man. He eludes all the fixed categories: just when you uns be luid one big problem: have neatly enumerated all be couldn't his qualities he leaps up balance. again in new guise like

11

Within a few months he hud what looked like a menoplane, He wasn't sure that it would fly

"I hod

calculate the

balance to before I would fly,' be shy, And then he adds,

man in the distorting mir- machine rore of a fun fuir.

His Brat jove was arplanes; ila latest is automobiles, But be made millions--no one casi Buy just how many millions--- out of tractora.

You could almost say he be- came a millionaire by acekdent --you would say it if it weren't for the fact you have a shrewd

that

real life doesn't suspicion ever provide plots quite like those of the brothers Grann.

It happened like this: Harry Ferguson was born 71 He grew years ago in Ireland. up in Belfast with the automo- bile. He was still in his teens.

is

Basically the modern motor car differs little from its rattling progenitor. From an internal transmitted combustion engine power mechanically to the rear driving wheels. Britain announces a complete breakaway; a fluid-turbine powered vehicle. Behind it is

an

inventive

and genius millionaire Harry Ferguson

-

"But I had to fly it lo discover how to balance 11."

He chick

He mad came for himself with it. After all,

when he opened his Ursi business; selling and servicing Ireland's dra airplane. cars and motor-cycles,

W 192

The publielty paul Though must quite in the why

The Hard Way Ferguson had hoped.

ΟΝ,

N various occasiona he was forced to make parts for the cars be wAN repairing. For Belfast was a long way from the the tiny centres of the motor

ปาก industry. und!

customers tended to get Impatient

Several times he that by making The new part from the old $ightly different

of

frum

In ID14, with the outbreak the First World War, the frish Department of Agriculture realised that the that effect of the German blockade would be to transform Ireland botestate, backward agricul- lural area which could barely krep self alive into an area

D which would munke discovered

success and ference between starvation to the British people. They thought that mechani- sation might turn the balance And they bought up hundreds of tractors.

he could effect an improvement He learned the principles of engine design the hard way-by trial and Tror.

hadn't few Blerat English Channel in 109, Fer. guson's carcer might have been different. Bul Bleriot very stimulated his imagination and when, the same year, the Parts need repairing.

Trouble was that Ireland had few merbanles-and trac- very lors in the hands of men who had often as not never seen a tractor before

bound WITA

o

Thes

self-made (above).

was 1

What

newsted #nechamienil genius who could keep the whole system running, They turned to Harry Ferguson. If he emild bulld an airplane, they reasoned, he could keep a feet of tractors going.

He did. He also saw Things that made his blood boil.

The trouble was not that the tructors were no good. The who trouble was that the men

little designed them had very idea of the uses to which they were going to be put.

No actor ever cane with a And old attached. plough horse- fawn ploughs were not to attach No one hnd even thought of attaching other of furn machinery to kinds

tracte 6.

ばい emerged from the war determined to revolutionize the By 1920 he tractor business, had worked out a plan for a tractor which could do every- thing from ploughing to water pumping. He built and sold several Ukrusand tractor ATK plough units in the

Quality

United

need not be expensive

• All stamless steel case

Waterproof

* Shock projected

States between 1925 and 1928. "People's Car" idea-it was to By 1935, be had perfected the sell for under £300-hus been "Ferguson System" for multi- temporarily shelved. The first purpose tractors,

cars, which will probably be Ils tractors were light, cheap, built in Belfast, are likely to be and easily converted to any luxury jobs corting a sizable imaginable job.

amount of money,

But the People's Cor is still his dream.

And

now that he has Str Miles Thomas the man who mado BOAC hum-with him, he may well pull it off.

In

England, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, he built and sold 1,250 of them. Then, in 1988, ha tock

his pentecfed tractor back to the United States and showed it to Henry Ford. He Ford came to an agreement: Ferguson would supply the brains, Ford the mass produc- tion technique.

and

Meanwhile he lives on his 4,000-ECTC formi in Stoke-on-

the-Wold Gloucestershire,

directing operations. He sti dressée every night for dinner,

of tho

the best stock nyintaina eigars and a first class wine But he anokes hardly at agreement between all-ho won't even tolerate a

They built and #old 300,000 tractors between 1938 and 1947. Ferguson grew enormously rich, and Ford added new riches to vid.

But the

cellar and lives in gracious

case.

them was verbal: not one word cigarette in the room with him,

wns ever put on paper.

Meanwhile Ferguson made a similar agreement with Standard Motors: 1,000 tructors a week

rolled out of the Standard plants.

83

THAT agreement Whe on Then Henry Ford died. Henry I went on using--and ex- Ford

pinding Ferguson's discoveries.

there was a hitch. Ferguson charged thai the origina! #grecarent had been broken. Henry Ford I said no such agreement existed.

