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Self-Propelled Broughams for Travellers.

27th April 1905, Page 14
27th April 1905
Page 14
Page 15
Page 14, 27th April 1905 — Self-Propelled Broughams for Travellers.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

It may confidently be stated that the motor has every prospect of figuring largely in that great commercial in dustry—the drapery world—before many years have passed, but at the present time much has to be done in the way of pioneer work; in convincing the heads of commercial concerns that the motor is suitable for the work, and in supplying commercial motors in such a form as to meet their special requirements. From a lengthy experience of the wholesale drapery trade, the writer is convinced that one important development can be looked forward to, i.e., the proAiding of motor broughams in place of the horse-drawn ones used by the wholesale city houses for their town travellers. Not only in London, but in the large provincial towns, such as Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool, I3irmingraint, and Leeds can this development be expected. It is important, in this connection, to study the present conditions under which the horse broughams are used, for it is useless for the motor manufacturing concerns to rush pell-mell into the drapery field, with the earnest desire of securing large orders &rut from the drapery houses. Taking a survey of present-day operations, it might be timely to point out that practically all city houses in the trade employ single or pair-horse broughams, .according to the requirements of and saiiiples carried by the particular travellers, but there are very few houses which own their own vehicles. These are hired by yearly contract from job-masters such as Thomas Tilling, Ltd., T. Hearn, and the London Cab Company, who send them out daily in good condition. The number required depends largely, of course, upon the size of the concern and number of town travellers employed. At the present time it is not necessary to particularise the number used by each of the leading houses, it being sufficient to state that as many as zo are used by the largest houses, and this goes far to show that the prospect opened out to the motor industry is a considerable one. The broughams house the traveller's samples, and, taking London's drapery travellers alone, considerably over a thousand one and two-horse broughams can

be seen early each morning proceeding to various parts of the .metropolis—with the traveller seated beside the driver or ensconced among his samples within. The head of one of the principal city houses told the writer that, personally, he would be quite willing to hire motor oroughains in lieu of the horse-drawn variety, provided that the contract did not exceed that which he now paid for each horse-drawn vehicle. His firm employs a fair number, for a big town trade is done, and he was prepared to take the full number of broughams he now uses, in the form of motor lax oughams, at annual contract rates of ,.,*1,7o to Lzzo per vehicle, the sum to include wear and tear, storage and driver--in fact, the broughams to be supplied each day as under the present contract. If absolutely reliable, he did not doubt but that the motor would present many advantages over the present type, but the motors must be reliable were words which he strongly emphasised, and which should be taken to heart by those who desire to cater for the drapery custom. There is no reason to doubt that the above reflect the views of other heads of city houses, many of whom are keen motor enthusiasts. The position, then, stands as follows: Motorcar manufacturers are afforded a field to provide a suitable vehicle for which good orders should be obtained, and, in order to convince wholesale drapery concerns that their vehicles can safely be substituted for the present horsedrawn type, they should get in touch with the job-master, from whom the orders will have to be secured. And in view of the fact that London's leading job-masters are looking with eyes of favour upon the motor omnibus, it is not too much to expect that they will be able to work out a profitable scheme with motor broughams, for the drapery as well as for other trades, by hiring out contracts, and at prices which will compare favourably with those in vogue. A properly-equipped garage, where men could be efficiently trained as cleaners and repairers, with broughams and vans carefully selected for hiring out, offers a wide scope for commercial enterprise, and it must not be forgotten that a lucrative general garage business could be worked in addition. The motor job-master should be a potent factor in the future. Points to approach the drapery houses, with regard to the change, would be that considerably more ground could be covered in the day by the motor brougham, and the 20 miles now covered, as a maximum, by the horse could easily be extended to Oo miles. This is an important consideration, for there is no business more keenly competitive than the drapery, especially when the season's rush for novelties is on. It would be a great advantage to the traveller if he could extend the number of his calls in a day in town, or could reach customers in the distant suburbs, which would be impossible with the horse-drawn vehicle. This should be taken into consideration when the slightly increased cost, as between motor and horse, has to be considered. The motor vehicle, in the hands of a fairly skilful driver, will also be able to thread its way more easily through the traffic, and thus economise time. A strong, serviceable chassis, with working gear thoroughly protected, and simple control, is required; and the body should be provided, as on present lines, with interior shelves for samples, and room for the traveller inside, in case of inclement weather. The door might be at the side, or at the back, perferably the latter, so that the samples could be conveniently placed around the traveller. Probably accommodation for samples would be required on the roof, Drapery samples, as a rule, are more bulks' than heavy, and the motor would not be called upon to Jrive a heavy load. Probably, for town work, pneumatic tyres of a reliable type would be found suifable. A good opening for motor vehicles presents itself also in regard to provincial travellers who cove* a district with headquarters in a large town, and, in fact, for the use of commercial travellers generally. An interesting example is that of Mr. Appleby, who travels the Midlands for Rylands and Sons, Manchester.

Ile does all his travelling on a to-12h.p. Humber, upon which he has covered several thousand miles, and he utilises the tonneau for carrying his samples. It appears to the writer that a traveller, picking oul his special samples, say, from the stock-room of his hotel, can start off on his car and so travel direct to his customers without the nuisance of loading up on a hand-cart, with the attendant porter, or if travelling by train, having the trouble and delay of getting a fresh hand-cart and porter at the other end, with its attendant loss of time. If the ground covered is badly served by trains, the car proves of inestimable value. It would be beyond the scope of this article to enter upon another vast field for the motor industry from a commercial aspect, but a word or two might be permissible in urging makers to cultivate the light delivery van trade for the delivery of light drapery goods. It is well known that there are thousands of retail business houses which own their own delivery (horse-drawn) vans, and a splendid opportunity presents itself in this direction by providing the right motor article at the right price. For a number of years past the principal drapery houses in the large centres at home and abroad have used motor delivery vans, more perhaps by way of novelty and advertisement in the early days, but the providing of unsuitable pleasure chassis by some of the makers caused the vans to be constantly at the repairing depots, and the experiment did not encourage the houses to increase their orders. But with the wider experience obtained, and closer attention to the needs of the light delivery van user, it is evident that makers are now supplying eminently suitable vehicles, for which a steadily increasing demand is resulting; and this can be largely developed. Reliability and economy in working are the two vital points which will appeal to the commercial man of to-day. Once the business is opened up, every drapery house will be bound to fall in line.


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