Culled from Contemporaries.
Page 18
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A Selected Collection of Extracts from the British and Foreign Press.
A Trying Situation.
The driver of a taxicab was lined 5s. at Bow Street for " wilful behaviour." As a taxicabman is also liable to be fined for wilful misbehaviour his lot appears to be a hard one.--The Evening News, London.
Defense de Fumer.
Smoke above and fumes below. Pleasure cars have their exhaust pipes arranged under the chassis ; motorbuses have them extended above the top-deck cover. When a touring car is caught leaving behind it a cloud of blue smoke which is the result of over-lubrication, the gendarme draws up a written statement about the occurrence, and the driver or proprietor invariably has to pay a fine, and he sometimes is locked up. The motorbus is not without its blue cloud either, but the smoke is discharged well above one's head, and never, so far as we know, has a gendarme reported a case.—Translated from La France Automobile, Paris.
Where are the Oil Droppings?
M. Cherioux, the President of the Municipal Council, has just returned home from Copenhagen, and his travels have taught him that Paris has become of late years an increasingly dirty city. He lays the blame at the -door of the Metropolitan: Railway works, and hopes that all will be well as soon as the line is finished ; but as the most favourable estimate gives another twenty years for the completion of the work, the Parisians will have need of a prodigious deal of patience. Of recent years the streets of London have improved very greatly in cleabliness, while those of Paris have deteriorated, and the French now pay us very handsome compliments on the state of our metropolis.— The Globe, London.
In Spite of Protection.
American cities must sooner or later adopt the rnotoncar and discard the horse. Conditions demand it. The street congestion is such that if the horse were maintained there will in a decade not be enough room on the streets in the busy city centres in spite of the presence of elevateds and sub
ways. . . The motor fire engine, motor chemical engine, motor hose wagon, motor ladder wagon, and motor first-aid wagon must come, and come quickly ; the economies of the cities and country as a whole demand them. Will the American maker be ready with his motor fire engine and other fire-fighting apparatus, or, as with the taxicab, will he stand by swathed in perspiration while Merryweather or some other foreigner plucks the ripest fruit, as Renault and Darracq have done in the taxicab business?— Motor Age, Chicago.
Emulating Tottenham.
750-YEAR-OLD FIRE ENGINE.—The authorities in the village of Holywell have decided to sell an old fire engine which they possess. It is said to be 73o years of age, and is probably the oldest fire engine in the kingdom.—Daily Mail, London.
The Poor Public in Paris.
The public will not accustom itself to using the taxicabs, until it is assured that they will be not much more expensive than the horse cabs. The chauffeurs are finding less and less to do as the number of motorcabs increases. In the present state of affairs the taxicab is a luxurious mode of travel, and the generality of the public is not rich enough to employ it.—Translated from La Revue de l'Association Generale Automobile, Paris.
The Cyclist's Choice.
Just at present, partly by reason of a number of enfortunate accidents which have gained greater prominence than similar mishaps occasioned by collisions in which electric trams have played an important part, the motorbus is under a cloud. There are certain people who, ignoring the great convenience it affords to thousands of city folk, would abolish motorbuses entirely, but it should be remembered by all who ride a bicycle that the abolition of the motorbus means an extension of tramways in the Metropolis. Nothing, perhaps, is more dreaded by cyclists than tramlines. , . The dirigible vehicle is far safer, at least to other users of the road. The battered condition of some of the rolling stock tells its own tale of the many accidents occasioned by the electric cars which do not find their way into print.—Cycling, London.
Millionaires at Eightpence a Mile.
When the last hansom-cab horse is led for the last time to his stable he may bless or curse, according to the degree of philosophy in his temperament, Mr. Davison Dalziel. For ourselves we regard him and his successes with mingled feelings. Thanks to Mr. Dalziel, we post across London in time to secure the corner seat of a smoking carriage when the cab drawn by a horse strapped between two poles would hardly have brought us to see the last carriage leaving the station. This is well. But it is not well that so many of us should be tempted by mechanically just fares to abandon travel by tube or omnibus and to acquire the cab habit. Mr. Dalziel and his luxurious cabs allow us, at eightpence a mile, to savour the sensations of the millionaire. Until we can travel through London by an adaptation of the Scenic Railway principle we shall know nothing more seductive.—The Evening News, London.
American Dependance.
It must still be confessed that European sanction is usually necessary for the commercial adoption of any new type by American constructors. With the possible exception of the doubleopposed motor and the auto-buggy, we are indebted to foreign constructors for every new type.—Ilorseless Age, New York.
New Zealand Anticipates an Era of Improvement.
For road work of all kinds (of business and pleasure traction) it is clear that the days of the horse are numbered. In the country the farmer is installing the motor to move his ploughs, his wagons, his threshers, and his chaffcutters with a rapidity limited only by the power of the makers to supply the demand for motors. In Wellington, the State coal department has fully demonstrated the superiority of the motor which tows its four or five tons up the steepest hills with ease, regularity, and economy. The City Council also have become convinced by the best evidence that the motor is a better horse for their fire engines than the horse himself, and they have determined to turn that animal out of his stable. There are signs and portents of a good time cominga time of clean streets, safe from microbic invasion, of easy and rapid transit, of simplicity for all the problems of travel, commerce, and agriculture, and perhaps a time of cheap, comfortable riding for the poorest, for who in these bountiful days shall set a limit to the achievements of invention ?—Progress, Wellington, N.Z.
Electric Wagons Predominate in the United States.
The electric delivery wagon is probably in use in twice the numbers of the internal-combustion motor delivery wagon. The control and operation of this vehicle are easy, and when the batteries are not suffering from their chronic troubles excellent service is obtained. The radius of action is very limited, and for this reason electric vehicles are confined to city service. The gasoline delivery car, on the other hand, is not limited as to distance from a central point which can be reached, and this service can be performed at much higher average speeds. The control is, however, more complicated, and takes a higher standard of intelligence than that represented by the average ex-horse driver, from which class the motor delivery driver is recruited. The steam delivery car is not much in use, and is much more difficult to maintain and control than either the gasoline or electric car. Its cost of upkeep is as great as that of the gasoline car, and the danger of an ,exposed flame would forbid its use in many localities, such as docks, etc.—Horseless Age, New York.