Passing Comments
Page 28
Page 29
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Austral ia Should A USTRALIA should cer Buy More Goods tainly be one of our best Here customers for commercial ve hicles and other products, and it is doubtful whether it is generally, recognized that the United Kingdom alone takes nearly one-third of Australia's wheat, one-third of the wool, more than half the butter, half the dried fruits and sugar, one-fifth the wine and meat, and two-fifths the cheese. These are proportions of the total production, not merely the exports.
Lorry Jumping from A YOUNG man from Leeds Leeds to London and 1-1. wagered that he could
Back travel from Leeds to London
and back in three days without paying anything for transport. Actually, although he was in London on Saturday and Sunday, he returned to Leeds with 45 ininutes to spare, the whole distance being covered by obtaining lifts from lorry drivers. Interviewed by The Yorkshire Post, he stated that he was seldom refused, and was always dropped at road
side cafés, with the result that daring the week-end he drank more tea in the sompany of the drivers than he had drunk in the whole of his life. The men struck him as excellent fellows, and whilst they refused to take tips they were not averse to accepting meals.
Ford Company Uses Decimal Divisions of the Inch
WE have, on various occasions, referred to the efforts that are being made by the Decimal Association to en courage the employment of the decimal system in this country. In this connection, it may he of interest to many to learn that the Ford organization has been using this system for some years to the extent of employing decimal fractions instead of common fractions for all subdivisions of the inch. This measurement is employed in the dimensioning of drawings and in the manufacturing operations which follow. This gives the advantages claimed for the metric system without the disturbing effect which might occur by adopting-it as a whole. Will Vehicles Ever joil,EPORTS arc again circu
be Driven by Wire-. ‘lating that practical means less ? for the wireless transmission of
power have been devised. Actually, all radio transmission is really a conveyance of power by waves, although the strength at reception is, of course, very low, and this is the difficulty with any scheme of this nature. The power is so widely distributed that at present only a minute amount can be picked up at any particular point. We are afraid it will be a long time before it becomes possible to drive vehicles in this manner, for the energy at the source would have to be terrific.
The British Empire A S the prosperity of the Trade— internal and r-ktransport industry of this
External country depends so greatly
upon our world trade, the figures concerning this should be of interest. In 1936 our total imports were valued at £849,000,000. Of this, no less than £516,000,000 was from foreign countries. The next largest importer is the United States, although its population is nearly three times ours. The U.S.A. imports amounted to £490,000,000. Xhe full figures for the Empire are available only for
1935. In that year, in addition to our imports from foreign countries, valued at £472,000,000, the Dominions and India purchased £200,000,000 abroad ; the Colonies and Protectorates, £97,000,000; the Mandated Territories, etc., £20,000,000. Therefore the total of the British Empire for 1935 was almost £800,000,000. from abroad. Thus of the trade of the Empire, 70 per cent, is done with foreign countries, and only 30 per cent. is inter-Imperial.
Minister Appreciates 'WHEN declaring open the Value of Road TransVv new Church Road at port Stockton-on-Tees, the Minister of Transport remarked that the greatest problem .of the modern industrial world is distribution. The capacity to produce exists everywhere in ample measure, but, he asked, how can the output of factories and the soil be placed more quickly and cheaply at the disposal of the community, and how can the population itself be enabled to move more fluently from the towns to the country. He claimed that the answer to the question was partly given by the opening of this new road. We are glad to note this evidence in favour of road transport.