The Wheels of Industry.
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This journal, dealing as it does with the "Chariots of War," no less than with the "Wheels of Industry," continues of national importance. Its interests embrace impartially the transport wagon and the parcelcar, the military tractor and the steam lorry.
L.G.B. Committee.
The Editor gave evidence on Tuesday last as the nominated witness of the Commercial Motor Users Association, at the Local Government Board Offices, Whitehall, S.W., before the Departmental Committee.
Proposals and Purchases by Local Authorities.
The Metropolitan Asylums Board is seeking renders for 10 more motor an
The Napier (Australia) Borough Council is about to spend &WO on two motor fire-engines.
A sub-committee of the Stirling County Council is considering the purchase of a motor ambulance.. • The L.C.0 has renewed various hiring contracts to Thos. Tilling, Ltd., for one-ton and two-ton vans with drivers.
The Aldershot U.D.C. has referred to its Health Comfnittee a proposal not to grant licences to drive taxicabs to men of military age.
The L.C.C. has bought an additional 10 motor fire-engines from Dennis Bros., Ltd., at £975 each, and 17 more motor escape-vans of the same make, at 2770 each.
The Aberdeen Town Council has sanctioned the expenditure of £650, on a report from its Cleansing Committee, on the purchase of a Laffly motor street-sweeping machine.
We gave, on page 130 of our issue of the 14th inst., the price for the Daimler buses, purchased by the Rotherham Borough Council, at 2930 10s. each. The correct purchase price was £953 10s, each. Newmarket U.D.C. has declined to proceed with the consideration of tenders in hand, involving the expenditure of £700 on the purchase of a steam wagon, owing to war conditions. This is nota wise decision ; alternative methods of doing the same work must cost the council more.
Roads Improvement Association.
The Roads Improvement. Association has issued, under date the 22nd inst., a. letter in which it draws attention tocertain matters pertaining to the present condition of affairs in relation to road maintenance. We find, too, that our sister journal, " The Motor," in its issue for this week, dated the 26th inst., publishes a most interesting article under the title of " What Has Happened to the Road Board?" We may be able to make space to deal with these matters, in so far as we have not already touched upon the same themes, next week. The Claims of Coke.
Our two pages of " Opinions from Others" this week are entirely occupied by interesting letters in respect of the coal v. coke controversy. Important fresh testimony is forthcoming in support of . the claims of coke, and from several new standpoints.
Thornycroft War Types.
An interesting and well-illustrated booklet has been issued by John L Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., in order to convey to customers and intendingcustomers some particulars of its participation in the evolution and supply of the war lorries. This booklet runs to 16 pages, and it traces the history of Thornycroft successes since the trials of 1901, at Aldershot, to the present time. Copies will be supplied to any applicants in writing who address the company at Caxton House, S.W.
Our Fund.
We give the list of cash donations, to Saturday last, on page 166. We hope that supporters of the Fund will not misconceive our position, by reason of the handsome receipts during the first three weeks of the present month. We wish to remind them that not a few of the payments have been " lump " or quarterly ones, thus adding to the apparent receipts for the month. We reckon that we have at the moment by no means reached our estimated minimum requirement. of £1000 a Month forthe winter months, and the average, whatever it may prove to be, can readily be spent upon the provision of extra comforts for a growing "strength."
Royal Automobile Club.
The Royal Automobile Club, as • from the 1st January next, proposes to abandon its entrance fee, and to reduce its subscriptions for town members (County of London) to five guineas per annum, and for country members to three guineas per annum. These changes are contemplated in order to meet war conditions, and to induce alarge number of new members to join. .
The Abatement of lid. on Petrol.
We pointed out, in relativelymild terms, a fortnight ago, an inaccurate claim by a. contemporary. That claim read: "When we first succeeded in securing the abate, raent of ild. on petrol used for commercial purposes." When a mistake is made, whether by accident or from ignorance, the best course, we think, is to acknowledge There can be no legitimate confusion between the abatement of
announced by Mr. Lloyd George when he made his Budget speech in April, 1909, and the subsequent temporary postponement, for a few months, of the net remaining. tax of ncl. per gallon. That postponement,, the credit for obtaining which undoubtedly in part belonged in 1909 to our contemporary, although Mr. Stanway, of Manchester, claims to deserve much of_ it, and which postponement it is untrue to say we at any time opposed, is quite-a different matter, and is in „ no sense "the abatement,"
The claim that "the abatement" was secured by our contemporary is inaccurate. Failure to acknowledge that inaccuracy is, we repeat, merely to confuse the issue. We understand that Messrs. Geo. Roddy and. Sons, of Coxwold, Yorks, have purchased a three-ton Sentinel steam wagon through Messrs. F. W. Berkeley and Co., of 39, Victoria Street, London, S.W., to be worked in connection with their extensive flour mills.
