Opinions from Others.
Page 18
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The Editor invites correspondence ou all subjects connected with the use of compiler ial motors. Letters should he on
one side of the paper only, and type.written by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no . responsibility for views expressed is accepted. In the case of experiences, names of ton ils or localities may be withheld.
C.M.U.A. Parade Exam.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
{/550.] Sir,—i was interested to read ,n your la;it issue the examination papers which were set for the Parade drivers by the C.M.U.A. It strikes me that the majority of drivers who could get through an examination like that with distinction would deserve jobs as managing directors of haulage concerns. Still, that is not to say that the C.M.U.A. is not doing well by asking the drivers to do much. No doubt some of them will come through quite well. I am not a driver, but I should have made a hopeless mess of most of the questions.—Yours faithfully,
" ONLY AN OWNER Under El for Driving a Van!
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[15:0] Sir,—Why is it that drivers of vans and wagons are so often paid lower wages than drivers of horse-drawn wagons ? While admitting that the present-day commercial motor does not necessarily require a skilled mechanic to run it, it must be admitted that there is a great strain on the nerves and mind of the driver through the increased speed which has followed the introduction of the motor. This increased speed, which gains more money for the employer, ought in some way to benefit the driver. In my own case, some little time ago I was driving a two-ton lorry for a well-known firm, and having rather a smart assistant with me I taught him to drive. Later I asked the firm for an increase in my wages, and was refused. They said, " We are quite satisfied with your work, but we cannot give you any more money." I left the firm, and bettered my position. A few weeks later I happened to run across my old machine, and found my late assistant at the wheel. I was quite surprised to hear that his wages were less than £1 per week. The man coula hardly be blamed, as he did not have a driving reference which would get him a job anywhere else, but I should like to point out that motor-drivers surely ought to earn a respectable rate. I fail to understand how any firm can think the father of a family is going to be honest, to give them all his energies, and to look after a valuable motor, for such terribly low money.—Yours faithfully, " DRIVER." Rubber for Tractor Tires.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1552] Sir,—Although we have not supplied any tires or device in this country for use with tractor tires, the matter is one into which we are prepared to go.
We are of the opinion that the continuous band of rubber, after the style of band tire, is not likely to prove satisfactory, owing to the nature of the ground over which tractors are expected to traveL We therefore think that the application of rubber tires will be limited to cross pieces fitted either by grip steels or bolted to the wheels.
As regards the use of old tires, in this connection we do not think that this will work out in practice, owing to the small amount of rubber left on the bands when the tires are taken off after ordinary service on a commercial vehicle.
We are, of course, in a position to supply short sections of tire, vulcanized on to a steel base, to suit any diameter of wheel, and these could be fitted transversely or diagonally on the face of the wheel by any device that the tractor or the wheel builders think best to employ.—Yours faithfully, TTIE POLACK TYRE AND RUBBER CO., LTD. Bassishaw House, E.C.
Night Storage: Request for a Grant in Aid.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1553] Sir,--I have followed, with the greatest interest, the letters which have appeared from time to time in your journal with reference to the storage of motor wagons and vans. I am the proprietor of an hotel situated halfway between two fairly important towns—Manchester and Liverpool. The main road, on which my place is situated, carries a very large amount of traffic, and a constantly-increasing amount of heavy motor traffic. Ten or fifteen years ago the yard of my hotel was constantly occupied by horsed vans and lorries, and I have storage space for quite a number of motorvans. The difficulty is, however, that my hotel is not of very recent build, although it is commodious. The entrance to the yard is through a moderately-high archway, and over this archway is a room which is not used so much in these days as it was a few years ago. The lowness of the archway prevents big furniture vans and heavilyladen wagons from entering the yard, and I am miss ing a fairish amount of business through this. I think that some organization. possibly the C.M.U.A., might give me a little help in this respect, although it may be this is not exactly the right quarter from which such assistance may be expected. What I am willing to do, however, is to pull down the big room over the archway, and either to build a higher archway, or to make an open passage. Th;s will cost. I estimate, something like £60 or £80. and I would, of course, lose a certain amount of business through losing the revenue derived from the letting of the large room overhead. I am sure there must be many more hotel proprietors in pretty much the same state as myself, and I think that, if some agreement could he made whereby they would secure a grant from the C.M.IT.A., or some other body, towards the cost of alterations. the' would very gladly consider the question of having their premises modernized for the convenience and storage_ both durine the night and day. of modern motor traffic—Yours faithfully,
W. BOARTiMAN.