Opinions from Others.
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters should be on one sloe of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for views expressed is accepted. In the case of experiences, names of towns or localities may be withheld.
An Appeal for Gift of a Motor Lorry.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1370] Sir,—I wonder whether I might appeal through your widely-read columns for the gift of a motor lorry., It heed not necessarily be a new one, so long as it is serviceable.
It is wanted for the Belgian Field Ambulance Service, for which my Committee has sent some 50 ambulances to the Front. They.are all in full work, but, as the Belgian Army is very, ill-equipped with necessaries, our ambulances have to be used to bring up medical stores of every kind, and the Medical Staff of the Belgian Army, in conjunction with whom we work, has urged us if possible to send a lorry to help in this work.
It is not necessary for me to comment on the gallantry of the Belgian Army in their little corner of the fighting Front, but anyone who knows the casualties they have suffered, and are suffering day by day, will, Lain sure, feel' for them. If anybody, while not able to send a lorry, would care to be associated with the work. I should most gratefully accept any subscription.—Yours faithfully, W. JovxsoN-Hiciss, 15, St. James's Place, S.W. Chairman.
Fund for Belgian Field Ambulance Service.
Further Imports from America.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1371] Sir,—While we have perused with interest your leading article on 6th July, we must confess-that we are exceedingly puzzled in the deductions you have Made regarding your attitude towards the concessionnaires of American manufactured vehicles and the desirability of an import duty or restriction.
We have followed this matter very clo'sely, and so far back as your issue of rd March, 1916, you stated :—
"The prospects of an import duty on commercial motors and their parts continue to be good. This probability is as British manufacturers wish this to be. Producers are, from Thames to Clyde. Protectionists now, although we still hear of professing Free Traders in parts of Yorkshire."
On the 30th March, after referring to the definite Government intention to institute additional annual taxation, you again wrote :— " The country has practically committed itself to a policy of _Protection, and the commercial-motor industry deserves to be one of the first to receive the benefit of those guarantees which are conferred upon home production by action of the class with which we are dealing."
Then on 13th April you make the following announcement, which does not seem to bear out the claims you have made for your close knowledge of the internal arrangements of Government departments :—
"The Budget speech of last week contained no reference to annual licence fees for commercial motors —we are glad. It contained no reference to a duty on imported commercial motors and their parts—we are sorry."
These statements taken together commit you to a definite policy in favour Of Tariff Reform or Protection.
It is clear evidence that you were wrong in your C48 supposed fore-knowledge of the additional taxation which was to be inflicted on cominereial vehicles, and is an indication that you were also wrong in your surmise as regards a duty, not prohibition, mark you, which might be placed on imported vehicles. It is somewhat extraordinary, therefore, after you have plainly stated that your paper is in. favour of a duty, and, by analogy, prohibition, to read in your current issue of 6th July the following :- "We have for several weeks past done our utmost, chiefly in the interests of users of commercial motors, with whom we are so closely identified all ovet the country, to indicate the now publicly known fact of the early prohibition of the importation of commercial vehicles and parts. One incidental corollary to the accuracy of our information has undoubtedly been the benefit to American importers. Not only were they able, tlfrough our early indication of events to come, to cable instructions tc■ America for additional shipments to be put in transit, but they were by our warning alone given that opportunity to bring to bear influences at their disposal to obtain for themselves a full hearing of such arguments as they were able to present against the Government's case qua exchange and freight . . . The testimony of our success in maintaining an attitude of fair play all round is all but unanimous."
It is certainly extremely difficult to refrain from asking you to give us the name of one firm of Ameris. can concessionnaires that cabled instructions for additional shipments. [It is the fault of" any individual concessionnaire if he failed to take the hint.— En.] It would also be interesting to know the names of any firms which you gave an opportunity to bring to bear influences at their disposal in obtaining a full hearing of such arguments, etc. We are aware that The Commercial Motor .Users Association made certain requests for information, and we think that the whole of the credit should be attributed to that association, whereas the whole tenor of your article is to attribute the whole ol the arrangements to your paper, which with a declared Protectionist policy cannot possibly claim impartiality. [The Editor of THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR is a prominent worker on the C.M.U.A.—ED.1 We also remark that, in reading the memorandum which was drawn up, this tendency is evidently not to fight the proposed prohibition, but to concede that it is a reasonable proposal, subject to certain conditions.
It would have been far better in our opinion to have rejected entirely the sentence suggesting prohibition on the clear grounds that, if the transport of this country mist be carried on as cheaply and rapidly as possible, users must be in a position to obtain trucks from some source, as at the moment they are unable to purchase from British manufacturers (with one or two small exceptions). [The " trucks " in the country adre more than enough for the available petrol.—En.] The amount ofitonnage occupied by imported trucks does not amount to more than 13,000 ship tons per apniiin. This is infinitesimal [It is all wanted now for wheat—En.], and if these trucks enable haulage contractors, manufacturers and factors to carry on their business at a reasonable cost, surely such convincing arguments placed before the Board of Trade might have made it clear that it was undesirable at the moment to prohibit importation. The suggested permits for certain classes of users and permits for the importation of spare parts may sound very well on paper, but to those, who deal in these matters the difficulties of obtaining release of goods through the Customs is so irritating that we doubt if any American concessionnaires will be able to conduct their business on its present Iines.—Yours faithfully,
• WHITE MOTORS. AND ACCESSORIES, LTD,,• W. J. 11.-SELL, Secretary.
Brixton, S.W.
