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 re,served, and no responsibility for views expressed is accepted.
Resilient Tyres and Unsprung Weight. •
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2,090] Sir,—Your correspondent " C.M.L." says that" when I se Ti the London buses fitted With shockabsorbing tyres I shall be only too pleased to withdraw my remarks.'
I have recently noticed Maeintosh-N.A.P. tyres are being used on Landoll buses. Are not these shockabsorbing tyres
I asked the driver of one bus so fitted how he found them, and his replywas " Thumbs up! "—with a very
broad smile.—Yours faithfully, W.G.
Are More Powerful Brakes Required?
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2,091] Sir,—The letter of Mr. Thomas G. Parsons. on the above subject in the issue of The Commercial Motor for January 16th is very interesting as it is evidently based on some unpleasant experiences on some of the hills he mentions on the Dover road and in Devon.
• The only thing that surprise.s me is that more atteneion has not been given to the subject of' powerassisted brakes, especially to the brakes of trailers, as the usual. trailer brake is, as Mr. Parsons says, not reliable. That a thorough remodelling of trailer(' brakes should be considered, few who have had experience in the matter will deny. Mr. Parsons is evidently considering the matter from the steam point of view, which is rather different from that of the petrol lorry. I notice that he considers the ordinary Westinghouse brake superior to the special type of brake-operating mecha.nism devised for use on motor vehicles by the Westinghouse Brake and Saxby Signal Co., fad., and described in your issue of January 2nd, which he considers too complicated. It would be interesting to hear that the Westinghouse Co.. have to say in the matter. Both brakes having come out of the same stable, they should be the best judges of which is the more suitable for lorry work on the road. The use of a fluid such as oil, or air, is particularly suitable for trailers and six wheelers, on account of the flexibility of the pipe connecting the two parts which form the whole.
Mr. Parsons and the Westinghouse Co. consider the diaphragm more suitable than a piston. I cannot agree with this point, however. The point in favour• of the diaphragm seems to be that it cannot leak and that it requires no attention. A piston, fitted with rings and having a cup leather behind it, should not leak, especially when used with oil as a.mediten. As the piston is used to push and not to pull, there is no need for a stuffing box, so I do not see where any trouble should come in. Once made properly, there should be no leak or any need for attention. With a diaphragm, things are different, as, no matter of what material the digc is made, its life will be limited, as no material can he domed and straightened continually without a certain amount of disintegration taking place in its particles, which will one day result in it, giving out and allowing the fluid within to escape. This would, in all probability, happen on some very severe hill. when an unusual strain had to lie put upon the diaphragm.
It is true that the diaphragm should be renewed from time to time, but the question is, would this-ever be done l Withacommereial motors, the rule seems to be that things are attended to when they cease to work, and that few fleet managers will remove any component part and renew it while it still has any life left in it.
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The system described and illustrated in The Cons. mercial Motor of January 9th, in which a valve is closed against the pressure of fluid and SO diverts the flow to the brake cylinders, .seems to me to have the great advantage that the driver can feet, by the pressure he is applying to his lever' what degree of pressure he is exerting on the brakes, and so can judge what, he is doing without having toe look at a pressure gauge. Any system to be successful should be extremely simple. I see. no need to complicate a brake system with any device which would automatically apply a brake on either tractor or trailer in the case of a breakaway of the trailer. All that is required is some -development of the extremely simple plan, shown in that same artiele, in which a couple of brake shoes are held off the front wheels of the trailer by the uplifted draw bar, the brakes being applied automatically should the drawbar drop.—Yours faithfully,
The Projected. Haulage Trade Association
. The Editor, TFIE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2,092] Sir,--We have read with, interest the article in your issue of January 9th, respecting the proposed formation of a Haulage Trade Association.
