News and Comment.
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This journal is extensively read by the heads of many wealthy commercial houses.
"One Hears" will be found on page 217. No fewer than 43 of them were found on the Editor's desk last Tuesday.
The Edison battery for roadtransport applications is now being introduced commercially in Great Britain. See pages 226 and 227.
Rubber Tires for Tractors.
A further letter, from the Polack Co., will be found (page 228) amongst this week's " Opinions from Others."
Leyland v. Leylani.
The account of our petrol v. steam test, with vehicles of common origin, is continued and concluded on pages 214-216. No road test of this particular nature has been undertaken before.
The Parade Report.
Less than a fortnight remains before this year's rnotorvan parade will be over. Fully-illustrated reports will appear in our issue of the 30th inst.
A general notice to drivers is printed on page 213.
Topical Subjects.
Our leading articles this week deal with the following topical subjects: (1) "The uncommercial War Office and its want of touch with commercial motor users ; " (2) "Attack upon commercial motoring: an urgent call to owners to join the Users' organization ; " (3) "Improved conditions for western traffic to and from London, and their bearing upon the food supply of Londoners ; " (4) "'Why motorvans are selling well ; " and (5) "L.C.C. tramcars : a correction." 27th May. Sixth Annual C.M.U.A. Parade and Prize Distribu.lion in London. Grosvenor Road, Westminster, between Westminster and Vauxhall Bridges. Time 10 a.m. to I p.m. Vehicles to arrive by 9.30 a.m.
2nd to 5th 1 Royal Agrieuttural Show at Don
July. f caster.
10th to 20th Canadian industrial Exhibition at July Y Winnipeg.
" The Commercial Motor" is the authority on motor transport, the only journal officially recognized by the Commercial Motor Users Association, carrying a larger number of advertisement pages than any other similar journal and having by far the largest genuine net sale weekly—i.e., the total number of copies bought by nbscribers and the interested public.
In view of the foregoing facts, statements of a similar stature made elsewhere can be disregarded.
An L.C.C. Effort.
The reply of the L.C.C. to the R.I.A. memorial is a weak effort, viewed as a pro-tramcar document. It furnishes valuable evidence to support the ease for the motorbus, in that the lesser percentages of unoccupied seats are confirmed by L.C.C. observations. It also seeks to establish a direct ratio, on the basis of occupied and unoccupied seats reckoned tcgether, between tramcars and motorbuses., without any reference to the factors of speed and obstructiveness. We hope the R.I.A. will promptly use the figures now published to show the hollowness of the L.C.C. pleas. A good step would be a few counts of tramcars and motorbuses per mile of route, with records, for each, of : (a,) the occupied seats ; (b) the idle seats; (c) the route-length occupied by the vehicles. The higher efficiency of the motorbus, measured in seats over the road per hour, coupled with lesser obstructiveness, could then be made clear.
Another Hound.-Van.
Sir George Bullough has a wellfinished 30 h.p. Laere hound-van. We illustrate the vehicle, from a photograph taken outside the kennels at Ledbury. The capacity is 25 couples of hounds, all on one deck. A convenient ramp is formed by the lowering of the door at the back, and we may state that the interior is lined with perforated zinc. Access from the driver's end is obtained by a sliding door, which allows of constant supervision.
A Check on Trackless Trolleys. We hope that the S.M.M.T. was in part responsible for the decision, on the 7th inst., by Standing Committee B of the House of Commons to amend a new Bill, which is to continue and amend the Light Railways Act of 1896.
We observe that, by 19 votes to 15, the Committee adopted amendments under which promoters of trackless-trolley undertakings will be required to pay the cost of highway alterations or improvements rendered necessary by the tracklesstrolley system, and to make a contribution towards the cost of maintaining the highways.
First Out.
" First out with all the news " is a catch phrase of the house which publishes THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR. That represents a programme which we always endeavour to ful fil. We have recently published, amongst other exclusive items or news : the complete draft specification for the W.O. 1912 subsidy scheme ; the new Renault programme ; the first illustrated descriptions of the Diirr floatless carburetter. the " Easyweigh " hydraulic jack, the St. Pancras-type S.M. steam wagon, the Currie autonorter, the Napier one-tonner, the Vienna electrobus. the Sirnonis as bubble fire-extincteur, the C.M.B. electric-battery chassis, and the N.A.G. street washer. In addition, a number of exclusive road tests have been conducted.
Canada and Mongolia are amongst the overseas territories from which orders for Argyll commercial vehicles have been received during the past week.
Consumption Figures.
In connection with the summary of data which was included in an article in our issue for the 25th April, dealing with a day's work on a 5-too steel-tired steam wagon, certain data have since come to our notice which necessitate revision of the water consumption result which was then quoted. The corrected figure should be 16.6 lb. of water per net ton-mile. The fuel consumption, speeds, weights and
other data are unaffected by this alteration.
Government Contracts.
The following tenders have been accepted during the past month by the Government Departments named. India Office, Store Department : —Motorcars, Lloyd and Plaister: road rollers, Marshall, Sons and Co. Crown Agents for the Colonies —Motor lorries, J. I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd.; road roller, Aveling and Porter, Ltd. : motor road roller, Barford and Perkins Led. ; steam motor, etc., Tasker and Sons Ltd. ; steam wagon and spares, Fodens Ltd. General Post Office :— Motor mail services in London, Thomas Tilling. Ltd.
Winnipeg Trials.
The Ca 11;1 d ia,n industrial Exhibi. tion, at Winnipeg, between the 3rd arid 20th July next, will include contests for agrimotors. The full conditions, supplied by our own correspondent in Winnipeg, are in the hands of the Editor, who will be pleased to furnish details to any likely competitor. We do not reproduce the conditions for the trials, owing to lack of space, and with a knowledge that copies of them have probably been sent to the leading British manufacturers. The conditions generally follow those of last year, with certain small but useful changes, and entries must be lodged by the 1st prox., addressed to Mr. A. W. Bell, Winnipeg, Mau.