Associated British Motor Mann.. facturers, Ltd.
We have received a letter from the secretary of the Associated British Motor Manufacturers, Ltd., in which he advises us further concerning the constitution of the committee of this body, and of its objects. We hope to make room for the letter next week.
Manchester, Liverpool and Counties C.M.U.A.
The Manchester, Liverpool and Counties C.M.U.A. has recently lost an esteemed member of its Committee, Mr. F. Houseman, one of the joint general managers of the Liverpool Co-operative Society, Ltd. This society, which has more than 60 branches in Liverpool and district, naturally has considerable transport interests, and these were effectively under the care of the late Mr. Houseman. We learn from Mr. Ellis Green, the secretary of the above-mentioned A3sociation, that a keethsense of loss is experienced on the Committee.
Finance Bill Points.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made the following announcements, in reply to recent questions in the House of Commons to Sir Alfred Mond, that imported tire pumps, being accessories to tires, are not dutiable, but that imported motorcar • horns are. In reply to Mr. A. du Cros, that component parts of tires, such as steel nonskidding studs, valves, etc., are not dutiable, so long as they are not otherwise accessories or component parts of motorcars, but that partlyfinished wcoden spokes, on importation, if for use on taxable cars, are liable to duty as component parts.
Chas. Macintosh and Co., Ltd.
We have received an interesting summary, from Chas. Macintosh and Co., Ltd., of Manchester, in which there is set forth the allocation of the funds which have been contributed by that 'company and its employees—half the sum by each. These funds, during the year ended the 28th August last, reached 24478 8s. 10d. The allocation (to the nearest 1) was as follows: National Belief Fund (Manchester branch). £3165; British Red Cross Society (East Lancashire branch), 2371 ; Lancashire and Cheshire Comforts Fund, 1211 ; Serbian Relief Fund, £186; East Lancs. Territorials' Convalescent .B36 Home Alexandra Fund, £182; Belgian Relief Fund, £182; French Relief Fund, 2182. The company itself, we may add, is supporting our Campaign Comforts Fund to the extent of 25 a month.
Simms Motor Units, Ltd.
The directors of Simms Motor Units, Ltd., have paid a dividend at the rate of 20 per cent. per annum, for the financial year ended the 30th June last, placed 23500 to reserve, and carried forward 27155.
Agrimotor Demonstration.
A further demonstration of agrimotors, following the tests at Stirling, which tests we fully reported a. fortnight ago, has been given at ...kllanfearn, near Inverness. The Mogul, Sandusky and Wyles agrimotors participated.
Shell Output.
Hollings and Guest. Ltd., of Thimble Mill Lane, Birmingham, which company enjoys a unique business in the supply of tirepresses, is now very busy making its special hydraulic bandingpresses and special shell-drying stoves, for all sizes of shell, from three-pounders up to those 12 ins. in diameter.
Petroleum Technologists.
Particulars of the formation, constitution and proceedings of the Institution of Petroleum Technologists have now been issued, in the form of an 84-page booklet, by the secretary of the Institution, whose offices are at 17, Gracechurch Street, London, E.G. The price of the booklet is 2s. (post free).
Position of Red Lights on All Vehicles.
The Home Office desires it to he known that, in addition to a lamp showing a white light in front, every vehicle must now carry at the
rear a red light placed in such a position as to be visible at a central point immediately .behind the vehicle. This stipulation is, of course, particularly valuable to commercial-vehicleowners and drivers, for it will insure the indication, under the present darkened conditions, of all horsed and other vehicles, the drivers of which have in so many cases been careless in this respect in the past. The regulations affecting the rear lighting of motor vehicles have, of course, always procured the result which it is now desired to achieve for all other vehicles.
Women Conductors.
The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis has now relaxed his earlier rule in respect of the granting of licences to women conductors. The L.C.C. and the National Steam Car Co., Ltd., are likely to employ a number of women in this capacity almost at once, but no decision appears to have been taken by the L.G.O.C. Changes of this kind cannot be made on a largo scale without considerable re-organization, and difficulties, which will he overcome, may partly account for any apparent hesitancy on the part of the L.G.O.C. The residue of men of military age is small.'
L.C.C. and Embankment Control.