We haye ourselves, through the columns of another publication, urged the crying need for a Contractors' Council, but the inadequate response proves either that road contractors, as a body, have not fully gauged the dangers of the present position or are still too sitspicious of one another to make common cause against those dangers. The latter is the mere, probable case, and if you are able to succeed where so many others have failed, You win have earned the gratitude of all who desire to see road transport put on the footing its Usefulness in industry warrants.
We are of opinion that the salvation of the road industry must come from the road contractors themselves. With their united endeavours, there would be no need for clearing-houses at all, and the money now being diverted into that channel could be used in the furtherance, of the desirable objects set forth in the article under review. Our experience teaches -us that 90 per cent. of the _insane rate-cutting of to-day is due to clearing-houses exploiting the small Man or owner-driver.
However, the need for action is so urgent and the economies possible. through . co-operation so patent, that we should he prepared to support anY scheme which would tend to the stabilification of rates, and would urge every firm desirous of seeing this brought about to notify their readiness to take part in the preliminary discussions which must take place before any really definite scheme can be formulated.—Yours faithfully, ALLIED TRANSPORTS, LTD., R. JOHNSON, Chief Traffic Manager. Aston, Birmingham.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2,093] Sir,—With reference to the recent aticle in The Commercial Motor re the formation of a Haulage Trade Association, personally I was very interested in reading the article, and I, for one, would certainly welcome such an association. I take it that it would include all classes of haulage contractor. I mention this because, at the present time in my district we have rate-cutting going on in furniture removing. I will quote in instance of a " one-man " business (with two or three lorries). The con tractor charges at the into of less than lse per mile ; in fact, it is public information that he recently undertook a MIinoval of 166 miles for 28.. The lorry employed was 5--ton box van. In addition to this, he haS been heard to remark that, if other contractors cut their rates, he will cut his still finer. 'What can you do in a case like that? Needless to say, he is not an ex-Service man, otherwise we think that the Army life would have taught. him the old motto of "Live and let live."
Well, Sir, being a regular reader of The Commercial Motor, • but only in a small way of business, I should he pleased to join an association for the protection of the haulage business.
Wishing the project every success.—Yours faith
fully, W. G. STONERA31.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2094].Sir,—I regret that, at present, you have not. found it possible to publish my letters to you of December 28th, 1922, and January 2nd, 1923, on the topic of clearing-houses, and sincerely hope you will permit a few observations on the article by " The S'kotch " appearing in Tire Commercial Motor of January 9th.. I have no axe to grind ; it is simply my post-bag which encourages me to write, otherwise I can ill afford the time.
Regarding the proposal for a Haulage Trade Association, I wish to say that, although admirable in principle, it is, unfortunately, impracticable. First, approximately 90 per cent, of the long-distance traffic is controlled by clearing-houses, and I am positive the average present-day clearing-house could not join the association, simply because they could not work their establishments on anything like a 10 per cent. commission basis, which is not only desirable' but absolutely necessary in the interests of the hauliers. It is obvious to me that "The Skotch." does not realize how few clearing-houses now run their concerns on the basis of 10 per cent, commission. It would also appear to me that "The Skotch "has been misinformed as to the inner working of clearinghouses. Even with illegitimate revenue and additional capital, some are insolvent, and I fear that before very long a number of unfortunate hauliers will have heard of " voluntary " liquidations, and of the "taking over" by concerns the sole interest of which lies in the use of vehiclesof another type and of recent introduction. With many of the present-day clearing-houses, their business has been a gamble pure and simple, and their presence in a Haulage Trade Association would be impossible from all points of view. "The Skotch " says "the. municipally run clearing-houses would not join the association." There is only one and I suggest that it is the one which would be most likely favourably to consider joining.
