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News and Comment.

26th August 1909, Page 10
26th August 1909
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Page 10, 26th August 1909 — News and Comment.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

This journal is the recognized Users Organ: it has a genuine circulation (Home, Colonial and Foreign), genuine advertisement support, and an Editorial Staff whose members have had experience in road transport.

Mr. Max Polack, of Waltershausen, is on a business visit to London.

The provisions of the City of London Traffic Act will, we hope, be extended to the whole of the Metropolitan police area in due course— subject to proper safeguards.

Lever Bros., Ltd., of Port Sunlight. has placed a further order for petrol vans. Dennis Bros., Ltd., of Guildford, has this time been instructed to put in hand three four-tanners.

Mr. J. S. Matthew, managing director of Argylls, Ltd., has been selected to represent the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders on the Exhibition Committee of the Scottish Motor Trade Association.

The War Office has accepted the tender of It. Hornsby and Sons, Ltd., of Grantham, for a tractor, and the tender of the Vulcan Motor and Engineering Co. (1906), Ltd., of Southport, for motorcars. As is usual in 'War Office contracts, no prices are disclosed.

Express Delivery.

The accompanying illustration is of an express light-delivery van, upon a Dennis chassis, which is successfully used in the Farnham and Aldershot district for the conveyance of ice, fish and poultry. The vehicle has been in use for some six weeks, and its owner has found it most satisfactory.

Post-office Contracts.

The Postmaster-General gives notice that tenders for mail-van services in and near London are required to be lodged not later than the 9th prox. (3 p.m.). Printed forms of tender may be obtained on application, personal or written, at the Secretary's office, G.P.O.. London, or at the office of the Controller of the London Postal Service. .P.O.. London. where further particulars in regard to the services will he furnished if necessary.

R.A.C. and C.M.U.A.

The agreement between the Royal Automobile Club and the Commercial Motor Users' Association, to which we made reference last week, contains the following chief provisions :— (1)—The Association recognizes the Club as the only authority in the United Kingdom for the licensing, inaugurating, or conducting of trials, competitions and tests of commercial motor vehicles.

(2)--The Club undertakes to consult the Association in all matters relating to or affecting such trials.

(3)—The Association agrees to support the Club in any such trials. and the Club undertakes to support the Association in any tests it may conduct under a permit from the Club.

(4)—It is agreed that the Association may nominate representatives to sit upon any committees appointed by the Club in connection with such trials, and to nominate judges.

(5)—The Club agrees to encourage owners of commercial motor vehicles to join the Association.

(6)— The Association agrees to furnish the Club, upon request, with such information and data as may be within its power so to furnish. The C.31.-U.A. is now supported by

all the leading users.

War-office Sale.

The Secretary of State for War gives notice that he is prepared to receive tenders for the purchase of the following motor vehicles: 30 h.p. Wolseley paraffin tractor ; 10-12 h.p. Brooke motorcar ; 10 h.p. Wolseleymotorcar ; two 6 h.p. Wolseley motorcars ; 12 h.p. Siddeley motorcar ; seven traction wagons ; and seven sets of sling chains. Detailed forms of tender may be had from the Director of Army Contracts, War Office, S.W., and tenders must be delivered by 12 noon on the 8th prox.

French Statistics.

The annual statistics with regard to the taxes known as the "contributions , directes " have just been published in France; they include some interesting figures which deal with the increased employment of industrial motor vehicles in that country. Several tables are presented in the section dealing with the French motor industry, and they summarize the totals of all classes of motor vehicles that have been registered for the past ten years. Those figures dealing specifically with commercial-motor vehicles are instructive. In 1899, 234" voitures automobiles industrielles " were registered in France ; in 1900, there were 543; in 1902, 1,849; in 1903, 3,062; in 1904,

