Culled from Contemporaries.
Page 21
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The World's Press Comments on the Industry.
SomeonelGets Them,
The only hard sales are the ones you don't get.—" Motor World."
Kill that Fly.
For sanitary as well as humane reasons flies should be excluded from the drafting room.—" American Machinist.,"
Terse Advice.
The London General Omnibus Co.'s advice to those about to take taxicabs— Don' t.—" John Bull."
Fresh-air Catering.
The motor-omnibus has apparently appealed to a class of people who formerly stayed at or near home during holiday time.-6 Daily Mail."
"Wake Up England."
I hope our British motorcar manufacturers will wake up to the importance of this branch of the trade, as the pleasure car is over-catered for.—" The New Zealand Motor Journal."
Let the Fire-fighters Decide.
We notice the plunger pump makers still make a fetish of mentioning that their pumps require neither foot valves nor priming arrangements. Neither do any of the types of centrifugal motor fire pumps now being built.—" Fire."
Here is Where the Motor Vehicle Scores.
Theoretical considerations, unless borne out and proved in practice, are unavailing. Practical service conditions count with the hard-headed business man—not laboratory or experimental tests and caleulatione,—" Automobile," Chicago.
The Modern Maze.
Our traffic in London is so badly regulated that it is almost necessary for people to take risks if they are to get through at all. Slow-moving vehicles are allowed to wander all over the road instead of being rigorously compelled to keep to the side.—" Auto-Motor Journal."
What About "Ragtime"?
To avoid skidding a simple plan is to try by practice, on different surfaces, exactly what degree of brake application it takes to cause a skid. With the knowledge thus learned a motorist . . . finds out what sort of wheel manceuvring it takes to straighten up a " waltzing " car. —" Progress," New Zealand.
Good Value on the Car.
Two passengers boarded the car. One carried two mangle rollers under his arm. The other deposited a large iron casting under the steps and then earns upstairs with a seek of wheela and fittings. The guard stood speechless as he watched the schemers mewing a mangle for nothing. Then he came up for the fares.
" Two 'apennies," said the roller bearer.
"Make it pennies," qnnth the sarcestic guard. " and I'll stop the ear while you run back for the wash-tub and
clothes-props." " Manchester Guardian."
The Tradesman's Only Choice,
Contract, delivery is growing in all cities, and will be more common as motor trucks increase in numbers.—" Motor Age," Chicago.
The Road to Profits.
A commercial automobile road is defined as a road upon which a varied motor traffic may operate successfully and economically.—" American Motorist."
We Are Thankful for Small Mercies.
Motor transport stands a very fair chance of success, in the long run, simply because a motor lorry can do more trips than a bullock cart in a day.—" Indian °tor News."
Contributory Negligence.
For every accident where one person is wholly to blame, there must be a dozen where, as in matrimonial differences, there are " faults on both sides."— " Motor in Australia."
The Driver's Pride.
The car . . . need not he fool-proof (for no fool has any business at the wheel of a ear or to be responsible for any other
piece of machinery) . . but the ordinary work exacted by a, car in commission and constantly used should be made a great deal easier than it is now.— " Daily Mail."
Again Recognition.
liVe are indebted to our contemporary, COIDIRKCIAL MOTOR, for a very valuable sidelight upon the much-discussed ques
tion, "Horse v. Motor," . and trust that it may help sonic of our good feiends who are at present sitting on a rail to make up their minds as to which side of that line the most Flutter for their bread lies.—" The Now Zealand Motor Journal."
Standardization Again Upset.
IL is reasonable to believe that the manufacturer can do something to reduce the " cold engine " difficulty, which now, on short city runs, prevents proper carburation from commencing until about the time the engine is to be stopped.— " Horseless Age," New York.
Imperial Motor Transport Conference.
At the three actual meetings, such matters as alcohol as motor fuel, designs or Colonial and military vehicles, and the conveyance of passengers by road were discussed with some trifling advantage, but surely never was a mountain of a conference as boomed guilty of giving birth to such a small mouse-like volume of utility. Something may cerne out of it in the distant future, but it is not apparent how. There was nothing new brought up. All the old threadbare subjects were threshed out once more, largely by the same old crowd. I submit that a more futile cnnierence has never been held, If one will but consider exactly how much and how little the reso= hition regarding the substitution of alco
hol for petrol actually means, the real value of the conference 'Ail" become apparent.—" Motor World."
Fool-proof.
All this talk about foot-proof " things—motorcars or otherwise—is simply a vote of no confidence in the primary powers of understanding among the great bulk of our fellow-men, And they re. sent it.—" The Ford Times."
The Hygienic Motor.
The disappearance of horse traction and the incoming of the motor vehicle aud of tar pavement in the side streets had made a tremendous difference in the minor ailments and the general health of the whole community.—" Sanitary Record of Municipal Fngmearing."
Get At It.
If you are going to put in a new store front and a showcase for neat display of accessories get them in now. Don't wait till next month or next year Proerastiriatiou reckons not the value of time. Days, weeks and months soon slip away and another year is here—and the things we planned still undone. Action ! That's the word.—" The Motor World."
Wanted, Grease Scaveagers.
It seems to us that one possible rented) for skidding has been lost sight of by those who condemn the motorbus for this quality. We refer to the road surface. It is impossible for a rubber-tired vehicle to skid unless the surface of the road is greasy, and, therefore, the true remedy appears in be to remove the grease.— " The Auto Motor Journal,"
Control the Pedestrian.
We ourselves are of the opinion that the suggestions given in the leading article of " The Commercial Motor " to improve the laws and make eenaltiee more severe on pedestrians for obstruc tion and contributory negligence. . . will do more to diminish the lamentable number cf accidents that are at present taking place, than any amount of restrictive leitislatian on motorcars themselves.---" The Motor in Australia."
A Pioneer Motor.haulage Body.
One of the earliest, if not quite the earliest, of the innumerable societies and clubs formed in this country to encourage the new form of locomotion was the Liverpool Self-propelled Traffic Association. We seem to remember that some of the enthusiasm which was displayed in connection with the foundation of this pioneer body was inspired by the idea that in motor-haulage by road between the Liverpool docks and the inland Lancashire towns a. means was available of preventing any further diversion of trade to the Ship Canal. The old arguments in favour of Mr. Holt' s " plate-way " scheme were revived, and applied with new force to the commercial motor vehicle. The Liverpool pioneers were quite right in their estimate of the future value of "self-propelled traffic" by road, but, like many far-sighted people, they found that the course of events was disappointingly slow.—" Manchester Guardian."