The Wheels of Industry.
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"The wheel of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever points arising, as a carnage is by the roughness of the roads overwhich it runs."--John Beattie Crozier
Proposals and Purchases by Local Authorities.
The Stratford-on-Avon R.D.C. wishes to obtain delivery of trailerwagons.
Bradford Corporation has applied for L.G.B. sanction to a loan of 23700 for electrics.
The acting clerk to the Sevenoaks U.D.C., Mr. K. J. Bailey, wishes to receive tenders, on or before Monday next, for the supply of a steam wagon with a removable streetwatering tank of 1000 gallons capacity, in addition to an. ordinary wagon body.
The Newhaven. U.D.C. is of opinion that the motorbus services which are provided by the " Southdown " vehicles are more favourable to the inhabitants of Seaford than to those of Newhaven, and is making representations to the proprietors in the matter.
Petrol Relief Soon.
We observe, in "The Times" of the 1st inst., that that journal has
been making careful inquiries of the
Petrol Control Committee. The result is stated to be, from informa tion given to "The Times" at the offices of the Committee, as fol lows That the Committee had been working to improve the supply, and the release of additional tank steamers by the Admiralty had resulted in an increased de livery during the month which had just ended. Should the supplies continue to be good, some concession to civilian owners of motor vehicles would shortly be considered."
Our forecast is, 85 per cent., in place of 80 per cent. for bona-fide
owners of conirnerciai Motors, after the expiry of the period for which the present -licences -hold good, which period ends on the 30th November next. In the meantime, of course, the Petrol Control Committee is considering cases of undoubted hardship.
The best course, in order to secure anydesired new licence, is
not to write abusive letters to the
Committee, nor, in the event of one's paying a call at the offices (19,
Berkeley Street, W.), seeking to " damnify " the Committee and its officials. The official to see is a Mr.
Ford, and we have ample evidence before us that he is acting with the utmost consideration, according to the resources at his disposal, on his being satisfied that a, genuine case has been made out.
People who do not know appear to be desirous of discrediting the
accurate information' for which we are responsible, that there will be a material relief in respect of petrol supplies before Christmas. That specific statement was made in our issue of the 24th ult., and not before we had made exhaustive inquiries in the right quarters. We pointed out, last week, that certain daily newspapers had sub
'rated our statement to the Petrol Control Committee, with the result that they . were officially informed in a confirmatory sense. We have already quoted the exact words. Another week has now elapsed, and it is possible that, a few weeks hence, the parties who have been contradicting our statements will be able to ascertain the facts themselves. The use of paraffin is meanwhile extending.
A Recent Registration.
Oke Bros., Ltd. (22000), with its office at 74, Fore Street, Kingsbridge, Devon, -to carry on business as garage proprietors.
Munitions Mechanical Transport.
We understand that the necessary preliminaries are in an advanced stage of completion, to the end that certain functions of Q.M.G. 3 shall be combined with those of Contracts 3 (Director of Army Contracts), and these two branches of activity combined under the control of the Director of Munitions Contracts, with additional and convenient offices in Piccadilly, W. Harmony of working is, we think, likely to be assured, by reason of the excellent choice of personnel which we anticipate will be duly confirmed. A prominent W.O. officer is to be "lent."
Chars.-a-bancs Registrations.
Different chief constables appear to have brought the new Order, concerning chars-à-bancs into operation with varying degrees of severity. We note that, on the 1st inst., the chief constable of Chester thought that it was incumbent upon him to impose the maximum amount of discomfort and inconvenience upon nearly 100 tourists from Oldham. He refused the party, which was divided between three chars-l-bancs, permission to pass through theCity of 'Chester, the result being that, whilst the vehicles were themselves legally .entitled to travel beck' to Oldham empty, each using perhaps a gallon less of petrol than it would have done if fully loaded, the passengers had to travel home as best they could.
We have ourselves advised owners to bring the " user " of their vehicles within the Order, but the foregoing example of its application is undoubtedly one of ill-conceived and bureaucratic zest, considered from the standpoint of the actual economy of petrol compared with the actual cost and disturbance to the party, not a few of whom were no doubt associated in one way or another with war service and munitions.
Apropos the wording of the Order, with which we originally dealt-in-our issue of the 24th ult., Weevish to point out in response to inquiries that the Order cannot be construed to hinder the transference of empty vehicles from one point'to another, or the use of the same chassis with lorry bodies fitted in place of passenger bodies. Such uses, of course, are in addition to the specific exceptions which are laid down in the Order. It is because of the undoubted right to run the empty vehicles that we find ourselves so much opposed to the high-handed action of the chief constable of Chester.
Inflammable Petroleum.
