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By "The Extractor."
The Tale of the Tanks.
The exact story of the origin and development of the Tanks will probably not find its way into print until after the war. I should not be surprised if claims require to be established in the courts of law.
So far as I can gather, great minds seem to have been at work on the same idea simultaneously. Mr. Strait, of the Killen-Strait Tractor as early in the field
with his chain truck ; then I Co.,find Colonel Crompton making great efforts and demonstrating. with models,
but of an entirely different conception if r o m the present-day Tank, the name then being given as the Landslip. Fodens, of Sandbach, were approached with a view to the manufacture, but as their men were on strike at the time the undertaking was found to be impossible. Mr. (now Col.) Stern came.into iteat this
time with wonderful enthusiasm Meanwhile, another. great mind had all this while been rapidly perfecting
and constructing the Tank, which subsequently astonished the world at the Western Front on that eventful day in September, 1916. Mr. (now Sir) W. A. Tritton, the managing director of Wm. Foster and Co., Ltd., of Lincoln, by herculean efforts in the way of experiment and much expenditure of
• money had completed what was then described as a Centipede... Experiments were conducted in a comparatively cramped space at the rear of their works, secrecy being attained by the fixing of notices indicating that this was an ." explosion " area and by constant detonation of cordite. The ever-conservative Army authorities could not at first be induced to take interest in this unheard of Juggernaut, and it is to the everlasting credit of Mr. Winston Churchill, then at the Admiralty, 'that he ordered 50 of them to be proceeded with. -Mr. Tritton was in France superintending the preparation of the initial assault on the memorable day, and has been there many times since. He was subsequently knighted for his share in the work, and, whatever the claims may be Tor the invention of the Tank, the • fact stands out clearly, as I explained in a hurried note in our columns a fortnight ago, the patents stand
The late J.
' .Prom our
in his mime, •
"A Plague o' Both Your Houses.
It has turned out as I feared : the undertype steam wagon has found a poetic champion. He does not offer any apologies to the author of "A Perfect Day," hut it will be observed that he follows even more closely than thetchampion of the overtype the metre of that popular song.
A Perfect "Type."
When you come to the "typo" for a perfect day, And you read all that's written with thought, While the load cries out to be moved—then say To what end has your mind been brought'? Do you think when you end that perfect day
That the tonnage is still at the, dock,
When the sun goes down with a flaming ray, That the "type "was the cause of the shock?
Well, this now results from the thoughts of the day,. Near the end of a journey, t00, 048
That the "type " that is " under " can carry more hay, And earn better ‘! brass," which is true. For mem'ry has shown that the " overtype" fails With poor loads and back axle fines, While the " under " with six tons can go on the scales, And the driver can see the tram lines.
Discussion as to the relative Merits of Overtype versus Undertype will doubtless go on in this journal, but now that we have allowed this little rhythmic fling it may as well be stated that we will revert to prose once more.
Motor Fire Fighters.
Frequenters like myself of the Royal Shows, when they were held, will greatly miss Mr. Merry weather, whose funeral took paiLe recently. He was a pleasant familiar landmark, and the sketch on this page, furtively math when the show was held at Bristol in 1913, is characteristic.
In his earlier days he took an active part in fire fighting and in the invention of fire extinguishing appliances, and he was one of the first to adopt the motor fire engine. The development of the Merryweather concern in that direction was mainly due to his personal efforts.
Real Appreciation.
Was there ever such a band of brothers as the Arrol-Johnston agents? If so, I have never met them. Before the war, they were invited periodically to Dumfries to confer, sometimes with T. C. Pullinger, sometimes a select few actta ally co-opted for the time being to the Board of Directors, their opin-te ions being eagerly sought and, what
is more, acted upon. The junket hags, too, on these occasions in variably included a golf tournament
C. Merryweather. and some shooting over T.C.P.'s
Now comes a wonderful thing in this fourth year of war. Lowe, T.C.P.'s righthand man and long time friend, having been given a seat on the Board of Directors, the Arrol-johnston agents have declared their intention to proceed to Dumfries from various parts of the country on a date about the middle of January at their individual expense to congratulate Lowe personally on this mark of the directors' favour, and further—I hope I any not divulging plans prematurely—there is already a comfortable round sum subscribed amongst this nearly unique band to purchase something on which to inscribe Lowe's name and to indicate the affection and esteem in which he is held. So mote it be.
Corporation Taxicabs.
• I am asked why don't the corporations of provincial towns take over the taxicabs, fit them with containers, use the town gas, and provide a thor.7 oughly efficient service ? They control tramways and in some cases motorbuses, why not then taxicabs? But as I don't admire their control of the tramways I am not cure that I should appreciate their taxi methods.