Too Little Incentive for High Posts
Page 52
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IXAAY I thoroughly endorse your leading article 1v1
"Increase the Differential" which appeared in your issue of June 25, and the important point that it puts over?
I would add that this closing of the differential between "the man at the bench" and the professional engineer or manager has shown itself in all parts of the engineering industry during and since the war. In addition, it is by no means restricted to the road transport industry.
There is now not sufficient monetary incentive to attract young apprentices and others to aspire to reach top management posts by their own hard work and study during the evenings.
In many cases the manual worker is earning more than the professional engineer, when his incentive schemes and overtime are taken into account. Surely, there must be something wrong with a state of society which permits this unbalanced condition of affairs to persist.
Richmond, Surrey. J. 0. STARLING.
Return to Solid Tyres Impracticable
IN his plea for a return to solid tyres, in your issue 1 dated July 9, Douglas James seems to be suffering from the common delusion that a tyre's only function is cushioning. This is, in fact, its least important duty. It must also carry the load and transmit driving, braking and cornerirg forces (very powerful these days) to the road surface.
A solid tyre could perform all these tasks efficiently only if it were made from rubber, or some rubber-like material. The heat generated by compression and decompression would, however, lead to the rapid breakup of solid rubber tyres at speeds above, say, 15 m.p.h. Of course, if we accepted a lower speed limitation, Mr. James could then advocate a return to the horse, compared with which the. i.e. engine is also rather " unreliable"!
The truth is that the pneumatic tyre is a cheap and efficient article, the invention of which made modern road transport possible. Where it proves persistently troublesome the cause, almost invariably, is poor maintenance, or abuse, or a combination of both.
Eaglesham, Renfrewshire. DANE SINCLAIR.
The Fuel Racket Confirmed
REFER RING to your leading article, "Fuel Racketeers," in your issue dated July 16, I have been carrying on correspondence for quite a time with the Garage and Motor Agent in connection with this matter, as 1 have been one of the unfortunate garage proprietors who have lost business through turning away such requests and reporting these cases.
I appreciate the fact that a journal like The Commercial Motor is taking up the matter and trust that some good will be done by getting the facts brought more fully to the nolice of the garage owners and fleet operators.
• This practice has not been attempted at my company's premises in London, but I own a small garage in the country and this is where I have been up against this A34 difficulty. Fortunately, I have a very honest staff down there and they have brought to my notice all cases where fictitious receipts have been asked for.
London, S.E.1. J. H. RICHARDSON, Managing Director, Alford and Alder, Ltd.
WAS very interested in your article about "fuel racketeers," as I have had some personal experience.
Being the owner of a small fleet of furniture vans, 1 am often away from home and have to buy petrol, paying cash for it. On more than one occasion the pump attendant has asked how many gallons I wanted entering on the receipt. In every case I have told the man, in no uncertain terms, who I am and what I thought of the suggestion.
In two cases it was the actual owner of the petrol station who was concerned, and after I had asked him how he would feel if he caught one of his employees doing a similar thing at his expense, I think (or hope) that he saw the seriousness of the suggestion.
Redcar. MARTIN DURKIN.
• Another Racket to Investigate
J WAS pleased to see in The Commercial Motor 'dated 1 July 16, your leading article concerning the racket which is taking place in connection with the issue of fuel to drivers. It was also interesting to read that some drivers are at last being caught and fined in the north for booking subsistence-allowance claims when they were actually at home in their own beds. It is a way of obtaining public money by false pretences.
This further racket ought to receive more attention by operators, particularly British Road Services, also the police. It is particularly prevalent in the outskirts of London. In this area many B.R.S. vehicles can be found in side streets, car parks, and places which are more or less hidden, almost every night, and it is remarkable that the police do not institute a check on them and ask B.R.S. to produce the appropriate log sheets.
I understand also that some of these drivers book on at 5-6 a.m. the next day at the place where they are supposed to be, and thus obtain pay for two or three hours at time and a half—and this for being at home!
London, W.3. H.B.P.
A Useful Hint to Piston Makers •
nN several occasions, after waiting two or three days for the delivery of a new set of pistons and rings, I have had the misfortune to break a ring while fitting the pistons.
Would it not be possible and advisable for the manufacturers to include, say, a spare oil ring and one of the compression type with each set of pistons?
Tavernspite, Whitland. C. B. HITCHINGS.
[No doubt this could be done, but it would naturally involve a little extra expense which might not be popular with all buyers. A compromise would be to order the additional rings at the same time as the set of pistons. If no rings were broken the surplus could be stored and no extra ones ordered in the next requisition for pistons of similar size.—En.]