The Legitimate Use of Volunteer Mechanical Transport.
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Provincial Interest in Transport-,Iniantry Drill.
By THE EDITOR The present is not a time to make work for the fun of the thing. Especially is this statement true in respect of any idle demands for commercial types of motors.
The Third Line.
. The arguments in favour of preparing a third line Of reserve troops have been of 'sufficient weight to result in the teritatiVe enrolment of More than one pillion men who are over 38 years of age throughout the country. They stand behind the Regular. forces of the Crown: they cattle Mostly from the business world, and their natural place iS after the men of Iiitchener's armies, and alter the men of the Territorial regiments.A proportion of them, perhaps as high as 35 per cent will, in the event of their being called upon, be reciOnede by reason of age or other physical disadvantage, to fall behind even many of the National Reserve in military usefulness.
Indifference, or Voluntary Training?
. The basic difference between the Volunteer Corps and any established branch of the services is this: n'Ylen of the former, while ready to serve if the course -of the war brings a call of a type which has so far neither been issued by the Government nor found to be necessary, are not content to stand idly by and do 'nothing of a qualifying character at their own cost ; -men of the latter have been either able or obliged to 'adopt active war service as their whole-time occupation, and are being qualified at the nation's expense.
The Same Kind of Transport that Made the Expeditionary Force Possible.
There is a place in this voluntary movement for the reasonable use of mechanical transport, and scope not in London alone. We know that London is a place apart with unique potentialities and resources, but the Provinces need not merely watch the capital of the Empire. The Expeditionary Force went to the Front with all kinds of commercial vehicles which had been taken directly from civilian use. Hence, if some portion of the smaller units which remain to us in this country are used intelligently in conjunction with the Volunteer infantry, who shall sneer or throw the first stone at the scheme? Nobody, we feel sure, but he who is envious, ignorant, lazy or selfish.
Our share in this measure of co-operation with the revival of volunteering will he tempered by all :lust considerations, and marked by a desire to help others all over the country. That such interest amongst owners is not confined to London has been made fully clear to us. We refer to commercial-vehicle owners, and not to motorcar owners ; the latter cannot do the work, nor preserve the essential unit organization.
Peden: and Albions Offered in Sheffield.: The case of a Sheffield owner, whose letter we print hereunder, is, we feel sure, but typical of a patriotic willingness which is peculiarly British. It reads :—
" I have been interested in your article under the heading of the City of London (Volunteer) Mechanical Transport Column, and it occurs to me that something of the sort might be arranged for this City of Sheffield. We have in our own employ three Fatten wagons and eight Albion petrol cars. I am convinced my firm would favourably Consider any local scheme that would have for its object the assistance of our Military efforts, and I feel sure there are other owners in the
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city who have similar machines, and would be prepared to assist. I should like to have further: parti-cUlars, and if there' is anything I can do as regards givingyou informatien and making inquiries I should only be too pleased to place my .
services at your disposal." . _ . • Yours faithfully, High Street, pp. JOITN WALSH, LTD.
Sheffield. (Signed) II. J. A RMSTRCiN G, Manager. Removals and Storage Departments.
We have eplied direct to Mr. Armstrong, who wrote -a few .clays :before our third -article (in last : week's issue) appeared, referring ,him to the additional particulars there, given, and ,expressing the View that his initiative is highly commendable. We see no reason why co-operation of this .kind, between
local Columns and l'oCal Volunteer Infantry Corps, should not be encouraged; within the reason-, able limits which have been indioated by us. Action of some kind, even if its ultimate development cannot be foreseen, should be enconraged.
Patriotic Users Know Their OwnCircumstances.
It is without doubt bordering on the impertinent, for 1.11S or anybody else, to warn owners not, to waste their.. remaining commercial motors. Our warning, rather, is this': That the organizers of any Mechanical Trans, port Columns shall base their practice on that which has been adopted for the City Of London National Guard Volunteer Corps, the outstanding features of which organization have been made clear in our threel issues which have preceded the present number. Practice alone makes perfect, but in this matter of Volunteer Mechanical Transport the extentof the practice must be suited to the limiting conditions of the day. As the Prussian and other German States became efficient bearers of arms a-little more than 100 years ago by the simple expedient of passing their male populations in turn through the ranks of the small army which Napoleon Buonaparte allowed them to have at any one time, so can successive platoons and companies be trained with a minimum of mechanical transport to adapt themselves to take part with credit thereafter in a parade or review of complete battalions which may include conjoint assembly, drilling and movements with a large number of motor vehicles. Such a review may be accepted as the end of Stage I of any M.T. Column. Programmes and progress beyond that point will be determined by cirCUM stances which are not yet clear to any human being. Our own effort, as appears below, has now been officially adopted by the parties indicated.
Loodon Turned Over to the C.M.0 A.
It will be noted, from an announcement which appears elsewhere in this issue, that the City of London (Volunteer) Mechanical Transport Column is nowtaken over by the City of London National Guard Volunteer Corps. The staff offices of the Column are transferred to 83, Pall Mall, London, S.W., and Mr. F. G. Bristow, F.C.I.S., secretary of the Commercial Motor Users Association, becomes Adjutant of the Column. Publication of the names of accepted convoys and of appointments will be made officially in the C.L.N.G.V.C. Orders. The scheme, we learn, has been before the Commercial Vehicle Committee of the S.M.M.T., and that committee has made valuable suggestions. The Brighton arrangements are well advanced.