LOOSE LEAVES C OMMENTING on the taxation of motor users, Mr.
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John F. Heaton, the chairman and managing director of Thomas Tiling, Ltd., said re cently that the company, together with those in which it has some financial interest, had to meet, during the past year, a levy in the shape of special taxation—i.e., taxation which is not imposed on any other class—of a sum in excess of £2,150,000. This represents approximately 14.5 per cent, of the gross receipts of the companies and nearly 17 per cent, of the capital employed. If a working man's budget be taken as a basis it means that if he and his family are paying 7s. per week in bus fares they are contributing, in special taxation, about £2 10s. per annum.
I CANNOT refrain, writes " S.T.R.," from quoting the following extract from an extremely interesting article written by the Rt. Hon. Winston S. Churchill. In this he was dealing in a satirical vein with the history of trade in the Bahamas. _ "Wrecking became a licensed trade, and those who pursued it were honest tradesmen. They had their troubles, none the less, in the unfair and undercutting competition of unauthorized and disreputable wreckers."
THE risk of causing inflammation of the skin through having it in continual contact with oils, such as paraffin and fuel oil, does not appear to be fully appreciated. The complaint known as dermatitis is liable to be caused through this practice, the symptoms being the formation of pustules or spots 818 on the hands and arms. Diesel oils have been found responsible in a number of cases. The best preventive is to wash the hands thoroughly before exposing them to oil, and afterwards to apply some alkaline antiseptic. What happens is that the skin becomes over-lubricated and in consequence natural impurities enter the pores.
IN America the manufacture of motor vehicles is described as the leading industry of the country, and according to a recent report it consumes 85 per cent, of all the petrol produced, 82 per cent, of manufactured rubber, 68 per cent, of the plate-glass output, 53 per cent, of the total of malleable iron, 51 per cent. of upholstery leather produced, 35,000,000 yards annually of upholstery cloth, 30 per cent, of all nickel produced, 26 per cent, of all lead, 18 per cent. of all hardwood handled, 17 per cent, of aluminium production, 15 per cent, of the steel produced, 14 per cent, of the copper output and 9 per cent. of the cotton crop.
MANY people wonder why aluminium paint is used to such a great extent for oil-storage tanks, tank wagons, refrigerator vehicles, airships, etc. The reason is that it possesses a high reflective power for heat waves, and this acts as a protective medium. In the case of airships, it protects the fabric and its dope and keeps the gas at a more uniform temperature. At the same time, it acts as a bad radiator or transmitter of heat, and this is the reason it is also utilized for hot objects, such as boilers, steam pipes, annealing ovens, etc, RESPITE the advice which is disseminated amongst hauliers, public-service-vehicle operators, etc., upon the urgent need for supporting the national associations which represent -them, it is, in practice, exceedingly difficult to arouse active interest. The committee, members and staff of the Short Distance Hauliers Alliance, which, as was exclusively announced in our issue for last week, has just amalgamated with the Long Distance Road Haulage Association, have during the past year 'virtually preached a gospel of the need for joint efforts for mutual protection.
THE method which has been found most effective for attracting hauliers to meetings is rather interesting. Posters announcing the meetings are affixed to the lorries of members and so come before the notice of competitive hauliers who may be working from the same yards, sandpits, etc. The fallacy of wasteful competition is effectively brought home to them, and, as a rule, the result is that they attend the meetings and become members of the Alliance.
A WELL-KNOWN designer has written to us apropos a recently advertised request for a savage, man-eating tiger. He suggests that this would require a certificate of fitness, if capable of holding more than seven persons without the driver, the entrance, although wide, would not be 21 ins., and, apparently, no means of opening it from inside would be provided, the headlights would appear to be too close together, and the ground clearance under the legal minimum, whilst the ventilation and internal lighting would be insufficient. It would appear that the springing might be excellent, and that the tiger could be classified as an express carriage as all passengers would be going to the same destination.