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The Mirror Up to Nature.-By "The Extractor. A New Foden Shoo.
' The Gods chasten those whom they love " -said one speaker at the Drummond Bros. annual dinner, held at Guildford on Friday last. This was his self consolation after being handled satirically but kindly by another speaker. There was the usual heartiness and " go " about this annual function. There is a wonderful co-operation between the management and employees in this concern, which was observed and commented upon by more than one speaker. It would appear that there are few parts of the globe where the Drummond lathe is not in demand. Our own Government has proved a lucrative customer, and one of the largest orders received during the past week was from the Dutch Government. W. T. Patrick, Esq., J.P., the Mayor of Guildford, reiterated a grievance against the firm inasmuch as their works are just outside the town boundaries, and are, in consequence, free of the rates. Anyhow they had to take the County and Borough Hall to hold their annual festival. Mrs. Drummond was the only lady present, and she appeared to be extremely nopular with the employees. For this innovation, Mr. E. E. Pullman. the chairmanof the company took
credit. I was fortunate in sitting next to and making the acquaintance of Mr. A. Barraud. the new secretary of Dennis Bros. (1913), Ltd., who are near neighbours of the Dritinnionds.
On the subject of mirrors for steam-vehicle drivers in last week's issue, I came in, I see, for some Editorial correction, so now I know. A large proportion of steam lorries carries mirrors already.
Do they Well I should have thought it was a very tiny proportion—almost infinitesiinal—beeause I use the roads as much as the next man, and I have taken the opportunity to speak to other road users, the result being that one gentleman of my acquaintance has seen one reflector on one vehicle. Then. as to the position of the driver, I am told that, on a steam wagon, he sits even further to the off side than does the driver of a petrol wagon. I am evidently passing through some hideous hallucination, be do I not see on many steam wagons the driver perched on the near side of the wagon, and the stoker on the off, the stoker's mind not concerned in the least with any road happenings? I think it would be a good thing to make the use of
mirrors compulsory on steamers. It would have to be, I suppose, at the initiation of the Board of Trade, or the Local Government Board. It would be no inconvenience to wagon and tractor drivers to have even a double arrangement of mirrors if need be, and it would greatly add to the comfort of other road users. I should be glad of it myself. I know.
The size of the " Titanic," the loss of which is still fresh in our minds, was brought home forcibly to me the other day. I was being conducted over the newest work shed lately added to the Foden works, at Sandbach. I marvelled at its hugeness : it may not be, but it seemed as great a one-span engineering shop as I have visited in the heavy vehicle trade. Mr. William Foden made an interesting explanation that the width was exactly that of the " Titanic," the height was practically the same, and the length of the shop was precisely half that of the ill-fated liner. This was a great object-lesson, and it is only when " Titanies " and " Zeppelins " are compared with familiar spaces such as this that one can fairly realize their tremendous magnitude.