: in 1905, 6,532; in 1906, 8,904; in 1907, 11.685; and, in 1908, no fewer than 15,334. In the last three years, there has, therefore, been an increase of 8,802 vehicles. It is also interesting to note that in the same period there was only an increase of 7,241 pleasure cars. These totals, of course, only refer to vehicles in use in France, and taxable there on that account. Exports are not included, and no allowance is made for new machines which have taken the place of those duly consigned to the scrap heap. Separate tables deal with the imports and exports of all classes of motor vehicles, to and from France, respectively, during the past ten years. Values only are given in these instances. The most instructive comparison is probably afforded by the growth of the superiority of the exports over the imports year by year. In 1899, this superiority was valued at 3.786,000 francs, and in 1906 at 129.189,000 francs ; in 1907, a further increase to 135,676.000 francs was registered. but in 1908 this difference fell to 120,311,000 francs. Bull Gear, Ltd., with an authorized capital of £4,500 in Li shares, has been formed to adopt an agreement ,vith a Mr. L. Wirtz, and with its offieRs at Birmingham.

Swift Vans.

Mr. Robert Burns, the popular general manager of the Swift Motor Co., Lt4I., is now giving more attention to the van department, and developments of an interesting character are likely. This make of van should prove eminently satisfactory for net loads of about 10 cwt., and we illustrate one, on a 10-12 h.p. chassis, herewith.

A Northern Protagonist.

Mr. William Stairway, the Northern representative of the R.yknield Co., one of whose good characteristics is pertinacity, continues to send home in the Manchester local Press the numerous good arguments in favour of commercial motors. In the " Manchester Guardian " of the 17th inst., amongst a long series of pleas, Mr. Stanway enforces the point that railway companies suffer no injustice by being rated locally, in that they are the largest users of the roads.

Humber, Ltd.

Mr. H. C. Burford, M.I.Mech.n. M.T.A.E., has been chosen to fill the important post of general manager of Humber, Ltd. Ile will take up his duties on the 1st October. Milnes-Dainder, Ltd., his creation and the English sales branch of the Daimler-Motoren Gesellschaft, loses a hard worker, and the famous Coventry house gains the services of a man with much experience. Once Mr. Burford has accommodated himself to the new surroundings and circumstances which will be encountered at the Humber works, we shall expect to Nee him guide that concern into smoother waters. No. I of this jour

nal, published on the 16th Mara, 1905, contains a sketch and photograph of Mr. Burford as one of the first " Men worth knowing." He eer tainly is now confronted by a task worth doing, and we fear it will mean the deprivation of the S.M.M.T. of his services as chairman of its Commercial Vehicle Committee.

Australian Main Roads.

In New South Wales, an Act of Parliament has recently come into force which places the maintenance of the main roads in the hands of the shire councils, with the result that a large number of county surveyors have been appointed. It is stated that, in some districts, now that the government control has given place to local and parochial work, a change for the worse is already noticeable.

More Registrations.

Regulations are in the air throughout Australia. Victoria started the idea of registering and numbering cars and the infection is spreading. In the practical absence of commercial motors, their interests bid fair to be entirely overlooked, unless someone energetically takes up the cudgels on their behalf. In a praiseworthy desire to eheek furious driving of pleasure ears, legislators may overlook the needs of the business motor, and impose come hardship on it.

The Penalty of Mixed Traffic.

The number of persons known by the Metropolitan police to have been killed or injured in street accidents, after rising from 5,784 in 1891, fluctuated between 9,200 and 10,540 in the years 1897 to 1004. In 1905 it rose to 11,8130: in 1906, to 14,272 ; and, in 1907, to I 7,055. During the same period, the number of fatal accidents increased from 155 to 283. This rise is clearly due to the changing surfneetraffic conditions through which we are passing in London.

Dr. I'. J. Waldo, at the City Coroner's Court, on the 20th instant, at an enquiry as to the death by burning of a woman named Annie Bird, remarked upon the absence of motorambulances outside the City, and said that in the present case it took halfan-hour to fetch a hand-litter from Croswell Bead. 'Upwards of 14,000 street accidents occurred last year M London alone, and the amount of unnecessary suffering must be tremendous he had been told by doctors that many deaths would have been prevented if the patients could have been got to hospital with greater celerity.

