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The Motorcab Special.

27th February 1908
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Page 1, 27th February 1908 — The Motorcab Special.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

We are very pleased to be in a position to report that our announcement of the special motorcab issue has been well received. Our necessarily severe criticism of the estimates contained in the Provincial Motorcab Company's prospectus (page 522 ante) did not, as we were careful to indicate, imply that we discerned anything but a considerable scope for the rnotorcab and the jobbing brougham in the Provinces, but the circumstances clearly demanded an outspoken protest. Last week's notices on this subject in "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR" quickly created a stir in more than one quarter, and we have full proof that our intentions, as expressed in print seven days ago, and as previously communicated earlier in that week by letter to members of the motor industry, and to a select list of country cab proprietors who have been writing to us about the situation in relation to their own interests, have been widely appreciated. The formal notice about this important special number is repeated on page 546, and our efforts are now being directed towards the supplementing of our present lists of names. We shall not, of course, overlook hotel-keepers who combine a carriage-hiring business as part of their establishments, for they have, as regards another branch of the industry, already been brought within the scope of our missionary programme. Many supporters of this journal will remember our " Country Estates and Hotel Special " of the 15th February, 1906, the publication and circulation of which was followed by a considerable extension of orders for single-deck motorbuses and chars-à-bancs. To-day, with a body of experience in the construction and use of lighter types of passenger-carrying vehicles to meet hackneycarriage and other hiring requirements, we are fully satisfied that the time has come for the lead which "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR 7' has given..

The Time to Rally.

Now is the chance for users of commercial motors to rally to the support of their representative society—the Commercial Motor Us2rs' Association. No real occasion exists for apprehension, either in respect of taxation or of persecution by the police, but there is every need for the presentation of a combined fruit by all who are owners of modern examples of mechanical plant for road haulage. We are at a loss to follow the reasons which cause any individual, firm, or company to withhold the dispatch of that humble guinea to the Secretary of the C.M.U.A., to 1, Albemarle Street, W., and we cannot, with any pretence to charity, assent to the view that meanness is one factor. It is not consonant with the methods of English men of business, that they should seek to join a society only when they find themselves in trouble, and we prefer to ascribe the comparative indifference of users to one, or both, of two causes. These are : (a) pure carelessness and forgetfulness; and (b) an entire absence of molestation by the authorities in respect of vans, wagons, and tractors generally. The sound growth and strong position of the movement is truly reflected in the very possibility of so marked a state of apathy, and in one sense we are delighted to bear witness to its existence. There is, however, an element of danger in the situation, for any vital departure from the obtaining conditions of free and unrestricted use, such as has been foreshadowed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, must not find the C.M.U.A. without adequate financial support to enable it to conduct an effective and powerful opposition, by the presentation of its case in proper form, if it is sought to perpetrate the indiscretion of taxation upon trade as a subsidiary part of Mr. Asquith's scheme for the raising of fresh revenue by a sumptuary tax upon private motorcars. Stout opposition must be organised, both in the form of "lobbying" and of documentary matter, unless an acceptable measure of differentiation between private and commercial motors is disclosed when the Finance Bill is tabled. It was only at the dictate of expediency that the C.M.U.A. allowed its representatives to suggest a tax of five shillings per Ion of registered axle-weight per annum, and that, further, only as an offer in anticipation of some correlated movement in the direction of National Grants for road improvement. There is no precedent for the imposition of a burden upon trade and industry, such as is involved in the classifying of commercial motors with private motors : there is, contrariwise, as we pointed out last week, the precedent of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act of 1888 for complete exemption in regard to trade vehicles and tractors.