Secondly, even supposing the clearing-houses could he satisfactorily enrolled. I fear—in fact, I am sure— that the minority of hauliers who would not join such an association would be sufficient to cripple its effective working; and, thirdly, the commercial public, generally speaking, would not support it. Many traders undoubtedly would, but a big percentage would fear a "monopoly." It is the minorities in each case which would prove the stumbling block, and I am convinced that any attempt at organizing which leaves out the support of the trader is hopeless. If over the road transport industry is to be on a really satisfactory basis, this can only come about by the combined co-operation of trader, haulier, and clearing-house, and, in the meantime, the shortest, . quickest, and only effective way to eliminate the illegitimate clearing-houses--the source of at least 95 per cent, of the present trouble—is to boycott them. I suggest that the illegitimate clearing-houses are wide awake to the possibility of such a contingency, and are making frantic efforts to dispense, ,so far as possible in the near future, with _the services of the present-day haulier by " forming " their own fleets. How much longer is the present-day haulier going to tolerate such treatment l'—Yours faithfully,
WALTER GAMMONS,
Motor Taxation.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR,
[2095] Sir,—Mr. Matthew Keating,. writing from the Royal Automobile Club as an ordinary member, might well have consulted the experts or officials of the R.A.C. before he rushed into print on the subject of motor taxation. It is well known that the Royal Automobile Club executive has unanimously adopted the petrol tax after thorough inquiry as being the only fair and logical basis of motor taxation. They have undoubtedly been able to study the matter more carefully than Mr. Keating. The one point brought forward by Mr. Keating in his attack upon the petrol tax is, in reality, an old bogey, invented by various, interests which, from the most selfish motives, do not want to see the petrol tax introduced.
It is averred by Mr. Keating that if a petrol tax be imposed, an additional id. per gallon will be added ley the oil companies to pay them for financing the duty and carrying out the clerical work involved. For many years past the oil companies have been in thehappy position of charging what they wish for petrol, and to-morrow, if they desired, they could increase the price by 6d. a gallOn and charge another penny for the trouble they were put. to in counting the extra money. But, as a matter of fact, the price of petrol has fallen by several pence recently, and this not on account of any philanthropic ideas, but for the simple reason that, at the prevailing high prices, the public Were not buying as freely as they might. That is the great weapon of self-defence possessed by the motor-using 'public. When petrol pries are abnormally high, the consumption decreases, and the oil companies are left with embarrassingly large stocks. If, on the introduction of a petrol tax, the oil companies were so stupid as to add yet another penny to the price, they would be stifling their own business. Sales would languish and stocks would accumulate. Thus, Mr. Keating's fears about an extra penny being imposed are utterly groundless. By the year 1924 we shall have more firms engaged in petrol production,and, whether they are trusts or combines, they must get rid of their stocks rapidly. Last year the slackening off of public demand forced the. oil trusts to reduce prices. The old economic rule of supnly and demand still applies. As Sir John Cadman recently pointed out, there are absolutely no grounds for the wild-cat theories that petroleum supplies are in danger of exhaustion. On the contrary, there are numerous indications that the petrol market in 1924 will be even more plentifully supplied than it is now. Far kora the petrol tax imposing any new burden on the motorist, it will relieve him from the intolerable load which is now such a serious impediment to the motor trade and to the motor transport of this country.
Even in the unlikely event of Mr. Keating's fears being realized, there still would be a set-off to the benefit of the consumer against the so-called cost of " financing " the duty. Under the scheme for petrol taxation which has been submitted to the Government by nearly. all the motor organizations of Great Britain, the user would "pay as he goes." Under the present system the bulk of the revenue is paid, whether the roads are used or not, during the first few months of the year. In 1922 motor taxation yielded a sun' approaching £11,500,000, no less than £8,000,000 of which amount was collected in the first three months. "Money makes money," and it would have been a substantial advantage to the motor user if through motor spirit taxation, the payment of that huge sum had been spread over twelve months.
The present taxation benefits the abnormal mileage interests at the expense ofall other users. That is why all the motor organizations except those which are dominated by the few biggest users are demanding that the bulk of the required revenue shall be collected through a motor spirit duty.—Yours faith
fully, F. S. BENNETT.