THE FUTURE OF THE SUBSIDIZED LORRY.
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NOTHING, St) FAR as'I can learn, appears to have been announced as to the Government's intention with regard to subsidized transport of the future. It may, of course, be fairly confidently assumed that the requirements of the M.T., R.A.S.G. and of the R.A.E., so far as Mechanical transport is concerned, should be adequately provided for (luring the next two or three years, without the necessity of any further purchases. The position, at the present time, is a curious one. Before the war, the Government endeavoured to tempt commercialvehicle users throughout the country to acquire vehicles constructed by the principal makere in accordance with what was known as the "subsidy specification." The response was not a very -satisfactory one Users complained that the machines were too elaborate in some respects ;they were too heavy, and their load capacity was beyond what' was then, undoubtedly, the favourite model—the commercial three-tanner.
The Demand for Subsidy A.
Now the position is curiously reversed. People are literally clamouring for any and every type of lorry—and particularly for the type until lately delivered exclusively to the Government—the subsidy type A, which is now being disposed of quite satisfactorily as a commercial four-tonner. The pre-war criticisms, recalled above, are, nowadays, never heard, and, indeed, quite the most popular model is the demobbed "subsidy A." There is no longer any need for the Government to offer a purchase premium of 250 and a subsidy of 220 per annum to the user, who will put up with any inconvenience that might be supposed to accrue owing to his possession of a war-purpose machine. And, so far as holding such machines at the disposal of the Government "in case of national emergency" is concerned, our experience of our dear departed friend D.O.R.A. reveals no inability on the part of the-Powers-that-Be to take just what they want whenever they may want it, providing the need is a sufficiently plausible one.
Getting Away From Standard.
All this rather suggests that there is no longer any need for a subsidy scheme, but such a deduction would be a misleading one. Manufacturers up till now, that is to say the principal ones, but with a few exceptions, have been concentrating, on the production of war-timn models, for the obvious reason that in that, way alone could they expect to maintain an adequate output. But, there are already signs of growing disregard for the letter of the oiiginal subsidy specification. Radiators are being lowered, with corresponding modifications to engine top harper and adjustments to fan drives and water pipTs. Wheel-bases, overhangs and other cardinal
dimensions are being modified to suit all types of civilian coachwork. And this tendency will quite certainly extend apace in the absence of any Government Inducement to build and continue to build fully standardized chassis. By the, time the War Denartrnent is again a buyer on any considerable scale, if there is no effective subsidized model, there will again be very considerable divergencies between the productions Of the leading makers.
We Shall Always Have the M.T., R.A.S.C.
It may be urged that ,the necessities of the Great War, forced the Government to acquire huge quantities of non-subsidized mechanical transport, ranging from the A.E.C. to the Am.erican Rea, and that providing that the fleets purchased were sizable enough no harm whatever resulted. But, it must be conceded (and the more readily SO since the publication of Ludendorff's admissions with regard to the responsibility of those German authorities who kept him on such short commons so far as mechanical transport was concerned), that, short of universal disarmament—as to which I am. sceptical to the highest degree—Britain must net only have large standing fleets of standardized vehicles, but also the organization in being and the capacity for rapidly and at short notice increasing the available fleets of such interchangeable machines by mass-production methods.
For Overseas Governments.
To effect this, the Government can only hope to draw upon reserves of •etandardized transport by keeping a hold on it and paying for such option by retaining fees. The present state of affairs will not remain for any length of time, once manufacturers again get into their stride with regard to, full production and there remains no artificial stimulus to push the actual "subsidy types." There may, in the not distant future, be considerable orders placed for Government transport for our Overseas Dominions, and these would, of course, be required to Zonforni to British Army requirements in the main. Such models could be disposed of to herne users profitably, they would serve as something in the nature of a reserve and would, at any rate, ensure the -existence of patterns, d:es and jigs and other workshop aids to the rapid building up of further fleets in any emergency.
The Success of the Subsidy Type.
The subsidy specification -came in for a great deal of destructive, and a certain a-mount of uninformed, criticism before, the war. The using public did not care for it; they were' intolerant of Government inspection and suspicious of Government treatment in the event of impressment. But, it is a remarkable fact that it was the War Department model, and particularly the A type, built to carry a mihtary load of three tons, that gave, all-round the most satisfactory' service. No alteration of moment had to be made to these machines during the whole course of the years of war. But, it would obviously be idle to pretend that the vast great trials yielded no lesson, showed no direction in which improvement could be made. The authorities must be in a position mosvae days to hand out a tremendous amount of useful informat:on to the British industry. Statistics as to breakage and replacement should be made available. If this cannot conveniently be done by direct publication, a new War Department specification should at least contain most valuab!e lessons.
Wanted: An Official Report on M.T.
The industry as a whole deserves something of this sere There are few similar great trades where the practice of war can be made to indicate improvements for peace purposes. Submarine developments are likely to be of little use to the community, nor are those of monster artillery, poison gas, or even Tanks. A deal of uninformative statistical twaddle is nowadays being compiled about other phases of the war. It would be well if we could very early be told where the war lorry failed and how its successors might be improved. Surely that New Zealand " official report" points to the need of some such publication.