Ferguson sued for

sel up his own non-and

In Detroit. plant in

He dida

didn't

get the £80 million tom ford but Ford did settle D the remaining £3 million rend

made guineus, Moreover, Ford agreed W step using Fergusta's patcuts. The litigation took four years before Ford

broke down and agreed to settle.

three

million

Never Happy

DUT

Ferguson Harry

พชร

Dnever happy running his own It took up too spent

better

production line, much Time dreaming.

By that time he had political dreains, too. He argued that if the British Government, for stance, gave up nationalising the steel industry and spent the money instead on revolutionising agriculture the Ferguson way

There would lbe prosperity

πάνε

around the comer for everyone.

He look full page

in the nationai news- tisements in

thousand прета

several pounds a throw to grusade for Industrial efficiency.

เ

He saw the politico-economie cene In simple terms of black and white as though it were un engineering problem. Nothing all came of his crusade and He withdrew from politics að quickly as he had entered.

drinks less and cuts sparingly.

He prefers a little of the very good to a lot of the mediocre. And perhaps that is the secret of his success.

THE

NEW PEER

low

Words Cupright by arrangement with the Manchester Quatálan

THE OTHER MR BUTLER TOTS UP

DID THE SOCIALISTS

LAST ELECTION?

WHY LOSE

THE

R DAVID BUTLER is

By ROBERT BLAKE

M

one of the leading ex- ponents of that new

study- intriguing "paephology," or the science of elections.

and

it

DOW

State. rocket,"

Unemployment

will

One of the chief uses of a that, compared with, 1951, None of these dire predictions

vote fell by came true. study like this is its value in the Socialist diapelling the myths and one

und & half million, misconceptions with which whereas the Tory vote fell partisanship and prejudice by less than half a million, so quickly befog recent his might seem to confirm this

theory. tory.

The myths

But, as Mr Butler points out, analysis of constituency results does not bear it out.

No doubt even In 1951 few people genuinery believed that Winston Churchill would Sir

third world war. procipitate a but quite a number may have sincerely feared a decline in full employment and a reduction in social benefits,

Kill-joys

He wrote an admirable survey of the General Elec- tion of 1951. He has

with

2 speed produced,

credit which reflects much both upon himself and his ad- publishers, an equally

I cannot help suspecting mirable Burvey

the that of

such episodes as Were it true, we should "Chinese slavery" or

the expect the

constituencies

Three

and a half'

years of General Election of 1955"

rules effectively showed in Tory Zinoviev letter would not with the greatest fall

Bu contains nothing figure quite so prominently turnout to show the greatest that these foars were llore.

Winston Churchill and Si very starting or original, in our history books if sur swing to the Tories.

Anthony Eden have successfully that must be regarded as veys of this kind had ap

one hopes for over, pallern dispelled, the fault of the election, not peared in earlier times. of Mr Butler.

emerges. The Tory victory may the absurd myth that the Tories

party of hard-faced · Already there are signe have

to Socialist were

business men baltening upon the that certain myths are gain- apathy, but there is so proof.

vote" may

still impoverished workers, ing currency with regard to The "floating the 1955 election. For exist. For the general election example it is widely main- of 1965, despite television- tained that the Socialists the effect of which (apart only lost because their party from Sir Anthony Eden's machine was rusty. undoubted success) still re- uncertain --

# Waa dull business.

Another Dream mains

DUT he wasn't through with his efforts on behalf of misguided humanity,

Д

Dull business

Ia fact no such

been

duc

Boomerang

They were helped in their task by the attitude of their opponents, who did little to avoid the appearance of being kill Joys who The truth is that, despite all doctrinaire

has been writen on this hankered after rationing and re- important subject, no one really controls out of a love of drab- searches show that party or- knows for certain why people ness for drabness's sako, ganisation had little effect change their allegiance of abstain

How far did "psephology" It

Yet Mr Butler's

that

True, it was the first occa- on the results, and that trom votlag-why, in fact, sali affect the election? Do

sion of modern times when some of the Socialists' best parties lose or gain power.

public opinion polis naturday, Mr Butler is far too shrewd to have repercussions on the way suggest that "psephology" sup- piles the answera.

