Opinions from Others.
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The Commercial Motor Users Association : A Possible Solution to the Road Problem and Many Others.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,312] Sir,—I have had an opportunity, recently, of gauging the sentiments of those who represent road interests regarding mechanical traction. The chief impression, which several interviews have left on my mind, is that, if road users and road makers would only exchange views more freely, the road problem would soon assume a less-terrifying aspect. Each side, at present, feels it has a grievance against the other, but fails to recognize that the grievance is mutual.
Now, whilst I have always maintained that the road authorities have been caught napping in respect of the rapid growth of motor transport, I unfortunately have to admit that—in some cases at any rate —we heavy motorists have, by systematically ignoring the regulations respecting the axle-weights of our machines, not given the road authorities a chance. The officers feel we are not " playing the game," and must therefore protect their roads from extraordinary damage by taking extreme measures, however much they may regret having to do so.
Manufacturers are, no doubt, the major offenders in this respect, for they are thoroughly conversant with all the regulations concerning the use and construction of heavy motorcars, whereas the purchaser is as often as not blissfully ignorant of the subject. Under these circumstances, manufacturers do not hesitate to sell their machines to carry weights which they know to be quite illegal : they send machines out, guaranteed to perform a quantity of work in a „day which makes it impossible for the drivers to keep 'within the limits prescribed either for weight or speed. In fact, as you, Sir, are aware, several types of heavy motors at present on the road are known by the authorities to be illegal for the weights they are sold to carry, or for the speed which is painted upon them. The users of such machines learn only too late that they must either content themselves with running the vehicle at a loss, or accept the risk of prosecutions. They generally prefer the latter. Users of heavy motors are not entirely without blame in the matter, for, in several cases within my own knowledge, businesses owe their success almost wholly to the fact that legal weights have been shamefully exceeded. All this is bad, absolutely. it will not and cannot last interminably, and it will have to be made good, at a high figure, by motor users, if it is allowed to continue.
The day is not far distant. when the Local Government Board will be called upon to decide what is fair and just, as between the motor user and the road maker, and it is foolish to place such damning evidence in the hands of those who will have to sneak on behalf of the roads. Why, then, are such exceptional cases of abuse (for they are excentional) allowed to continue, and to damage the good repute of we motor users as a body ? Commercial motor users, unfortu nately, have not yet organized their representative body on the necessary scale to protect them from internal and external abuse. There is, certainly, the C.M.U.A., of which I am a member, formed for that purpose, supported by the leading owners and mem bers of the industry, but it has, up to the present, been run on such meagre lines that nothing hut the good intentions of its organizers can be really taken into serious account. That fact, of course, points to inexcusable lethargy on the part of the majority of owners, who will not move—even to sign a two-guinea cheque—until trouble stares them in the face. If any proof of these statements be required, it is furnished by the fact that its income for ordinary expenditure for the past year was only £317 16s. 9c1_, out of which more than half was necessarily absorbed in administrative expenses. Now, what use can gloe per annum be towards protecting the interests of commercial motor users ? This, I repeat, shows a deplorable lack of support, by owners and by the industry, for an association which is set up to assist in its development, and, at the same time, it does not reflect too highly upon the intelligence of its executive in wasting their time trying to accomplish anything worth doing, without their first providing themselves with the means necessary for action.
To alter this state of things may prove more difficult to perform than to write about, but there are certain facts which suggest possibilities. Firstly, then, 300 odd members represent far too small a proportion of the whole to form the membership ; others must be induced to join, and canvassing to be effective must be personally performed. Secondly, a fund must be started to form a nucleus for undertaking the work on a serious basis : this might be raised by obtaining promises of donations, apart from annual subscriptions from manufacturers, users, and allied traders, over a period of years. The money thus raised, or a part of it, would require to be invested, and a capital sum created which would ensure a reasonable income to the society, or serve as a reserve fund-from which to meet exceptional calls made upon it, at .buch times as the interests of commercial motor users were specially threatened. Thirdly, the subscriptions of members must be raised to not, less than three guineas per year as a minimum, and a guinea a machine would not be an extravagant sum for the work the society might perform in return. Fourthly, the organization must be decentralized in part, district committees being formed to encourage local interest, and to deal at first hand with local requirements. Fifthly, the associationshould offer amongst other advantages of membership : (a) A district solicitor, who should undertake all legal cases on behalf of its members, with discretion to advise members what course to adopt, a proportion of the cost of the same to be borne by the member—except where the association specially decided otherwise ; (b) road inspectors, to patrol the roads, to note the working of police traps and to check distances, etc., to report on roads which appeared to be suffering unduly from heavy motor traffic and to suggest alternative routes, and to keep a strict eye on the manner in which drivers perform their work, whilst these inspectors might further be empowered to check weights, carried on motors, and, in cases of gross overloading to report to the association.