The L.C.C. has control of the Embankment in more senses than one. It has a double tramway track there, and also considerable waiting-roorn accommodation. Thanks to the representations of Dr. P. J. Waldo, the City of London Coroner, a more-welcome form of "obstruction" was recently erected, opposite Temple Gardens, in the shape of another refuge. The judicious placing of refuges has at all times been urged, we have observed, by Dr. Waldo, whilst Sir Edward Henry strongly favours the construction of additional refuges. Recent Registrations.
Glyn and Avon Valley Motor Co., Ltd. (21200), by Jordan and Sons, Ltd., to carry on the business of motor char-h-bancs, omnibus and van proprietors.
Coventry Motor Fittings Co., Ltd. (210,000), to take over the business of manufacturing radiators, as now carried on by W. S. Tyler, at Far Gosford Street, Coventry.
Extraordinary Traffic.
The House of Lords, on the 14th inst., decided against the appeal of the Barnsley British Co-operative Society, arising from a claim by the Worsborough U.D.C. The use of a traction engine and trucks on certain roads was held to be extraordinary traffic, apparently despite the fact that a particular route had to be adopted because of certain action by the local authority. It was proved that the main road had been entirely paved with granite setts, rendering it dangerous for the traction-engine traffic, and that the Society, distributing to its various branches, was faced with the alternative of giving up the traffic, or of using the roads in dispute.
Dimmed Lamps.
Owners will do well to warn their drivers to take exceptional care in the matter of using bright headlights. Wherever acetylene or electric lighting is embodied in a vehicle, this precaution is undoubtedly necessary. Paraffin lamps seldom cause trouble with, the police, although we recently had our attention drawn to a case at Westeliff-on-Sea where it was alleged that a special constable would "run a glow-worm in." It appears that the police become particularly sensitive at any places which have been recently, or for the first time, raided. Names cannot be given, or we should breach the regulations of the Press Censor.
Join the C.M.U.A.
Owners of commercial motors, or intending owners, will do well to get into immediate communication with Mr. F. G. Bristow, the secretary of the Commercial Motor Users Association, whose address is 83, Pall Mall, S.W. At no time more than at present is it everybody's duty to support this country's one national organization which works for the best interests of users. The chairman of the Association is Colonel R. E. Crompton, CF., consulting engineer of the Road Board, and the annual subscription is 11s. Csi., with an entrance fee of one guinea. The Association provides free legal advice and defence, and subscribers automatically become associate members of the Royal Automobile Club
Much discussion has in the past taken place as to the desirability of fitting to commercial-vehicle chassis sonic form of adjustable spring. Although for touring-car purposes it may not be so necessary, rt will be obvious to our readers that, on a commercial vehicle of nominal load capacity, where the machine is utilized for widely differing purposes, one set of standard springs will not, as a rule, meet all conditions of loading and running.
Several manufacturers are prepared to fit different springs to suit the particular requirements of the customer, but even then the user's estimate of the loads to be carried is very often wide of the mark, whilst it is just possible that the machine would be used for other than its specified purpose.
The illustrations which we reproduce herewith show a simple device for this purpose, which has been invented and patented by Mr. 0. D. North, of Straker-Squire, Ltd. This will allow the back springs of a vehicle to be adjusted to suit the load
to be carried. We recently inspected the device as fitted to two machines of this make ; these were for delivery to the Metropolitan Asylums Board for ambulance work. These vehicles may at one time have to carry about a dozen patients in addition to the driver, while on another occasion the load may consist only of one nurse and two serious stretcher cases, to whom the jolting caused by stiff springing is of serious consequence. An ordinary cantilever spring is employed in the invention, which is attached at its rear end to the axle and anchored to the frame in front, there being no shackle at this point. In the centre of the spring a swinging link turns on a cross-tube (=tied by the frame. The upper end of this link carries a shackle pin whi.ch is attached by clips to a curved quadrant fastened to the middle of the spring.
By slackening the nut on the shackle pin the pressure on the clips is released so that they can be moved to any position on the quadrant. This operation can be carried out by inserting a bar into a hole in the link, as shown in one of our illustrations. It has been arranged to carry the bar in one of the crossmembers of the frame.
When the clips are at the year end of the quadrant, the spring is much stiffer than when they are at the front end, and, of course, intermediate positions give corresponding degrees of stiffness.
It should be observed that this device gives an adjustable spring in the true sense of the term, and yields a similar effect to that which would be obtained by using a greater or smaller pumber of leaves in the lamination. In a few seconds the exact stiffness best suited to conditions of running can be obtained, a feature which up till now has only been possible by the lengthy and tedious process of changing the springs, which is, of course, seldom practicable.