Out and Horne.—It "The Extractor."
Page 16
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Ouite a tit-bit of the gossip of the show seems to me to be the tact that Mr. Denman, the magistrate who tried the Polack v. Dunlop case, stopped at the Polack stand and was much interested in the exhibit, and, further, he expressed, in the hearing of my informant (one of the attendants on the stand), his opinion of the case and his view of the possibilities in the event of an appeal.
The Sunbeam motor people withdrew from the recent show, because they were not quite ready with their van. They believe, very properly, in testing their chassis thoroughly before putting it on the market, and Mr. Cureton tells me that they propose to fit one up with a pleasure body and enter it for the Scottish Trials. This, for a light van chassis, will be as complete and exhaustive a test as one could devise.
At Wolverhampton during last week, I found the Star Motor Company extremely busy and one thing interested me exceedingly ; it has just received an order from Lever Brothers, Ltd., of Port Sunlight, for to one-ton vans fitted with Shrewsbury and Challiner tires. I was allowed to look at the official order, so there is no mistake about it. On another page (187) will be found an illustration of the vehicle.
It was intimated on this page, in the issue for the tyth March, that a meeting of the steam firms would be held at Olympia during the show week. I understand that Mr. James II. Mann, of Mann's Steam Wagons, took a leading part in it, and the result was that Mr. Mackie discussed the whole question with each exhibitor. There are several points : the objection to sign the bond, because of being debarred from agricultural shows and the Smithfield Cattle Show ; width of stands as arranged at Olympia not suitable for steam vehicles ; and wood staging for same, involving expense and totally unnecessary. Mr. hackle was conciliatory, and held out a hope that the committee of the S.M.M.T. would meet them in the proper spirit.
One cannot be long in the company of Mr. W. O. Tritton, the general manager of Foster's, of Lincoln, without being well impressed by his general knowledge and by his exhaustless energy, and, if vou call to see him at the works, as like as not vou hear that he has been out since six in the morning on a tractor, giving it some special trial, under his own supervision. Be it known that, in addition to a vast home trade, Foster's does a large trade on the Continent, and Mr. Tritton knows precisely the special conditions under which the tractor has to work, because a goad deal of time he spends abroad. I call to mind that, within the last two years, he was snowed up in a railway train in Bulgaria for 48 hours absolutely without food, and I remember he
told me of this a week or so after it
occurred and I noted with glow of satisfaction how well he looked in spite of the deprivation, and how it dispelled all doubts within me that on occasions, through press of business, when I have missed out. one meal entirely that I had clone myself some irreparable injury ! Tritton, it seems to me, has had a most interesting career ; he is still quite a .young man, not much over 30, I should think, and, before he joined the Foster concern, he was manager for Garrett, Smith and Company, at Magdeburg Buckau, and also at their branch works at KONN;110, Russia. Some time previous to that he was Inspector of the Permanent Way material on the TransSouth-African Railway, known more familiarly as the " Cape to Cairo." He has also been in an important post at the Metropolitan Electric Supply, at Manchester Square Station, and was works superintendent for th,.. Linotype Company at Broadheath. To go back to the groundwork, it was at Gwynnes that he served his apprenticeship. Here we have briefly almost a oomplete record of his business career. He certainly appears, from my observation, to have acquired a wonderful grasp of the tractor business, and he is a bright, sociable, interesting personality with always A good word on his lips for his business opponents and their productions, and, at the same time with a marvellous keenness to show you the many good points and advantages of the " Wellington " machines.
One interesting little item came before my notice during the show. It is probably widely known that one prominent member of Leyland Motors, Ltd., was, up to a year or so ago, a Church of England clergyman and he appears to have adapted himself to the stress and turmoil of trade with lightning rapidity; on the other hand, a member of the Mann steam wagon concern has gone over to the ministry, so, at the time of writing, we are, as the golfers say, " all square " !
My friend, Mr. D. Elyard Brown, of the C.A.V. accumulators, began to thank me profusely during show week for the excellent notice we had given of their goods in our forecast. I looked at him apprehensively, because he possesses a fine satirical touch, and he went on to say, bitingly : " You put us amongst the " also ran."--4The advice of the CAN. exhibit came to hand after our forecast went to press.—ED. —Well, they received, as their accumulator deserved, better treatment later.
When in Yorkshire during last week, I was talking over the show question with Mr. McLeod, of the Leeds Motor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and the poor attendance at Olympia, and how the missionary work so necessary in connection with this industry could be furthered best, were the main topics. He suggested that the S.M.M.T. might establish a local secretary in every large town throughout the country to work up the interest and this led to a suggestion that local committees, not in every large town, but in most large centres such as Manchester, Birmingham. Bristol, Leeds, Sheffield, Glasgow, and the like might be formed. Everyone interested in the furtherance of the movement in and around these various centres might combine, appoint an honorary secretary, and meet regularly to exchange ideas and arrange local trials and tests to win over the horse users_ It is so palpable that tradesmen using three or four horses—millers, contractors, warehousemen, and others—were not attracted to the show; something must be done locally, and it seems to me that committees in the large centres, under the control of the S.M.M.T., will meet the case. Take Leeds for instance, as the subject was specially discussed there. We have : John Fowler and Co. (Leeds), Ltd., Thomas Green and Sons, Ltd., Joy's Filtrate, Joseph Kaye and Sons, Ltd., Leeds Motor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Mann's Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Co., Ltd., Rowland Winn and Co., Stagg and Robson, Selby,
Yorkshire Patent Steam.Wagen Here is the nucleus for a live committee, and I suggest that similar groups could be found in most of the centres. I invite correspondence on the question, if it is felt to be of interest.