The above are only two principal methods by which the association, if properly financed and supported, might make itself a living force amongst motor users, protecting the industry from abuse and gradually building up a reputation for itself and its members which would protect them from a great deal of worry and annoyance. The result of such action would undoubtedly be welcomed by all road authorities, who would recognize that we were taking some steps to protect their roads from abuse. In fact, every step which motor users take towards protecting their industry from abuse is money put into their own pockets in the future, and, if the Commercial Motor Users Association is only placed in a financial position to act with energy, it should prove itself an organization of incalculable value in removing the stumbling blocks which beset the path of the commercial motor user, the road authority and—last, but not least—the unhappy ratepayer, who at present has to pay for the mistakes of both.—Yours faithfully, A NORTH-COUNTRY MEMBER.
A Central Research Laboratory.
The Editor, THE CommincIAL MOTOR.
[1,313] Sir,—Many will welcome your suggestion for mitigating the pestering to which commercial men and managers are subjected by inventors, patentees and introducers of new appliances and devices. An invention that would, without undue expense, immunize the busy manufacturer, intent on making something more than mere profits, from the plaints and protestations of the inventor, provide for the investigation of his failures, the fair trial of his pet devices and protect his confidences, would find commercial application the day it was protected.
A central research laboratory for motor manufacturers is an ideal, and it would therefore be a speculation. It is one " form" in which this invention may be carried out ; it is, indeed, the form we hope some day to see, but I question whether it is the one best suited to present commercial conditions. Speaking from an experience of 15 years uninterrupted research work, I am more and more convinced that the closer research work is associated with University means the better. This requires either transference of as much of the "University means" as possible to the site of the problem, or transference of the problem to the midst of the University and its means. Some problems are best and most-cheaply solved by the former, others by the latter method. Examples of the former are known to most: it is the method that finds most favour in Germany, and involves attaching a university man, trained in research, to one's staff, and the equipment of a laboratory. The latter method was suggested by Professor Kipping, at the 1908 meeting of the British Association, but it has been practised more in America than in this country. There, the industry or corporation interested endows a Temporary Research Scholarship or Fellowship at some university. This system is at work at the University of Illinois, where there are several scholarships ranging from $250 to $500, in Michigan, where there is one for gas research and one for pharmaceutical research, and at the University of Kansas, where, under the enthusiastic guidance of Professor R. K. Duncan, the scheme has been in successful operation for five years.
One instance (cited by the "Saturday Evening Post," 4th February, 1911) will suffice to illustrate the operation of this system at Kansas. Casein is one of the most-important constituents of milk. In a solid form, it is largely used in the printing of calico, in paper-making, in the making of glue and in many other processes of manufacture. The great source of this casein was skimmed milk, but, for some time, skimmed milk has gone more and more to the pigs. From butter-milk, the casein could not be extracted, so butter factories turned it—in one case, at the rate of 40,000 gallons per day— into the sewers. Then, Professor Duncan was consulted by the president of this factory, "Pay $500 a year for two years to the University of Kansas for the endowment of a fellowship in industrial research," he. said, " and I will select a man to go to work on the problem of making that butter-milk pay you a profit. He may not be successful, but he will have my aid, and all the facilities of our laboratories in working at the problem. The right to use anything he discovers shall belong to you exclusively for three years, provided you pay hint 10 per cent, of the. gross profits from its operation, or make other satisfactory arrangements with him, subject. to our approval. At the end of three years, a full account of his work shall be published and made public by the University. Meantime, you may protect yourself, if you please, by taking out patents. You must give the man I select all the information in your possession, and all the aid in your power. He must have the right to come into your plant, to make such experiments as he pleases, and to the end of the fellowship he shall remain
under my exclusive direction. If any dispute arises, the Chancellor of the University shall decide between us as to all matters of fact." What has been the result'? Six months before his fellowship was over, the research man chosen had perfected a process for obtaining pure casein. The owners of the creamery have organized a company for the manufacture of this product on a large scale, the inventor has been given 10 per cent. of the stock in the corporation, and is employed to supervise the work at. a comfortable salary.
