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A Baker' s Bogey Upset.

23rd April 1908, Page 23
23rd April 1908
Page 23
Page 23, 23rd April 1908 — A Baker' s Bogey Upset.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

By Henry Sturmey.

This does not relate to an accident on the high road, but to the disproving of a common fallacy in connection with bakers' vans, Only last week, I was talking to a baker who had been discussing a motorvan, but who had finally decided to purchase another pair of horses, when, in explanation of such a decision, he gave as his reason that motor drivers were always dirty, that their hands were always greasy, and that handling bread with greasy hands would contaminate it. Now, I know that this idea does keep many bakers off the motorvan notion, but, with a properly-constructed van, which gives little trouble to its driver out of garage, there is no reason why the driver's hands should be any more dirty than those of a horse driver. In the one case, he is handling leather reins, which have, probably, through the constant contact of his own hands, become thick with grease, and, in the other, he is handling a polished-wood steering-wheel, and a polished, plated, brake lever. There need be nothing else on the car which he must handle, except it be in the case of lengthy waits, when he stops his engine and has to restart it again by turning a polished, plated, handle.

Cleanliness the Motor Driver's Normal State.

He need never touch grease in doing either of the abovenoted things, and, should he require at any time to deal with engine matters, there are such things as gloves! You may say, perhaps, that the driver would not use them ; but, here, the employer has matters under his own control. Let the driver clearly understand that dirty hands are out of place, and so much out of place that he himself, with them, will be also out of place qua the seat of the car, and I think there will be very little trouble. But, even supposing the man does geL greasy hands. He wipes them promptly, for his own convenience, either on a scrap of cotton waste, or, maybe, on a cloth. Anyway, his hands are dry, and dry dirt does not adhere or soil. In this connection, I would compare with the horse driver of to-day, who, every now and again, may be pawing about his _horse. The contamination of animal matter on the hands from this source is, to my ideas, a much more serious thing, and a much more unpleasant thing, than the mere contact with hands which have been in touch with a mineral oil and rubbed dry. Yet, in the case sanctioned by convention, the baker looks on, and thinks nothing of the obvious presence of risks. In the other case, he holds up his hands in horror at the idea.

No Danger from the Exhaust.

It is not so much concerning these erroneous ideas as to possible contamination from motors and their drivers of which I would speak, but with regard to another matter about which much misconception exists. Times and again, when discussing the subject of motor transport with bakers and confectioners, have I met with the objection that motorvans were unsuitable for their trade, and, when questioned as to why this should-be so, have been told that their goods are of a delicate nature, which would be contamird by the " fumes from the-exhaust" passing into the body of the vehicle, and being thus brought into contact with the goods therein to everybody's detriment. This fallacy seems to be pretty generally held, and I suppose, looking at the matter broadly, it is, after all, not an unreasonable objection to occur to the mind of one without actual experience of the subject. The exhaust from a motorcar, especially when it is combined with burnt lubricating oil, is undoubtedly unpleasant to the olfactory nerves, and it is one of those things which most impress the man in the street, when a motorcar goes by, so that he is apt to conclude that, if the exhaust smells so unpleasantly, it . mst, if brought in contact with goods of a delicate nature, impart to those goods some of its unpleasant characteristics. Now, meeting this objection so frequently, and feeling satisfied that there was no foundation for it—because the exhaust fumes dissipate themselves instantly into the air, I communicated with several firms using motorvans for the conveyance of bread and confec tionery goods, and raised this particular point with them, asking them to be good enough to furnish me with their experiences, and several of them have been good enough to comply, so, as I remember that an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory," I give their replies for the benefit of those in the bakery trade who are hesitating to adopt the motor vehicle by reason of this fancied objection.

Users' Experiences.

The first of these replies comes from Messrs. John Angus and Son, Vale of Leven Bread Factory, Alexandria, who write that they " have had motorvans on the road since July last year, and up to now have had no complaints whatever from customers, and the bread has not been at all affected by the fumes from the exhaust." That is fairly conclusive, but the next one is even more so. Messrs. James Taylor (Wh.eatholin), Ltd., biscuit manufacturers, Airdrie, write :— "There is certainly nothing in the idea that the goods carried in a motor vehicle may be deleteriously affected by the fumes from the exhaust. We have been using two commercial motor vehicles for almost a year now, and on many of their runs these vans carry bread, which is put on boards and has no other protection from the fumes of the exhaust than the body, which, to allow the steam from the hot bread to escape, is ventilated, back, sides and front. In no branch of business is the cleanly handling of goods of more importance than in ours, and no goods could be more easily cottaminated than unwrapped bread, but we are pleased to say that the use of the motor vehicles has never given us the slightest trouble in this respect." Peek, Frean and Co., Ltd., is another company using motorvans for the conveyance of biscuits, and it, too, has noticed no deleterious effect from this cause, but its experience is hardly a fair one to quote, seeing that its goods are, for the most part, sent out in tins. On the other hand, Messrs. Jas. Shoolhred and Co., as most people know, have, for a long time now, very fully developed their motor department. Mr. Leycester Barwelt, a junior partner, being himself a motorist of considerable experience—I sold him his first car in 19o2—and this firm in the course of its business as general providers, handles bakery goods. In a letter to me dated 12th March, Mr. Barwell writes :—" We have now used motorvans for the delivery of mixed goods, including practically everything except fresh fish (which we do not sell) for 21 years, and have never had a single complaint on account of any smell or flavour from the exhaust. We continually use motorvans for such functions as hunt breakfasts, dinners, ball suppers, etc., and the deliveries on these occasions would include rolls and confectionery, which you mention." And this, too, may be considered fully satisfactory, whilst last, but not least, I have a letter from Mr. W. J. Rich, of 39, Wolseley wad, Freemantle, and, as that gentleman not only bears o„utthe experiences of others related above coricerning the point in question, but also gives some further results of general experience in the use of a motor vehicle. I make no apology for reproducing his letter in full. He says :—" In reply to your letter received to-day, I have been working my motorvan with excellent results. I can say with confidence that the goods are in no way affected by the fumes from the exhaust. I am doing the work of two horses with it, and could do more, if I could only leave th.e bakehouse earlier. I can do a six-hour round in three hours with my motorvan. I have had some of my customers ask my bakers why they cannot have their bread delivered by the motor. I have found it a splendid advertisement, so you see the people here like them. There is no doubt but that they are the coming thing. You are at liberty to make whatever use you like of this, or I shall be pleased to answer any enquiries." From the above I think I have made it perfectly clear, without any shadow of a doubt, that the bogey of damage from exhaust fumes is a bogey and nothing more, and that no one in the bakery trade need hesitate one moment—from this cause—to avail himself of the undoubted advantages which motor transport must give him in his business.


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