OPINIONS FROM OTHERS.
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters should be on one side of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for views expressed is accepted.
Why Not Tell the Industry ?
TheEditor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,693] Sir,—In reference to the article in the issue of The Commercial Motor of September 23rd, entitled "Why not tell the Industry ' it occurs to me that there are many, like myself, demobilized work-. shop staff-sergeants who have had charge of maintenance and repair of large fleets of one or more makers' products, who could inform these particular manufacturers of practically every defect,. large or small, that occurred to their vehicles runnmg under abnormal conditions. Often many of these minor defects or alterations never became known to the authorities, as they were remedied on the spot by the mobile workshop unit concerned.
I myself could lay before the makers of two wellknown British vehicles practically every defect, big or little, that occurred during four and a half years close observation,-4thereby affording them much useful information, especially those who are building heavy vehicles for the Colonies and elsewhere.— Yours faithfully, DEM013ILIZED M.S.S.
The Railway Strike and Protection for the • Industry.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,694] Sir,—There is a point which arises out of the recent railway strike which to my mind.has not been emphasized as it shouldibe. I refer to the debt of gratituderwhich the community at large owes to the motor vehicle for having enabled" the country to survive what 20 years ago would have been a death-blow. Had it not beerefor the British motor industry, there is no possible doubt-that the country would have been completely paralysed. This applies particularly to the transport 01 foodstuffs and other essentials by commercial motors. .
I throw out the suggestion for what it is worth— that if Mr. Underwood and his committee were again to approach Sir Auckland Geddes with a view to the British commercial vehicle industry receiving some measure of protection, they would have a much stronger claim to consideration than before this deplorable strike took place. The country plainly owes a deep debt of gratitude to the British motor industry, and that debt should be paid.—Yours faithfully,
-DUNFORD AND ELLIOTT (SHEFFIELD), LTD. E. ST. CLAIR DUNCAN, London Sales Manager.
Who Pioneered the Agrimotor?
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,695] Sir,—I have observed in the issue df your journal dated September 39th an illustration of the Ivel tvactor with ,the inscription "England in 1902 pioneeredi theagrimotor." Whilst not wishing to detract in the slightest degree from the great pioneer work of my late esteemed friend Mr. Dan Albone, I think that it is only fair that the credit for the pioneer of motor farming should rest where it is rightly due. I have periodically foundat necessary to write to the Press and point out that the Scott agricultural motor, and with-the genuine self-lifting plough, too, was in existence and working before any of the later makers contemplated entering this industrial branch of, if not even the motor industry. The Agricultural Gazette said the late "Professor • Scott was the recognized pioneer of motor farming. In 1897, almost at the birth of the motor industry in this country, he instigated the actual manufacture." Whilst The Times stated "Professor Scott was a B52 pioneer in motor farming, and in 1899 exhibited the first practical motor for agricultural purposes at the Royal Agricultural Show at York." But, in one of the first numbers of The Commercial Motor, in 1905, you described him yourself as "the pioneer of motor
• farming." Need more be saidl
In craving the indulgence of your space for this little reminder of facts, may I give for my reason another, namely, the fact that the widely-read The Commercial Motor is looked upon as an authoritative record for the history of industrial motoring. Consequently any milestone which is, through an inadvertent oversight, incorrectly inscribed may prove not only a grave injustice to someone but also provide an error in the permanent record of progress.— Yours faithfully, J. MORSE' SCOTT.
The Need for Closer Co-operation in the Road Transport and Removal Business.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,696] Sir,—During the last few days of the railway strike I was busily engaged on the transport of foodstuffs in the neighbourhood of Swansea and Cardiff, and I frequently saw motor lorries running empty from different places where I was going empty for a, full load, and vice versa, some running empty to pick up milk from places where other .lorries were going full to return empty.
The same applies to our business in general. A concern in Cardiff, the other day, came,,clown to this district empty with a four-ton lorry, whilst I went empty to Cardiff for a load. Surely all this empty running and waste of time and petrol could be avoided if every carrying-company engaged in this line of business were to get into touch by 'phone with his fellow trader in the other town, and do a load each way whenever possible, instead of as at present. It would then be found possible to cope with longer journeys than at present to advantage.—Yours faith fully, JOSEPH PREECE.
P.S.—I should like to see a list compiled of all road transport contractors and removers in various towns, at a fee of, say, 5s. per year each.
Overcoming Waste Journeys.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,697] Sir,—I have been a reader of The Times for some years and during that time I have kept an eye on the sections devoted to small advertisements. Much information can be obtained from their perusal, and a sign of the times which I noted recently was the new section devoted to mechanical road transport. In this section motor transport is requested for freights, and freights for motor transport, and the way in which the number of these advertisements has grown within a few days is a remarkable proof of the expansion of mechanical road transport. I consider that the proprietors of The Times are to be congratulated on instituting these special advertisements, which ought to' prove of the greatest assistance to both the motor trader and to those who use motor vehicles in connection with their business. The Times has set an example which it would 'be well for other influential daily papers to follow. By placing the man with the lorry into touch with the man with the load, the difficulty with regard to the present-day scarcity of transport will be, to a great extent, obviated, as vehicles will not have to perform idle journeys in order to pick up loads at a dieta,nce.—Yours faithfully, Winche st