The foreping example was, of course, chemical work, but the ability to carry a research to a successful conclusion is not limited to chemists, nor to our American cousins, and the problems given on page 460 of TEE COMMERCIAL MOTOR of the 9th February, 1911, are worthy of the steel of graduates and research men, and of the interest of professors of en
gineering, physics or chemistry. Attacked on the lines of the casein, some or all of the problems should yield profitable results, and incidentally train and fit men for responsible posts in the future central research laboratory.—Yours faithfully,
Coventry. HENRY L. HEATECOTE.
Patents and Research: is the Inventor or the Manufacturer the More Blameworthy?
The Editor, TILE COMMNRCIAL MOTOR.
[1,314] Sir,--You will probably quote to me that saying of a famous Greek sculptor, which implies that critics should not venture outside their own particular "line," but, nevertheless, I should like to endorse most heartily your very pertinent and forceful remarks concerning the uselessness of patents, and the need for an experimental laboratory. Ruelyard Kipling, in his own inimitable manner, has given us a picture of the typical inventor, "who talks loudly about his inventions, and secretes portions of them in his clothing" ("A Germ Destroyer," in " Plain Tales from the Hills.") The average inventor is always wanting to show off his inventions to all and sundry. To make matters worse, he will talk about them too. Thus, he is not only a fool, but a nuisance into the bargain. I am a bit of an inventor myself, so I know. To my mind, the most curious thing about inventors is that, in spite of almost-daily illustrations in the courts to the contrary, they insist on believing that as soon as they have obtained, as you have admirably put it, "the Patent Office's hallmark," they are immediately iFoing to gain great riches, A rude awakening is their lot.
After some four years' experience of a "patent counsel's chambers," my humble opinion is that the obtaining of a patent is usually the precursor of a great deal of expense, worry and trouble to the patentee— that is, if his invention has any value. The fact is that the laws of no country, least of all those of England, give any real protection to an inventor who is not backed up by a large capital and prepared to incur heavy legal expenses. It is very difficult to see how the laws could be altered to give further protection, but, at the same time, there can be practically no doubt that the " poor " inventor, if he stands alone, has very-little chance of ever reaping any benefit from his invention. He is unable to bear the cost of going to law, and therefore his invention, if it is a good one, is freely pirated by infringers. At the same time, if the process, which, for want of a better term, I may call "inventing," is considered as a commercial and an economic proposition, either by an individual or a firm possessing plenty of the "sinews of war," and ready to use the same in legal battles if necessary, the taking-out and keeping-up of patents may become quite a profitable business.
I have a stone to throw at British manufacturers. As I have said above, inventors are often quite foolish, ridiculous, and unreasonable people. But manufacturers, in this country anyhow, are frequently too conservative, too content with "the old way of doing things," and, may I whisper it, too lazy
even to take the trouble to look-,at anything new. In this connection, 1 should like to recommend those of your readers who are interested in the subject to read Lord Justice Fletcher Moulton's judgment, in a case which was before the Court of Appeal on Thursday and Friday, the 9th and 10th February. The name of the case was Gill v. Stone, and I have no doubt it will be duly reported IR the reports of patent eases. In this case, a very-clever gentleman had occupied a position which, said his Lordship, "he regretted was only too rare in this country, though common enough in Germany and America, viz., that of inventor to the company." The learned Lord Justice went on to instance the aniline-dye industry in Germany, and the engineering industry in America, where, he said, " Men were employed by the large companies to devote their whole time, literally to inventing,' for the benefit of the company, all the expenses being borne by the firm, and the inventors being rewarded by having a share in the patents taken out, and in the profits gained by the sale of the patented articles:His Lordship expressed his regret that it was the exception rather than the rule to find English firms employing inventors in this manner, although, he said, "that, generally speaking, inventors could not be allowed to have any part in the management of the business, but had to be organized as a separate department, since, otherwise, they were continually trying to make improvements, and so brought chaos into the shops."