[We are not prepared to disclose all the facts for public consumption. The attitude and decisions of the Government Departments concerned have varied from month to month, and even from week to week. Those of our readers, trade or user, who acted upon the advice which we gave, for example, in oar issue of the lst June (page 269, cob 2), have undoubtedly benefited, as we stated in our article of the 5th July.—En.1 Further Imports from America.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[13.72] Sir,—At the unanimous request of the Commercial Vehicles Committee of this 'association, I write to express the committee's regret that you should have seen fit.ato take the action disclosed in your editorial of 6th July, referring to American manufacturers and conditions of importation. It would appear that, owing to your association with the C.M.I.T.A. Committee, which waited upon the Board of Trade on 7th June, you had "knowledge of official intentions." and that this knowledge was used to defeat the "official intentions" in question by encouraging large importations of American vehicles prior to the proclamation of prohibition. This,prohibition was proclaimed by the Board of Trade for reasons of national interest, and many months. had elapsed since the imposition of a duty on pleasure ears to enable the needs of the country as regards the supply of commercial vehicles to be satisfied in the absence of adequate supplies from British manufacturers.
It is not for the committee to say whether you were justified in using the official knowledge you possessed to encourage instructions to be cabled to America for additional shipments to be put in transit," but as British subjects, we wish to express our disapproval of your'action, while asrepresenting British manufacturers who have supported THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR for many years, we feel aggrieved that you should have adopted a policy detrimental to British manufacturers. We are aware that your journal has to consider the interests of users as well as manufacturers, but that seems to us no reason for taking action directly contrary to the national interests in the way that has apparently been done.---Yours faithfully, H. C. B. UNDERDOWN, Chairman, Commercial Vehicles Committee, A.B.M. and A.M.
tat was on the 1st Juno that we gave the warning DM hint. The "official information" of the ith June was used after consent lied been obtained, and not before. Our action has been misunderstood, or misrepresented, or both. The interests and position of British makers were regarded as touch as those of users. National interests have not been disregarded by us. We refer this correspondent to the preceding letter giving an American view. —En.] Cable v. Tractor in Ploughing.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1373] Sirs—Your article in a recent issue under the above heading is quite an interesting one, and I think the cable system of cultivation will stand for many years to come. It has its uses for ploughing and tearing up land quickly and reasonably economically, and for dealing with big fields and large acreage. It can never take the place of the small unit that is necessary either in the form of the horse or tractor on practically every, farm. At the best time of year the cable plough is excellent, but its use is eonfined to a, relatively small number of farms in this country, and for those (and I think there will be an • increasing number who year by year will get away from the old cultivator system of rotation for the cultivation of ground) the self-contained tractor will laecomeimore and more necessary so that as the fields get ready one by one for tillage so the implement to do the work is ready to start. My own idea is that the bulk of the horses at present employed on farms will be replaced by small internal-combustion-engined tractors.
In my old friend Mr. John Allen's figures, in regard to cost of ploughing by cable, has be not left out the fact that in addition to the 12s. or 13s. per acre the farmer has to supply the coal, which is quite an item, and cart the water to the engines?
I am satisfied there are already on the market some good practical tractors which give satisfaction. My four years experience with one type has proved this to me, and I am now daily expecting delivery of a single-driving-wheel type, and hope to make experiments with that, because to do away with the differential appeals to me as a move in the right direction. I hope at a later date to get into use one of the smallcaterpillar type, but I am sure that the universal displacement of the horse will come through cheapening the small tractor.
Where People want such a big tractor as Mr. Allen talks about that is likely to hurt the ground by consolidating it too much, then I think a steam plough can be better used, but then Mr. Allen must not forget that there is much land rn this country where one is only too glad to get it consolidated in any possible way. • On one of my Down farms anything that could consolidate the ground there for me is an asset.
To sum up, motor tractors to replace the horse are a necessity to agriculture in this country and are a certainty to arrive, but the farming community will adopt them slowly until the price is materially reduced,'because they are a:conservative body. who do not like to lock up a large amount of capital m something with which they are unfamiliar, but of course anyone who has once tried a tractor .would never dream of going back to the horse because it is so slow, less effective and more costly.----Yours faithfully, S. F. EDGE.
Concerning "Caterpillars."
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1374] Sir,—Your paragraph on page 327 is appreciated, but we aak to be allowed to reassure any intending purchaser of a " Caterpillar " on the subject of "wear and tear." The principle of the " Caterpillar" renders 'it independent of the state of the ground-surface. The " Caterpillar " lays its own metal rails, the weight, of the machine travels along such rails, and the latter are then picked up. There is no scoring action between the track-shoes and the ground, and 'the track-shoes, which are fitted with rail sections,. merely serve to prevent these rails from sinking into soft soil. It is admitted that railway lines present the minimum rolling resistance. Therefore, the only question is whether the power expended in laying down and picking up a flexible endless chain of track-shoes is worth the ideal tractive surface obtained. We cone tend that it is, and venture to say the success of the " Caterpillar " proves our contention. The weight is carried by self-oiling truck rollers, which travel On steel rails as durable as a railway rail. The pivots of the track-shoes are of casehardened steel, and the track-shoes are of steel. In the 45 h.p.' model, eight track-shoes of each track are in contact with the ground, so that, with standard 13 in, tracks, the total bearing surface is about 2080 sq. ins., and the ground pressure is only 6.25 lb. per Eq. in. Dirt is automatically expelled from between the track-shoes and the rail sections, and an oil-feed is supplied for the joints of the track-shoes.
Your readers may be assured that every precaution has been taken, by proper design and construction of the "Caterpillar" track, to eliminate undue wear. —Yours faithfully,
For CATERPILLAR TRACTORS, LTD., VICTOR F. FF.ENY, Director, 60, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.0.