Shrapnel Splashguards.

Tue Wolseley-Siddeley brougham. with Shrapnel ball-bearing splashguards, which we illustrate, presents the latest improvements of this public studying contrivance. The R.A.C. is now testing it, and we are confident that its merits will justify a good certificate. The proprietors can show good testimonials from some leading users of vans, at 266, South Lambeth Road, London, S.W.

Horse or Motor ?

In a recent article, in " Chambers's Journal," from the pen of Sir J. H. A.

Macdonald, we find the following interesting suggestion in regard to a possible settlement of the dispute between those who assert that motor traffic is the cause of undue injury to the roads apart from horse traffic :— " This dispute should be put an end to by experiment, and the experiment could be easily made. Let a place be selected where there is co,,siderabb, traffic of both kinds, and where it is possible to make a loop road some two or three hundred yards long, running parallel with an existing road. Let the roads on both sides of the loop be laid down in exactly the same manner, and then cause all the horse traffic to take one side of the loop and all the

mechanical traffic the other side. Both roads would then be inspected from time to time, and the effect of the traffic upon the surface noted. The result is certain, and would much surprise those who condemn motor traffic as being destructive to roads. After a few months, the arrangement should be reversed, and it would then be seen how the horse traffic had so injured the road that the motor traffic would complete the destruction, while the horse traffic being turned on to the side of the loop that had been used for motor traffic would soon pick into it with the hoofs, and crush into it with the narrow iron wheels. It is sincerely to be hoped that such an experiment may be tried."

More lvel Demonstrations.

The Ivel Agricultural Motors, Ltd., of 4.5, Great Marlborough Street, W., under the energetic management of Mr. A. Hoffmann, continues to give demonstrations in various parts of the country, and the results of these are certainly calculated to help business. On the 18th inst., for example, at the farm of Mr. Charles Capon, near Biggleswade, one of these motors, in addition to harvesting a field of wheat, was also shown hauling a three-furrow Howard plough, and cutting furrows 11 in. wide by 7 in. deep. Another engine, of the latest pattern, with magneto ignition, hauled a Harrison. and McGregor binder with a 7 ft. cutter attached.

Useful Reference Cards.

Mr. S. N. Brayshaw, of 2, Mulberry Street, Hulme, Manchester, has forwarded to us three most-useful card& of reference : No. 1 gives a number of frequently needed decimal equivalents; No. 2 is filled with millimetreinch equivalents; whilst on No. 3 a simple rule is given by which degrees centigrade may be converted into degrees Fahrenheit, or vice versa, together with a. table by means of which many temperature-scale comparisons may be read at sight. The cards are 9 in. by 6 in., and their faces are not disfigured by any reference to Mr. Brayshaw's manufactures, which include "twin-chambered," and " saltbath " case-hardening and tempering furnaces, and special cutting tools for all kinds of engineers' machines.

Mr. Brayshaw will be pleased to send one or more copies of one or all of the cards to anyone who mentions

THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.

A Chance for Inventors.

The Business Exhibition at Olympia has become an annual event of more than passing interest, and the promoters are this year seeking to make the show a greater success than ever. One of the new features introduced by the management is a departmant in which inventors' models and specifications will be exhibited quite free of expense to the inventor, except for such small out-of-pocket expenses as are incurred in the fitting-up of the stands. The idea of the promoters is to bring together inventors and capitalists, with a view to the development of many useful inventions which, for the lack of capital and proper handling, might otherwise lie dormant. No invention will be barred, so long as it is likely to prove of interest, and has not previously been manufactured for sale. Further information may be obtained from the secretary of the Business Exhibition, 2, Bream's Buildings, Fetter Lane, E.C. The date of the exhibition is from the 14th to 23rd October.


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