We appeal to our readers to look after their own interests to-day. Why wait until they are directly affected--is not prevention better than cure? The few must do the work ; the few alone can give the time to master and to meet the intricacies of political and legal difficulties, or of hostile in. terests, all of which may tend to render the employment of commercial motors less easy than is the case now. It should be the many who provide the funds, and no better insurance is offering, at this juncture of events, than may be secured in return for the payment of 47t is. per annum for membership of the C.M.U.A. Quite apart from the imminence of a Parliamentary campaign, which itself justifies the cal. for monetary support, the Association gives an ample return to members in the course of its ordinary and routine programme. We quote, from a statement of its objects : (a) to resist undue restrictions being placed upon the use of these vehicles by authorities having jurisdiction over roads, bridges and traffic; (h) to consider any claim from members for financial and legal assistance in respect of actions at law, either civil or criminal, in connection with the use of these vehicles, and if deemed expedient by the Executive Committee, to render assistance; (c) to give information and advice, and generally to protect and extend the rights and privileges of users of these vehicles; (d) to originate and from time to time promote improvements in the laws and regulations directly or indirectly affecting selfpropelled vehicular and, locomotive road traffic, and to support or oppose alterations in such laws and regulations; (e) to represent the views of members before Parliament and the Government Departments; (f) to collect and circulate to the members any information respecting the use of such vehicles likely to be of service to them; (g) to popularise and assist the development of self-propelled vehicular and locomotive road traffic; (h) to keep a register of drivers of these vehicles for the purposes of employment ; and (0 to furnish each member, if thought desirable, with a copy or copies of any periodical or periodicals dealing with matters of interest to members of the Association." Any person, firm, or com-pany may become a member of the Commercial Motor Users' Association, upon payment of an annual subscription of one guinea, without election, subject to the right of the Committee to cancel the enrolment of a member at the end of any year.

in Anticipation of the Season's Rush.

Proprietors of motorbuses, both in London and the provinces, have fully realised the importance of having their plant in good running order for the summer months. It has, of course, been the practice with some of our leading railway companies, and more particularly the Great Western Railway, to arrange the overhauling and repairing of their vehicles in such a manner as to render the whole of them available for service during the pressure which is inseparable from the tourist season, and this plan of operation, whereby the maxima of revenue and service are obtained from April to September inclusive, is now being pretty generally copied in the Metropolis. The engineering shops of the London General and the Vanguard Companies, for example, have been exceedingly busy, during the past winter, and a large number of omnibuses have been brought in for complete overhaul, notwithstanding the non-expiry of their licenses. It is obviously a good plan to arrange matters this way, because the slight financial sacrifice which is involved by the premature delivery of the numberplate to the police is as nothing compared with the loss of earnings if a vehicle has to be taken off the road during the summer. We should say that the aggregate of tnotorbuses in daily work will, within the next four or five weeks, take a jump of at least me, and that the month of May will witness the maintenance of London services at the highest aver

age than has yet been known. We venture, once again, to remind our readers that the fortnightly figures given in our census tables include all vehicles which, after their having been once passed by the police for service, have not been permanently withdrawn by their proprietors. The months of January and February, according to the statistical records in our hands, have shown an average of slightly less than oo per cent, in service of the total number recorded as being in commission. We should not be surprised if the month of June saw this figure increased until it touched So per cent.

The Manchester Show Difficulty.

We hope that the two local societies at Manchester will come together and settle their differences betimes. When in Manchester last week, the writer was much entertained by details of the triangular contest that had been in progross, and which is not yet ended. Certain it is that allround satisfaction cannot be given until a combined ,show is arranged, and the view that one or other of the local societies must " die " appears to us to tend in any direction but that of conciliation. Why not let both be absorbed into a new and larger company, and why not adopt this course in unison with both the Messrs. Jennison and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Trailers? Messrs. Jennison, as proprietors of the Belle Vue Gardens, hold the key to the situation, but they are both honourable and reasonable men of business. Had they not been the former, they would, when tempted with arguments and gold, have thrown over the Manchester and District Motor and Cycle Trades Association, which body has successfully promoted the show that will close next Saturday ; were they not the latter, it might be anticipated that too large a slice of the profits would be demanded by them in the future. All the elements of a mutually acceptable and creditable settlement exist, and we shall be very much disappointed if 1909 witnesses a repetition of the two-show difficulty in Cottonopolis.

The Advancing Use of Rubber Tires.

We have, at numerous intervals during the past eighteen months, directed attention to the fact that the employment of solid indiarubber tires for heavier axle-weights promised to come increasingly into vogue. We had occasion, during the commercial-vehicle trials of September and October last, to refer to " the triumph of rubber," and to emphasise the comparison then established with the earlier trials which had been held in this country, and we are glad to note that several of our leading manufacturers of three-ton steam wagons have recognised the practical value of this type of tire. So long as the weight upon the back axle at no time exceeds six tons, it is permissible for a steam-propelled etother motor vehicle to be driven at a speed of 12 miles an hour, and we are satisfied that, even upon rough country roads, the cost of maintenance of the six tires for such a machine, the back tires having twin treads, should not exceed 20. per mile. This addition to the working cost will be more than recouped in a number of special cases, and in none more than those where the extra turn of speed allows an added journey per day to be completed.


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