Now, I venture to submit, that, if inventors are often unreasonably optimistic about their inventions, manufacturers on the other hand are frequently unduly pessimistic. To refuse to look at an inventor's device, and later on, if it should turn out to be a success, to attempt to "pirate it," is not only morality of a distinctly "commercial type," but it is really false economy. " Poor " inventors and manufacturers should be allies, not enemies. It is a great pity, that, as things stand at present, their relations towards
one another are more frequently hostile than amicable. If your proposed laboratory for research would do anything to alter this regrettable situation, which to my mind constitutes nothing less than a serious slur on the commercial and industrial side of our civilization, it would accomplish a very great
work.—Yours faithfully, E. W. S.
Shows at Manchester.
[The following letters are is response to inquiries by VS anent 'Views upon the retent show at Manchester. Others will orpeer next week . —En.] The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,3151 Sir,—In our opinion, at all events so far as commercial motor vehicles are concerned, we believe that exhibitions are an unnecessary expense and interference with the normal course of business. Our exhibits at the North r of England Motor Show received a considerable amount of attention, but we do flat think that any business was influenced which would not otherwise have come to us.
If shows are held in the future, we shall no doubt feel bound to exhibit at them, but we shall only be too pleased if this form of publicity is abandoned by the commercial motor industry.—Yours faithfully,
THE LACRE MOTOR CAR CO., LTD.
London. CLAUDE BROWNE, Managing Director.
The' Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
Lt,316] Sir,—Considering that the North of England Motor Show is to all intents and purposes a light car show, and that, having regard to the precedent set by previous shows, and to the fact that Manchester is the centre of a very large population in
terested more or less directly in commercial motor transport, and that the space allotted to the commercial motor exhibitors is totally inadequate, the business done has been very satisfactory.
A meeting of the commercial vehicle exhibitors was held during the Show, at which resolutions were passed to the effect that every member of the Society being a commercial vehicle manufacturer should have a representative on the heavy vehicle section of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and also that the articles of Association should be so altered that representation of the Commercial Vehicle Section on the Council of the Committee of Management should be very largely increased ; in fact, that the Society should be so reorganized and that the Commercial Vehicle Section form half of the whole body.
It appears to us that as there is no hall in Manchester sufficiently large to accommodate a comprehensive exhibit both of pleasure cars and commercial motors, it would clearly be a better policy to hold two shows annually, that is to say, if it is considered by the light car section that there is any advantage from their point of view in having a show in the Provinces at all.—Yout's faithfully,
p.p. LEYLAND MOTORS, LTD, T. PHILLIPS-Cox-14, Assistant Secretary.
Leyland.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,317] Sir,—With reference to the North of England Motor Show just completed at Manchester, we may say that the business results have been good. We have booked a number of orders during the Showweek, and inquiries for all sizes of " Karrier " ears have been very numerous. We think it was a pity that there were not more commercial vehicles exhibited, and no doubt if the London Show had been cancelled somewhat sooner other makers would have taken space.
There are arguments both for and against the holding of a separate show for commercial vehicles next year in Manchester, but we think that all things considered the combined show is the better plan, as, at the present time, when a good deal of pioneer work has still to be done in the commercial vehicle industry, the public are first attracted to a show by the pleasure car exhibits, and then become interested in the heavy side of motoring_ We do not say that separate shows will not eventually become necessary, but, for next year at any rate, we think that, with somewhat-more consideration given to the commercial vehicle exhibitors, a combined show will be in the best interests of all concerned.
One other point in our judgment, the 2s. 6d. days were not a success, and they do not appear to be required at the North of England Show in future.— Yours faithfully,
CLAYTON AND Co. HUDDERSFIELD: LTD.
Huddersfield. R. F. CLAYTON, Director.