The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-03-26
HANLON WINNER
OF DRIVERS fob
Twelve Essays Submitted by
Men in Professional Chauf-
feurs Association.
R LEE GIVES PRIZE
Essay Points Out Way to Better Their
Own Standing with Employers
and Public.
]. R. LEE GIVES PRIZE


what can we, as chauTsurs, do to bet
ter ourselves and at the same time please
our employers and the public in gen.
erai?" There were twelve submitted and
the automobile editor OF The Washington
Herald was asked to pass upon them and
select one that, in his opinion, was the
best
All were credit to their authors, mas
much as they proved that the chauffeurs
realize the Importance Of their work and
the rights Of their employers and the
public.
-Four Given Honorable Mention
Below Is printed the reply OF Frank
Hanlon 20 whom was awarded the watch
fob. Honorable mention Is given to NIL
ton d. Smith, Carl H. Yautz, Marvin d.
Stockley, and Edward A Howard. There
was 50 little to choose between these
four that IL was impossible to pick the
second. Mr.. HAnlon's paper follows:
"A new organization called the Pro-
fessionsl Chauffsurs' Association vas
started in Washington last January by
q few chauffeurs who believed that,
notwithstanding the fruitless attempts
OF past years, Ii could be done. q.
This handful of men worked hard
to accomplish their plans and see their
dreams fulfilled, several of them even
paying the various bills themselves to
enable the little club to start out free
and clear of debt. These men were
ridiculed and laughed at by a great
many of the older ehauffeurs of Wash
ington. who had Joined other clubs
formed here in the last five years. and
had seen all of them fail but never
theless, these men. like the pioneers
of old, kept on with but one purpose
in view. and at last they were reward
ed for their faith by seeing the I'M
believers, now convinced. come, at
first slowly. and then in ever increasing
numbers. to see, and seeing to re-
main; and now. with the organiza-
ton only two months old, we have
about 100 members.
All credit to those men who work
ed so tirelessly and who gave their
time and their money. that the chauf-
fsurs Of Washington might have an as
ISOLATION which seemed impossible at
first.
They have given US a club It has
been very successful extraordinarily so.
for the length Of time it has been
in existence, but il can be improved.
Now comes the question, how can
the p. c. A. be improved?
BY being made stronger.
The strongest chain in the world
is only as strong as its weakest link.
What Is n Perfect Chauneurf
Therefore. to help the club. to make
1t stronger, each and every one of its
hundred members mast consider him
self as one link OF the chain and
honestly strive to make that link as
strong. II possible stronger. than the
next. Then, II each Of its members
tries to improve himself in various
ways, the result must be the i'm
provement and certain advancement
OF the association as a whole. As this
IS u chauieur's club, the practical way
for each member to be a perfect link
in the chain, is to be a perfect chauf-
feur.
What is a perfect chauffeur?
"A perfect chauffeur is one who
satisfies, first: his employer, second: the
general public, and third: his club or
association.
TO comply with the two latter. IT
is necessary to be sober, polite. ana
careful in driving, being observant of
the comfort and safety of pedestrians,
especially women and children But
to be thoroughly good chauffeur in
the eyes Of his employer, he must OBJ
serve at least 1--WE rules, namely:
Be neat and clean in his person.
Be polite to all.
Drive carefully
BE good 10 his car.
BE sober.
These are five simple rules, but there
are a great many men driving cars in
WASHINGTON who are lacking in one or
more OF these points. Let US take them
one at time. and analyze them.
First Neatness.
One Of the greatest assets a chauffeur
can possess in the eyes Of a great many
employers IS personal cleanliness.
Must Always he Tidy.
"A chauffeur must be neat; whether he
Is wearing livery or his own clothes.
tney must always be we'll brushed; and
his linen must be fresh. He should al
ways see that his hair is we'll trimmed
and brushed, for Of all things, that is
most noticeable to those sitting behind
him. He must shave every morning, so
that he will always look fresh when he
Is called to work each day He must
keep his breath free from all objection
able orders, such as tobacco etc, and
he must be particularly careful to keep
his teeth well brushed and his hands as
clean as his work will permit. In gen
sral keep as clean in every respect as HIS
employer. and he win gain prestige in the
eyes Of the employer and his family.
Second. Politeness.
"A chauffeur must be polite and have
a pleasant manner to all that he comes
In daily contact with. such as his en-
ployer, the family, their friends, etc II
he has worked late the night before he
will probably not feel every enthusiastic
IN the morning but he must train him
self not to show this In his manner, but
greet his employer with cheerful good
morning. II Is hard TO be pleasant at
times. as every chauffeur knows. but I
have always noticed that the polite and
cheerful fellow Is usually treated better
by an employer than the Crouch.
"Third. Drive Carefully.
Some employers Ike to drive fast, and
soma few even like to boast Of having a
reckless driver, but these I have only
heard Of. never seen. But nienty-nlne per
cent Of employers will have only care
tui driver. To be careful 1t Is not
necessary to drive so slowly as to hold up
tratac; a chauffeur can drive at a fair
speed and get where ne wants TO 60
without soaring pedestrians out Of /
several years Of their natural life. I
have seen chsureurs. who were good
drivers In every other way, come tear
ing down the street blowing the Klaxton
as they came and taking delight in see
ing people scatter. very often some poor
woman overburdensd with bundles and
children
Care of Car. Always Repaid.
These are the kind OF fellows that put |
the decent chauffeur in wrong with the !