OPINIONS FROM OTHERS.
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. side of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, Letters should be on one . and no responsibility for . views expressed is accepted.
Import Duty on Foreign .Goods Chassis.
The Editor, .TFq COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2167] Sir,—I Was very interested to read in the
issue of 'fhe Commercial Motor for May 1st your interview with Mr. Maeighfling. I feel that the more publicity that can be given to the hardships under which, the commercial motor vehicle industry has suffered since the Armistice the better.
1 gave expression to some of these views in my
speech at the annual general meeting of the share. holders of this company, held three weeks ago, and, in the hope that they may interest your readers, I append an extract from my remarks on that occasion. —Yours faithfully, T. BLACK WOOD MURRAY.
Chairman, Albion Motor Car Co., Ltd. "In my speech last year I called attention to the inequity of the fact that, while an import duty was charged on pleasure motor vehicles coining into the country, commercial vehicles came in free, with the result that potonly had .we, as commercial vehicle makers, to contend with the very serious competition of enormous quantities of ex-war vehicles being offered at scrap prices, but, in addition, had to compete with vehicles which could be offered below our cost price, owing to their exemption from the import duty• and various advantageous circumstances such as rates of exchange in the country of manufacture and so on.
" I am glad to say that, since that date, this matter has been receiving a very great deal of attention from the council of the Association of British Motor Manufacturers: They have spared no effort in collecting information and data on this matter, and on the other very serious disabilities under which the commercial vehicle industry of this country has beeri labouring since the Armistice, and these facts and figures, which are striking indeed, have been brought to the notice of Parliainent by various members of the House, and it is to be hoped that ere long a more equitable policy will be adopted and these grievances redressed."
Awards at the C.M.U.A. Parade.
. The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[21681 Sir,—With reference to the letter from Mr. Marc 'Weston on page 319 of The Commercial Motor of April 24th, regarding the awards at the last parade of the C.M.U.A., it seems to me that, human nature being what it is, it is useless to expect that in any competition of this kind, in which the award depends on the opinions of a judge or a number of judges, everybody will agree with the verdict..
This is the reason, doubtless, why the onus of judging is usually, as in this particular case, placed on the shoulders of a fairly large number of gentlemen, so that the judgment obtained is, in effect, an average opinion, and can, therefore, be taken as entirely free from bias Mr. Marc Meston is, of course, quite in order in commenting on any details in connection with the judging, which, in his opinion, seems to be objectionable, but that there are other opinions is proved by the judging.
To take one of Mr. Marc Meston's objections—that certain parts which were difficult to polish and keep polished were painted—I think that most practical men, instead of adversely criticising such a point, would commend it and consider it a tribilte to the common sense of the engineer responsible for the condition of the vehicles.
040 Mr. Marc Meston's point—that the conditions' on which the • judging will be Made at future parades should be brought to the notice of possible contestants—is 'a good one, but it is .doubtful whether it would make any difference in the condition of the vehicles or the number of entrants, unless the conditions were such that they were unacceptable for practical fleet managers.
His other point—that there should be three inspections yearly under working conditions—is most commendable, and, doubtless, the persons responsible for each of the teams of vehicles Which took a high place in the C.M,U.A. parade would welcome the suggestion, as it is this condition of being always fit which is one of the objects of the parade to foster, and which it is the aim of every engineer to attain.
The point as to whether the driver has a mate or 'not to help him might advantageously be taken into account, but is not this determined by the nature 0F the service in which the vehicle is engaged? I can hardly imagine in these days of severe competitien fleet owners engaging a mate for the sake of keeping the vehicles in good condition for an annual parade. —Yours faithfully, MOTOR. •
Railway Rates and Road Transport. •
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[21691 have read with deep interest the
articles published in the issue of The Commercial Motor for May ist, on the question of road transport rates as affected by the new railway rates. Mr. C. le M. Gosselin advises the grading of charges in accordance with the value of the goods carried. Mr. Gammons reviews the situation with his usual optimism, and throws the onus for retention of traffic by road transport on to efficiency as against comparative cost and efficiency. Your centre-page article is devoted to the further cutting down of costs and the elimination of Waste.
With regard to the grading of charges, this is impassible without all authoritative association of the parties concertied, and (vide your leading article) for such a body to he so effective as the railway clearinghouse, it must necessarily be equally .all-embracing
and concentrated. Very little reflection is necessary to enable us clearly to perceive that, even should such a body he formed (the 'possibility of which I strongly doubt), it would be impossible to arrive at anything like a classified list of rates. A railway is equipped, for the transport of all classes of goods ; there is no road transport firm in the country that is similarly placed, and, even should such an equipment be obtainable by the pooling of resources as represented by an association, such a pool obviously could net carry with it a common right of user. A firm equipped for the transport of a particular class of highly rated goods is in a position to demand and to get higher rates (and deservedly so) than a. firm equipped for general transport only The difference is balanced by the fact that the general work firm can have its vehicles at work constantly, at reasonable rates, whilst the other periodically has the major part of its fleet idle on account of the fact that theesupply of the particular goods it carries is temporarily short. Further, the grading of rates (which obviously means a fixed charge by any party for similar work) might operate to the advantage of A and to the disadvantage of B, both members of the same association. Imagine B, having converted 'his fleet from 6-tonners to 10-tonners to enable him to quote
cheaper (not unfairly), and thereby to get more work, 'being forced to quote on the basis of a 5-ton load. Obviously, the increase of business would not, by any means, keep pace with the improvements brought about by his enterprise and layout of capital. Alternatively, suppose that A cannot afford to convert from 5-tonners to 10-tonners, and yet the grading of rates is based upon the capacity of the latter vehicles ; he would be forced out of business by his own association.