He had another dream. This party in power has actual- performances took place in was about automobiles. He had ly increased its majority, constituencies where they

people vote? Mr Butler com the chance to turn out a revolu-

but there were in general had virtually no organisa-

fortingly concludes that despite tionary

ry "People's Car”” and he

few

scares or tion at all.

the stentorian ery of our modern saw the chance

issues, no to do л good

It is, however, reasonable to Cobbett, turn for

Kellow countrymen,

Mr A. J. P. Taylo hen, stunts, and little to make it for his

Another widely accepted 100, 1

In Belfast

guess that the Tory victory of "Down with Pseplmlogy" - It unemployment memorable.

myth is that the Torles won, 1955 was partly the result of really makes very little was, the

is rife. and is

dit- not because they converted national prosperity, partly a ference. solve his problem.

the "floating vote," but be "boomerang" consequence of the cause of Socialist apathy. On Socialist scares of 1931: "Whose the face of things the anger

tho trigger? The

If he could

make it another Detroit he could Nevertheless Mr Butler's To give him time and to ex-book is well worth reading, pand his business at the same

on

time, he did a deal with Massey- The British Central Election Harris the world's other great 1853, by 17. E. Bauer (Macmillan 240 diminished poll and the fact Tories will destroy the Welfare tractor making firm, run by Canada's Governor General Vincent Massey.

Scientifically unimugnette

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ا و نهایی و در راننده که خود

He merged his firm with Massey-Harris. He got roughly A quarter interest in the com- bined firm. Massey-Harris took over the management and he look over design and engineer-

TA

even things Ferguson became chairman of the combined company.

Shortly afterwards he sold out nearly his whole interest for £6 million.

UP!

He had decided that he need-

ed the liquid capital for. his new

car profeet.

COMMUNIST "GIFT WAR”

W

IN ASIA EXPOSED

By JAMES WICKENDEN

And

Opinion polls

Opinion polls were curtainly accurate, the Daily Express being nearest, within 0.8 per cent of the final figures for all three parties,

But these Igures mask number of results which defrod the general trend, especially in that well-known home of lost causes, the county of Norfolk,

Admittedly, the uniformity of well-drilled partisan battalions has done much to destroy the fun of General Elections,

17ESTERN experts are For example, Russia bought. the Czechs will want more cat-

But it is agreeable to know The move indicated a sharp. measuring the dangers large stocks of surplus rice from, ton from Egypt next year.

that, even in this sedato mid- turnabout in his thinking. As of the Russian "gift war" Burma and then sold it in Com-

the general effect of 20th century, someone can stand recently as 1948 he had urged in Asia, where Bulganin munist North Vietnam-merely "dumping" ka to dislocate for the second time on a. pro- American auto makers to slow and Krushchev are now on Vietnam, is one of the richest West is award that the Japanese lighting and home rule for neting as a brokérand; North normal trade channels," The gramme of legalised cock- down car making so that they could make more tractors,

tour.

His Secret

rice-producing areas in Asin. are already complaining of Cumberland and Increase his Chinesa sales of paper, voto-though not alas, save his is "dumping" goods medicines and cotton goods, in deposit,

Asia, at below cost. not required on a

which are

•

Russia and her satellites have begun offering lorries, oll-gear power stations, satellite. WHAT the world really nood-cables, cement, and many

ed, he said, was an agricul~ other goods on a big scale The.

∙revolution. Cars were to the whole of mainland merely frills. Tractors would Asia ecccept Pakistan, Siam

But it seemed that he had des and Southern Vietnam. cided that himmanity would not save itself and the best he couli

tural

work for humanity..

do

ta Wax help to make life' a little more tolerable.--

The new car completely

.-7.

WAS to have a automate no brakes, four wheel

But the West will make no Itamédiate counter-move.

HOLLOW GESTURES

10 could aldowskys, London and Washington aro four wheel drive so it would go agreed that Krushchev has over- anywhere and an engine which played his hand in Indin, where worked

Suid

turbine drive, sharp, prosa riactions followed

hil tab-thumping

· off

to tisher in 'n Sukhopad

do the kind of, don2 72m

did with his tractocar: get mana-

while he conducted

ede to make them said

and plomowed the

Czechs Kung

NO USE FOR THEM offering Burma cotton yarn, but, this is

These same goods came from probably the cotton the Russia and are listed by Li are selling from Egypt in

pay. ment for the arms deal.

Chi-jen.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade a thong, which "will materially improve our Ching is offering India 80,000 tons of steel although Peking is people's livelihood. In fact, the desperately short of it. Possibly Chine are getting rki, bi

Ruslan goods hey the metal will really come

have found from Russia, Clearly the object no use for. is to create an impression; The London rather than do real businÕES.

far that Lem porary trade agreements wÍZK

Jonit

By this furry of offers the o bolp solve t Communists are giving the apo turn is Axlar pearandest of opening met anarketar vto Asiaj promoting permanent and local development, plans and such me, tha Col they buliding food relations,

American,, ald pro

will not

POCKET CARTOON

by OSBERT LANCASTER