Section 84 (1) of the Finance (1909-1910) Act, 1910, states that "Motor spirit means any inflam
mable hydrocarbon (including any mixture of hydrocarbon and any liquid containing hydrocarbon) which is capable of being used for providing reasonably efficient motor power for a motorcar."
This definition whilst it applies to certain petrol, substitutes, should not include ordinary paraffin which flashes above 73 degrees Fahrenheit (Abel closed test). Furthermore, such paraffin is not subject to the motor-spirit tax, seeing that it has a specific gravity in excess of 0.800. These points are no*, we understand, before the legal branch of the Home Office.
Timber Haulage in Aberdeenshire.
The haulage of timber has for many years past given rise to different points of law in regard to allegations of extraordinary traffic. We observe that. the Dee side District Committee of the Aberdeen County Council has again been going into .the matter. . A Joint conference is, as a resultrto take place between representatives of the Committee, local timber and wood merchants, and proprietors of traction engines.
Corruption Act Prosecution.
At the Atherstone (Warwickshire) police court on Tuesday last (the 29th ult.), W. IL Moore, of the Atherstone Motor Co., appeared-in answer to three charges, 'brought by Mr. Arthur Goodwin as President of the Motor Trade Association under. the Prevention of Corruption Act, for giving a false invoice on the 6th April last to A. A. Goodyear, a chauffeur driving a car for a firm of motorcar manufacturers, with intent to cheht the employers. Mr. A. 0. Crane (prosecuting) said the attention of the Association had been drawn to a practice whereby owners of motorcars were defrauded by invoices being made out for their chauffeurs for greater quantities of petrol than were actually purchased, and it having come to the knowledge of the Association that the Atherstone Motor Co. was a place at which such invoices were obtainable, the present case was instituted. •
It . appeared from the evidence that on the 6th April Goodyear, being in charge of a car for his employer, called and spent 5s. for two gallons of petrol and was asked by Moore whether he should make out the .invoice for three gallons, to which Goodyear assented, and the invoice produced in court, receipted for 7s. 6d. was then given him although 5s. only was paid. Defendant said he admitted the charge, but understood from the chauffeur that nothing would ever be said about it. In fining the defendant £10, the Chairman remarked that-the Bench dealt leniently because it was the first, offence, and possibly its nature not folly realized, but it must now be understood that other offenders • of this kind would not be so leniently dealtwith ; indeed, if it had not been for the leniency of the prosecution in giving evidence on one suMmons only, and withdrawing the othersuPon--his .adrnisSion,he might have been sent to prison.
Vandervell's at Manchester.
C. A. Vandervell and Co., Ltd., of Warple Way, Acton Vale, London, W., has completed the necessary arrangements, at its Manchester depot, 12, Victoria, Buildings, St. Mary's Gate, to enable its local staff to carry out repairs to accumulators of all descriptions.
Smoke Persecution.
We observe that there have been further prosecutions, at the Gateshead Police Court, in• respect of the alleged emission of smoke by motor wagons, the information given being incorrectly laid under the Locomotives Act. This time, possibly in part by reason of our own references to the matter, one case was dismissed, and others were adjourned.
It is little short of a scandal that, through the ignorance of the police and of magistrates' clerks in various parts of the country, owners and drivers of steam wagons and tractors whose machines are constructed and regis tered under the Heavy Motorcar Order should be incorrectly summoned. The correct lines of defence were indicated in detail in our issue of the 29th July.
Welfare Work.
The Ministry of Munitions is particularly interested in the records of employers' experiments for improving working conditions in factories, and above all in relation to women workers. The Rt. Hon. D. Lloyd George, M.P., now Secretary of State for War, has written an introduction to a new volume, entitled " Welfare Work," from the pen of Miss E. Dorothea Proud, which book is published by G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., York House, Portugal Street, London, W.C. (price 7s. 6d.), in which he says :— " Miss Proud has spent many years of patient inquiry and research into the conditions of welfare work. . . . She has further served in the Welfare Department of the Ministry of Munitions since its feundation. Her knowledge of welfare work is therefore unique, and her book bids fair to become the standard work on the subject. I warmly commend it to employers, to Lady Superintendents, and to all those members of the general public who care for the welfare of the workers in our factories.'
Miss Proud is an Australian student of social questions, and the first "Catherine Helen Spence" scholar. The book deals fully and critically with the various schemes which have been inaugurated by enlightened employers for bettering the conditions of factory life, and with germane legislation.
Gazette.
Mr. Ellis Green, of 11, Blackfriars Street, Manchester, has been appointed liquidator in the voluntary liquidation of the Standard Tyre Repair Co., Ltd.
Mr. F. Woolley, of 6, Portland Street, Southampton, has been appointed liquidator in the voluntary liquidation of the Netley Motor Works, Ltd. The creditors of the company will meet at the liquida.tor's office on Monday next, the 11th inst., at 2.30 p.m.