I admire very much the note Mr. Gammons strikes; it is encouragingiy optimistic, but I fear that his experience of generous traders paying additional rates for transport by read is not sufficiently general to encourage others to be equally optimistic. And, even assuming that the experience was more general, I am sure that Mr. Gammons would be the first to admit that, to eely upon the ad infinitum existence of this generosity would be absurd.
As to the further cutting down of costs, I have been losing hair on this problem for the last six months, and I am convinced that, consistent with efficiency,
I have brought Management and running costs down to their very minimum, and I know full well that every manager of a fleet is in the same position. Management and running costs cannot he reduced further until the benefits which they receive from reduced railway rates are handed on to us by those who supply the needs of road transport companies. Salaries cannot be dropped without a commensurate drop in the cost of living, and the wages of fitters and drivers must remain at their present level until their trade unions quite rightly consider that the benefits of the lower railway rates have made themselves felt.
Why should not petrol drop, and oil and tyres? Had it not been for the reduction in the price of petrol following the drop in railway rates last August, it would not have been possible for road transport rates to be brought into line. It has only recently been possible for my company to obtain a very small reduction in the price of the particular quality of oil we use. Wages have dropped is. tier week. This summarizes the whole of the benefits received since the reduction of last August, and there is no sign of any assistance forthcoming from the amended rates of May 1st.
Possibly something could be done by a grading of rates ; possibly some firms could cut their costs, and it may be possible that traders will continue to pay more for transport by road than by rail, but there is no doubt at all that, if the benefits which reduced rail charges should give to employees and do give to firms supplying the needs of road transport firms, were handed on to us, we ceuld undoubtedly reduce our rates, and that, after all, is the finest way of retaining our strong hold on the manufacturers and mer chants.---Yours faithfully, C. ROBERT GRAY, Traffic Manager, DICK, JACKSON AND CO., 1.11'D. High Holborn, London, W.C. 1.
Countering Railway Rate Reductions.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MoTore
(2170] Sir,—In the very instructive article on "
Countering Railway Rate Reductions," in the issue of The Commercial Motor for May 1st; you very rightly draw attention to the wastage in time and labour in running vehicles either light or only halfloaded as ,materially affecting the efficiency of road transport service. And you further state that the most important consideration is, naturally, that of the type or types of vehicles which can most profitably be employed.
May I venture to supplement the remarks made upon this theme by pointing out that :— (1) The larger the vehicle employed the greater is the loss with an empty return journey. (2) The larger the vehicle the greater is the loss with a partial load.
(3) If the large vehicle is of the six-wheel type, the fuel cost is high. and the repair cost due to the tremendous shocks to which the king-pin and gears are subjected is high also. (4) The larger the load carried the greater is the stand-by loss. On the other hand, if a trailer is used to supplement the motor or steam lorry, there is a two-fold advantage over the large six-wheeled vehicle (1) In that the hauling power of the motor or steam lorry is utilized ; and (2) In that a wide range of loads can be catered for and transported economically ; if small, the lorry .alone can be used ; if large, the lorry and trailer. If there is no return load, the trailer can be left and the lorry alone brought back. The cardinal necessity for the efficient use of trailers has, however, hitherto been lacking. There has been no trailed vehicle so designed and constructed as to reduce the inter-vehicular shocks to dimensions which will mit fatally damage the gears and machinery, or even structure of the towing unit, if run fully loaded at anything like the normal speed of that unit.
Once a properly constructed vehicle is available, road transport can be developed on railway lines, and the costs in labour, fuel, and maintenance cut down and the margin of profit increased to a remunerative figure, even when competition with reduced railway rates has to be met. It is this end which has been sought and successfully attained by the H.I.C. patent high-speed transport truck, which you have described in your columns. It has been subjected to tests under the severest traffic conditions, and has, in all these, triumphantly proved its soundness as a solution of this difficult problem.
By the app.licarien of principles involved in its construction to road trucks, motor lorries are enabled to deal with a much larger bulk and variety of loads, at speeds closely approximating the normal running speed attainable when carrying their rated loads only.--Yours faithfully,
D. S. CAPPER, Director, HAULAGE IMPROVEMENTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS, LTD London, W.C. 9.
The Design of the Tractor Lorry.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2171] Sir,—I have read with interest the article under the above heading by " Hephaestus" in the issue of The Commercial Motor for May 8th, but on page 370 it is stated that the turntable should be carried centrally over the middle axle, as it is quite obvious that with the turntable either in front, or behind, the middle axle the steering of the vehicle would be unfavourably • affected.
I have heard it stated on several occasions that this is the correct position for the turntable, but should like to know exactly why, as I think it can be proved mathematically that the farther forward of the rear axle the turntable is placed, the Tess side drag is on the centre axle, when turning, and less "cutting in " of the third axle. I should, therefore, he glad if the author of this article could give the exact reasons for his statement —Yours faithfully, C. F. CLEAVER, M.I.A.E. Faint WHEEL DRIVE LORRY CO.; LTD.
Vindicating the Motor Vehicle Driver.
The Editor, THE COHMERCLAL MOTOR.
[21721 Sir,—I have been particularly struck of late, in perusing the quarterly reports of chief constables of various counties, to notice that they, one and all, emphasize the fact that road accidents are not due to reckless driving I have always maintained if only pedestrians would exercise a little more care in crossing the road, that many of our street accidents which are due to Culpable negligence would be avoided.— Yours faithfully, ROAD USER. Streatham.