It was the stress of circumstances that caused me to
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be kept waiting for an unconscionable time in what may be called the Alexandria Palace, otherwise the Argyll works, hard by Loch Lomond. My reason for mentioning this is that during that enforced idleness I met an interesting inventor who posses.sed all the characteristics of his .curious race—and a few over. The usual enthusiasm and volubility were there, of course, but it was his range of subjects that were so dazzling ; he led us like a will o' the wisp over many abstruse themes, and finally plunged two or three others and myself into the toils of spiritualism, and recounting many instances of spirit writing by " Plancl•ette "in which he had taken part, of course, concerning his private affairs. I gathered that he was negotiating some business with the Argyll Co. ; he had finally consulted his father, through the medium of the Planchette, as to the course he should take : the answer came bold and clear that he was to conclude the business on the terms proposed by the Argyll principals. and the paper with this " spiritual " writing was duly produced. It will be of interest to hear how this invention, which has to do with the heavy vehicles, turns out. Mr. Matthew, with his invariable courtesy, "dropped " me half way to Glasgow after a splendid run in his " Flying Fifteen " car which chassis is the same as is tise:l fol. taxicabs.
The organisation of the Arrol-Johnston Co., under the direction of that mercurial person, Mr. T. C. Pullinger, impresses one more each visit to the company's works, at Paisley. He appears to have an excellent staff, everything seems to go smoothly, and, except so far as commercial vehicles go, he has reduced the models to one— the famous 15.9. That is the way pro
fit lies, and the pressman's only difficulty is to lay a friendly hand in that of T.C.P. for, as I have said, he is mercurial. You make your plans to meet him, only to find your bird has flown but has considerately left a ear for you to follow him. On a recent occasion, it proved to be a stern chase —something like following an aeroplane. Before I left the works I had time to see various chars-ii-hancs and other commercial vehicles going through, many of them for abroad; T.C.P. imparted to me the informa
tion that he has formed some excellent agencies in the Colonies, most of them being run by Scotsmen who know the Arrol-Johnston mark and, somewhat naturally, prefer to push an article from their native heath. As a complete change from his absorbing duties at the works, T.C.P., during his little leisure, directs the breeding of short horns at his farm at Dairy.
A week or two ago I told how I had arranged for a special motorvan service between Rosebery Avenue and the Olympia Show ; now it has fallen to my lot to supplement this by arranging for one of F. 13. Goodchild's three-wheelers to assist in our show work during the period of the Olympia private-car Show and also during the two motorcycle shows.
It had not been my good fortune to drop across my old friend, Mr. Fritz Poppe, of the Polack Tyre Co., Ltd., since his return from America, until late last week ; I then had to bear some withering reproaches because, as I was poignantly reminded, his London address remains the same. Not so' however, the address of the Polack Co.'s Glasgow depot. There is the conventional moving into larger and morecentral premises, and the depot is now situate at 147i, St. Vincent Street. That well-known personage Mr. John W. Morton is in charge of the Glasgow business. I am glad to hear of the company's progress in Scotland; have known Mr. Morton a long while now, formerly in connection .with his brothers and the manufacture of Belhaven vehicles.