News and Comment.
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This journal enjoys a valuable and exclusive circulation ; its sale is not forced in useless quarters.
Our second notice of the Paris Snow will be found on pages 319 to 322.
The attractions of the Grand Palais, in which the private car exhibits form the principal item, dwarf the heavy section into one of comparative insignificance. There are, none the less, not a few interesting vehicles on view, and these are of sufficient importance to justify any British maker of commercial motors in paying a visit to the building on the Esplanade des Invalides, where they are housed this year.
The following new members have been elected to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders : Messrs. Linton Hope and Company ; NorthEastern Garages, Limited; John Croall and Sons, Limited; High Tension Motor Company; Huntley Walker and Company ; Smith, Parfrey and Company, Limited; Offord and Sons, Limited; Motor Engine Manufacturing Company, Limited; and Osborn and Company, Limited.
The London staff of the Wolseley Tool and Motorcar Company, Limited, held their house dinner, on the 5th instant, ,at the Café Monico, when the chair was taken by Mr. J. Davenport Siddeley, the general manager. The toast of the company was proposed by Mr. R. Lee Philpot, and suitably acknowledged by the chairman. Mr. H. Luff Smith proposed "The Birmingham and Crayford Works," and the response was entrusted to Messrs. R. R. Brown, 0. Clegg, and L. Silverman. Musical contributions, by members of the staff and others, added to the enjoyment of the evening.
Mr. Worby Beaumont, after opening a discussion at the London Chamber of Commerce, last week, before members of the Cold Storage and Ice Association, had to face some rather severe criticisms on the part of Mr. R. B. Proctor, a prominent member of the London meat trade. We regret to see that Mr. Proctor is a man who will make no allowance whatever for occasional mishaps, and who appears to shut his eyes to the good work that motors are capable of doing. We are at a loss, too, to follow how Mr. Proctor's experiences prove motor traction to be uneconomical over comparatively long trips, and we agree with Mr. Beaumont that he must have been
served inefficiently. If not, we can only conclude that his demands were unreasonable.
An ingenious use of the motorcycle has been made in the recent Austrian military manceuvres; the machine, fitted with a side-carriage, was employed to establish field telephonic communication. The driver was accompanied by a second soldier, who, by means of a reel of wire running on a spindle at his feet and a long forked pole, stretched the wire over the tops of trees by the roadside, as the little vehicle was propelled past them. In this manner, a 61-mile line was installed in 20 minutes. Our next issue will contain the continuation of Mr. D. H. Simpson's article on " Flash Boilers, or ' Proportionate' Generators "; the second of the series of " Useful Charts and Tables" will, also, be included in the same number.
The random sett-paving, which was laid by Mr. J. A. Brodie, the City Engineer of Liverpool, upwards of a year ago, is reported to be giving good results. The stone was supplied by the Welsh Granite Company, Limited, of Trevor, Camarvon, and it regularly bears axle-weights reaching 34 tons.
Messrs. Worthington's" bottle " delivery van, fitted on a 24h.p. Spykes chassis, to which we made some reference last week, was built according to a registered design belonging to Mr. F. F. Wellington, the Manager of the British Automobile Commercial Syndicate, Limited, and any van or motor builders who may desire to construct a similar vehicle will require to communicate with Mr. Wellington.
News comes from Emden that, on December 6th, the good burghers of Strucklingen were in a position to greet their first railway train. It was received with great jubilation. And no wonder ! The train, consisting of an ordinary locomotive and a couple of sand trucks, had come from Friesoythe, ten miles distant, along the country roads, in the astounding time of three weeks! Country roads having no rails, the men in charge had carried with them three lengths of rails and laid them down en route, pulling up those passed over by the train and putting them down again in front, until the train reached Striicklingen. After a performance of this kind, no one will surely have the temerity to deny that, in matters of road traffic, Germany can show us a thing or two! The annual staff dinner of Messrs. Brown Brothers, Limited, which was held at the Hotel Cecil on Friday last, the 7th instant, synchronised with the ifficial opening of Messrs. Brown's extension of premises. The new building practically doubles the late accommodation, and has been necessitated by the vast increase in the motor business done by this firm. A representative of " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR" who visited the new premises was much impressed by the comprehensive stock of accessories, for motor vans and lorries, held by this firm. The dinner was preside(' over by Mr. John Brown, one of the three brothers who are managing directors, and interesting speeches were made by Messrs. Albert and Ernest Brown, by officials of the company, and representatives of the Press.
At the last monthly meeting of the Association of German Automobile Makers, the advisability of organising a commercial motor competition in 1907 cropped up for consideration. It appears that the suggestion arose from a proposal to hold, next year, a special exhibition for vehicles of this class, which would, of course, include motorbuses. The question of expenses, together with the comparatively slight interest likely to be manifested by the general public in any exhibition of so restricted a character, caused the members to decide against the proposed exhibition. On the other hand, they were fairly unanimous on the desirability of instituting a competition for freight vehicles, and, probably, omnibuses and motorcabs as well. It was suggested that the vehicles should run from Berlin to Diisseldorf and back, in eight too-kilometre stages, at the time of th. Agricultural Show in the latter city. Not speed so much as reliability would constitute the chief test for estimating the awards. No scheme has yet been definitely formulated, so that the English'trials may be announced first. The conference on motor traffic in London, which was jointly convened by the town clerks of Islington and Kensington, and which took plate yesterday (Wednesday), at the Westminster City Hall, was largely attended, and we hope to deal with its proceedings in our next issue. Representatives from the following councils, amongst others, were present : City of London, City of Westminster, Bermondsey, Camberwell, Chelsea, Deptford, Finsbury, Fulham, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith, Hampstead, Holborn, Islington, Kensington, Lambeth, Lewisham. Paddington, St. Marylebone, St. Pancras, Shoreditch, Southwark, Stepney, Stoke Newington, Wandsworth, Woolwich. The agenda included consideration of : (a) the alleged evils and annoyances arising from motor vehicles and heavy locomotives which at present traverse the streets of London ; (b) the alleged dangers arising from motor omnibuses, both as regards personal safety and depreciation of property; (c) the addressing of a memorial to the Home Secretary in regard to the control and supervision of such traffic; (d) Parliamentary action; and (e) representations to the Commissioner of Police in regard to the prevention of vibration and side-slip.
Magistratsbaurat Swalla, of Berlin, who rendered this journal a service in procuring the photograph of the Dresden automatic street cleanser, which was illustrated in our issue of November 15th, is a great believer in the future of mechanical power for streetcleansing operations. Although a very busy man, and at the head of a large department, he is always ready to help those who seek information or assistance in connection with this exceedingly important branch of the work of the municipal engineer.