The Press on the 1913 Parade.
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Never before, in spite of their very considerable extent, have there been so many generous Press notices of the annual C.M.U.A. Parade. We were only able, a week ago, to quote the opinion of "The Times " that this month's Parade " must be pronounced wholly successful."
It is a noteworthy fact that Colonial and Overseas newspapers re-quote Parade reports very freely, and we have no doubt that the tone of those quotations will reflect the favourable opinions from which we make additional extracts elsewhere this week. Seeing that the S.M.M.T. and numerous individual members of the industry are supporters of the Parade, they will no doubt be pleased to read the extracts which we make, and to know that this journal takes so active and large a. share in the organization of an annual event which provides the occasion upon which those world-wide notices are based. It is hardly necessary toadd, that practically all the complete notices included references to THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR Challenge Cup. It is this extensive and friendly publicity that does good all round.
Benzole from Town Gas.
We have not given quite the same prominence to the question of benzole production that our sister journal " The Motor" has. We have, none the less, not failed, from time to time, during the past few years, to point out the value of this alternative fuel. We particularly examined the claims of benzole v. petrol in our issue of the 26th December last, and we have, Since that. date, published various lists of suppliers of the commodity.
The demand for benzole has grown enormously since the beginning of the year.. The price at the works has risen. by an average of some 4d: per gallon, and the law of supply and demand will continue to enforce fluctuations in relation to the governing fuel—motor spirit that is derived from petroleum, sources. Witti the price of " 90's " benzole of a suitable character for use in ordinary petrol engine ruling at an average of is. 4d. per galfon delivered, there is less to be gained by the owner of a commercial motor from the use of benzole at that price than there is by the owner of a private car. Sirce there
is no tax on benzoic, there is no rebate. Hence, benzole at is. 4d. a gallon , delivered, is equivalent to petrol at is ;Sid. For this reason, apparently, some owners of commercial motors, as well as many medical practitioners, who enjoy the rebate, have not troubled even to try it. Consideration of the fuel question must. not be limited to the conditions of the moment. Every owner and intending owner of an internal-eombustion-engined vehicle must look ahead. The requirements of the Navies and portions of the Mercantile Marines of the world are developing steadily in the direction of increased calls for liquid fuel. Motorcars of all kinds are being turned out at an unprecedented rate : production in the United States alone is at the rate of 1000 finished chassis per day. No new source of fuel supply should be neglected., Public opinion must be educated in all directions. where avoidance of wasteful consumption of suitable. fuels is possible.
Fundamental changes have occurred during the past 15 years in the methods of using ordinary lamming gas. It is no longer of importance, except in a, small percentage of cases, to adhere to the statutory candle-power standards. When gas was consumed. in open burners, in which the illuminating power is. derived from the combustion of the freed carbon, those candle-power standards were necessary. Today, with incandescent lighting almost universal, it is an obvious waste of material to keep benzole in the gas because of its illuminating capacity when burnt in an open flame. There is 20 times as much benzoic sent into the mains in town gas as there is benzole in the tar that stays behind. For the whole of the United Kingdom, not less than 40,000,000 gallons of benzoleis being " wasted" in the manner to which we refer. Mr. Henry L. Doherty, a well-known American engineer and financier, has very usefully and forcibly again drawn attention to this unnecessary waste of good fuel. Lord Montagu of Beaulieu provided the opportunity, at the Savoy Hotel, last week.
Every reader and supporter of Tux COMMERCIAL MOTOR should help the case by talking about it, and especially by mentioning it to any friends who may happen to be shareholders in or directors of gas undertakings. A good case could be made out for a relaxation of the existing law on the subject, provided the ordinary consumer were given a larger supply of the impoverished gas for the money which he is now paying. The removal of the benzole, of course, does reduce both the illuminating and the calorific values : the former loss does not matter, with any type of incandescent lighting, provided the heat units are made up by a larger supply at no added charge. It should pay to reduce the price per cubic foot, and to sell the benzole fur consumption in road vehicles. The abstraction of benzole reduces the heating value of coal gas by about seven per cent. Hence, the consumer will want another 70, cubic feet for every 1000 that he now burns.
