From Our Berlin Correspondent.
Page 15
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Schi3necker Bros., in Bulhiy, purimse connecting the town (Mosel) and Ihe spa of Betrich by means c.tf motorbuses.
Electric Cabs for Dusseldorf.
A company has been formed at Diisseldorf to work electric matorcabs in the city. The vehicles will be known as " Debags," an appellation composed of the initials of the company's name : " Dusseldorfer Elektromobil-betriebsAktiengesellschaft." At present the rolling stock consists of a dozen cabs.
Improved Financial Results.
The financial results of the Motorwagen Gesellschaft Donauschingen (Baden) show an improvement for 1907 compared with those of foregoing Years, receipts having covered expenses. Some 4;150 has been carried forward for it.)08, but shareholders get nettling in the shape of dividends.
For Street-Cleansing Service.
I send photographs which show the vehicle just purchased by the Berliner Strassen-Reinigung (B.S.R.) in its open and closed states respectively. It is intended for the rapid transport of barrows, brooms, squeegees, and other implements used in cleaning Berlin's streets. The body can easily be removed and replaced by a water-tank, for laying dust. Its chassis is the ordinary, 5-ton-lorry type, fitted with a 4-cylinder engine of 18h.p„ which gives a top speed of 9.3 miles with full load.
German Transport Service's Reserve Officer Corps.
By Cabinet order dated 27th Janu
ary, 5 senior lieutenants and lieutenants of the reserve, who are engineers in their private capacity, have been attached to the motor-transport service (Verkehrstruppen). Thus this branch of the service, like all others,. has now its corps of reserve officers.
With respect to the recent vote of . .4.:40,000 in the Budget Commission of the Reichstag, for the acquisition and maintenance of self-propelled vehicles, this sum, I note, will not he expended solely in direct purchases of rolling stock for army purposes, but is also to be used as a fund for assisting communities to acquire vehicles which might be of use to the army in case of war. A Case of Veto.
As the Verein Deutscher Motorfahrzeug-lndustrieller has forbidden its members to take part in the commercial vehicle exhibition projected by the 'Vet-hand Berliner SpezialgeschUfte, the eventual materialisation of the show, which is scheduled for m 2th-24th February, appears somewhat doubtful.
Road Trains.
W. A. Th. Muller, formerly draughtsman at Siemens and Schuckert's, has set up on his own account and will pay exclusive attention to the construction of motor trains with " mixed " drive, as in the case ckf the Siemens and Sehuckert train which took part in the military manamyres in Posen. This train carried a dynamo, driven by a petrol engine, the current from the dynamo feeding elentromotors attached to the several vehicles in the train.
Germany's Foreign Trade.
During 1907, Germany imported 44 finished vehicles, weighing too tons and valued at 414,000 marks (-4:20,70o). The bulk came in under The lowest duty, namely, is marks per too kilos. (22o1h.). A weight of Igo Was N.t'a admitted as " returns '' free of duty. Switzerland and France did the lion's share of the business, the former getting in 46 tons and the latter 23 tons. Germany's exports in this line totalled 68o tons, or 249 complete vehicles, valued at 2,749,200 marks (..t37,46o). Great Britain was the chief customer with purchases reaching 309 tons, or over 45 per cent. of the entire. exports. I may, however, point out that, compared with 1906, Great Britain's purchases of German commercial automobiles fell off, From March ist (when the new German tariffcame into force) to the end of 1906, British purchasers were represented.ISKg56 tons; in other words, during ity'rt, Great Britain bought less by 146 tons than during the nine months of the preceding year. European Russia, Sweden, AustroHungary and the Argentine were Germany's next best customers in 1907, with 97, 18, 33, and 33 tons, respectively. The trade prospects here, other than for export, are not very healthy still, notwithstanding Governmental assistance in various directions.
"Item 18" of the Military Vote in the German Budget Commission.
Under " Item 18 " of the Military Vote of the Budget Commission of the German Imperial Parliament, the members voted for a sum of 1,S8o,751 marks 0,118,73 i marks more than last year !). to cover " acquisitions, plant, and experiments in the province of traffic-techides." Some of the members endeavoured to persuade War Minister vore Einem to suhinit without delay a Parliamentary paper on the item, but hepromised to do that next year. This. vote of 4:,...;94,038 will be spent in connection with purchases and trials of various types of automobiles and selfpropelled freight trains. This and other votes bear out the references on page382 of this volume.
A Bad Start.
The Norddeutsche Automobil-und
Motoren-Aktiengesellscha ft, Bremen,, finishes up the year 1906-7 With a deficit of 144,201 marks (4;7,2 io) on a capital of 2+ million marks. In ex-planation of this not very auspicious. beginning the directors observe : " Our second business year is really to be de-scribed as our building year since the first business year ' embraced only 41 months. Hence, against the' high general expenditure necessitated by the establishment of the works, there were no corresponding profits on production. The major portion of this. loss arose through the chief sale-room at Berlin, which we had taken over (in the form of the 'Krieger Automobit Aktiengesellschaft) on founding the' company. We reorganised this, in thesecond part of the past twelvemonth, and have reason to anticipate betterresults from it." Turning to the unfavourable state of the motor industry, the directors say : " This aff.t.!cts us less, as we have no vehicles in stock, and' have selected, in the building of commercial vehicles, a branch that wilI probably be less affected by the general' depression." In conclusion, the directors reveal the fact that they haveorders worth -4:15,000 on their books. The " pure electric " branch is developing particularly satisfactory, and the future is looked to with confidence.