It was the writer's pleasure, as the only member of the Petrol Substitutes Joint Committee who was present on the occasion of the dinner party that was given by Lord Montagu, to extend an invitation to Mr. Doherty to put the case in detail before that
Committee. Mr. Stenson Cooke' its Secretary, is taking the necessary steps, and some pronunciamento on the part of the Committee may be expected shortly. If it is held that the scheme is technically sound, a sustained campaign will undoubtedly be required to be initiated and carried through, in order to convince Parliament that the small consumer will not be prejudiced by the abandonment or revision of the out-of-date standards of candle power upon which we have briefly commented in the foregoing: lines. It is clear, therefore, that a long spell of work lies before those who have taken up this project as one that deserves to be pushed to a useful conclusion.
The Croydon Relief Road.
Every user of the road to Brighton, or of parts of that highway which lie on that side of Croydon which is remote from London, will be glad to know that the Corporation is making good progress in substantiating its case before Mr. A. A. G. Malet, one of the inspectors of the Local Government Board, in the inquiry at the Croydon Town Hall. The proposal is, to spend a total sum of 255,000 on an improved bypass road from Thornton Heath pond to Purley corner, and of this sum no less than 230,000 is promised by the Road Board. With the help of contributions from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and the L.B. and S.C.R., there remains 219,000 odd for the Corporation to find. It was the writer's pleasure, on Thursday last, to appear as a witness before the Inspector in support of the case for the relief road.
This scheme is receiving the whole-hearted backing of the Roads Improvement Association, which body appears by counsel, Mr. J. H. Watts, to put the case for all classes of road users. The relief road will shorten the distance to Brighton by only some 500 yds., but it will enable all through traffic to avoid the congestion in the High Street. The chief local opposition appears to come from parties whose interests are probably not unconnected with the High Street, and who evidently fear a diversion of trade to the new thoroughfare. The Borough as a whole must be the gainer.
The July Shows.
Our announcement of a fortnight ago, that we hafi some months ago arranged to organize an exhibit the Overseas Produce Section of the Bristol Show, appears to have set the whole industry, and others who deal with it, talking. We have taken cognizance of this remarkable departure by the Royal Agricultural Society of England, in arranging for the first time to have such a section at one of its Shows, for months past. The programme assumed concrete shape early in February last, and it was during that month that the Overseas Committee issued its 250,000 booklets. These, as we have already pointed out, were distributed to all parts of the Colonies and Overseas Dominions of the Empire, and we are in a position to state that they were circulated through reliable and trustworthy channels, including THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
Our share in these worthy efforts to bring Bristol and the varied uses of the commercial motor under the notice of potential buyers the world over is part of a well-considered scheme to arouse fresh interest in advance of the Show at Olympia. This branch of our preparations, announced by us a fortnight ago, has apparently caused many parties to pay heed to that which they had previously ignored or overlooked. It is satisfactory to us to have been the means of rousing attention where there previously was inatten tion, and we have no doubt that various manufac turers will regret their inability to obtain space in the Implement Section. Whether our own exhibit in the Overseas Section, to the success of which we ask makers to contribute by loans of a suitable character, of photographs and literature connected with motor transport and agricultural motors, will be imitated, we cannot at the moment say. We at least have the satisfaction, as usual, of having given the lead.
More About the Imminent Increase of Railway Goods Rates.
There is less than six weeks before the notified increase of railway rates takes effect. In order to enforce our references of the past two weeks, we now give the text of a typical official notice from one of the leading railway companies. because many owners of commercial motors will thus be assisted to make their own calculations in regard to the effecting of additional savings by the more-general adoption of road transport.
" NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to the Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1888, and the Order of the Board of Trade thereunder dated the 25th day of January, 1889, that the above-mentional Railway Company intend (subject to the Statutory Maxima) to INCREASE the RATES published in the Books required by Act of Parliament to be kept for public inspection (a) for the CARRJAGE of TRAFFIC (other than Coal and Coke) by MERCHANDISE TRAIN, and (b) for the CARRIAGE of PERISHABLE and other MERCHANDISE TRAFFIC by PASSENGER TRAIN, to the extent, and in the manner undermentioned, and that the altered rates are to come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1913.
As we showed a week ago, taking the average rate of increase as four per cent. on existing railway rates, a normally-worked motor lorry, with a load capacity of five tons, is rendered more valuable to its owner by 272 per annum on a 12s. C. and D. rate. The unanimity with which comment and conversation in commercial circles have turned in the direction of commercial-motor transport, as a means of escape from the higher rates, furnishes confirmation of our expressed opinion that the popularity of the Bristol and-Olympia Shows of July next will be directly enhanced by the circumstance under notice.