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The Wheels of Industry.

30th November 1916
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Page 8, 30th November 1916 — The Wheels of Industry.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The wheel of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever points arising, as a earl loge is by the roughness of the roads over which it runs."—John Beattie Crozier.

Bosch Magneto.

Messrs. Fuller, Horsey, Sons, and Cassell, of Billiter Square, London, E.G., have been instructed by the Board of Trade to realize the assets of the Bosch Magneto Co., Ltd.

Proceedings of Local Authorities.

The Walthamstow U.D.C. has decided to purchase a petrol motormower.

The Devon County Council is purchasing an additional steam tractor at 2556.

Lambeth Borough Council has placed its contract for supplies of motor spirit for the whole of 1917 with the Shell Marketing Co., Ltd.

Newcastle-on-Tyne Fire Brigade has officially tested its new Morris motor fire-engine, the test being carried out under the direction of Superintendent H. Burrows.

Godstone R.D.C. has approved the application of the East Surrey Traction Co., Ltd., to continue working its motorbus service between Godstone Green and Hartfield.

Bradford Corporation, through the Superintendent of the Street Cleansing Department, Mr. W. H. Inger, Harris Streets Bradford, requires tenders, on or before the 5th December, for motor-driven or other mechanically-propelled roadsweeping machines.

The West Sussex County Council has confirmed its previous decision to levy a charge of 3d. per motorbus-mile in respect of any new routes, and.has again expressed the view that such a charge is insufficient to meet the wear and tear involved. The Roads and Bridges Committee of this council appears to ignore both the experiences and the prop oals in other counties.

New Motorbus Powers.

Messrs. Lees and alace

Chambers, Bridge Street, Co.,iVestminster, S.W., are the Parliamentary agents for a Bill which the Mynyddislwyn U.D.C. is promoting in the • ensuing session to enable the Council to run motorbuses. The clauses provide inter alia for the acquisition of lands, provision of garages, shelters, etc., lopping of trees, leasing of omnibus undertaking, working agreements with other authorities, joint committees, and borrowing of money.

Notices have been issued with respect to the Bill which the Bewdas and Machen U.D.C. is promoting for the purpose of enabling it to run motor omnibuses. Messrs. Lees and Co. are the Parliamentary agents, and the Bill is on similar lines to the foregoing, except that it is specifically mentioned that powers are sought for working agreements with the Caerphilly U.D.C. and others.

Caerphilly U.D.C. has lodged the necessary papers with regard to a Bill for the provision and working

of omnibuses, and to make working agreements with Bedwas and Machcn U.D.C. and others. Messrs. Rees and Freres, 5, Victoria Street,, Westminster, are the Parliamentary agents.

In a Bill promoted by the Ebbw Vale U.D.C. for miscellaneous pur poses, powers are sought to enable the Council to provide and run motor omnibuses, and to borrow money for the provision of same, and for an omnibus depot. Messrs., Lees and Co. are the Parliamentary agents. Ashton-under-Lyne Corporation in a Bill, the main object of which is to purchase tramways, asks power to provide and run motor omnibuses within and without the borough, and to acquire lands and erect buildings therefor. Messrs. Sharpe, Pritchard and Co., Palace Chambers, 9, Bridge Street, Westminster, S.W., are the Parliamentary agents.

Taxi-drivers or Agriculturists?

It is a matter for some comment, that the Petrol Control Committee is allowing London taxi-drivers 90 gallons per cab per month, while it is at the same time allowing owners of agrimotors only 12 gallons per month. Does the Petrol Control Committee seek to play into the hands of Germany by thus han dicapping the production of food ? Where is the Board of Agriculture,

or the Royal Agricultural Society ? What are they doing to indicate the folly of hampering agriculture unnecessarily! Recent Registrations.

British Compressed Air Pumps, Ltd. (22500), by E. A. Fuller, Solicitor, 5, Clement's Inn, W.C. The first subscribers are E. A. Enever, engineer, 226, Piccadilly, W., and F. H. Bailey, engineer, 113-117, Charing Cross Road, W.C. Private company.

Meaning of Motor Spirit.

The first result of the circular letter of the Home Office conies from Scotland ; the Peebles police have abandoned their appeal against the decision in favour of the Rapid Motor Transport Co.' Ltd., given at Peebles Sheriff Court, in which case it was decided that the use of petrol to warm up the carburetter was no offence against the Order of the 18th August last. The C.M.U.A. undertook to support the Rapid Motor Transport Co., Ltd., but the police have given notice that they will not proceed with the appeal. The whole of the costs will be borne by the C.M.U.A., and we understand that they are approximately 225.

A Motor Factory for Cork.

Mr. R. Woodhead, of Southport, who was originally stated to be acting on behalf of Mr. Henry Ford, has acquired the freehold of Cork Park Racecourse, with a considerable river frontage, at a cost of £10,000. It is stipulated that the factory buildings shall cost a further 2200,000, and that not fewer than 2000 adult males shall be employed in the factory, on its completion, at a minimum wage of per hour. It was subsequently announced that Mr. Woodhead was acting on behalf of the Trafford Engineering Co., Ltd., which company's first factory near Manchester was compulsorily acquired some few months ago by the Government.

Getting More Petrol.

Users who have not in the past applied to the Petrol Control Committee for a supplementary licence are recommended by us to do so if they have good grounds on which to proceed. Hardship in the conduct of their commercial affairs may be taken as good grounds. We learn that the Petrol Control Committee will not grant any all-round increase on the 66 per cent. of the declared requirements of June last, owing to definite instructions which it appears to have received from higher quarters. Against that state ' affairs, however, there appears to be an undoubted preparedness to go into individual cases. Any callers at 19, Berkeley Street, W., will do well to ask for Mr. Ford. Fellows Magneto.

We are pleased to learn that. 238,000, of the recent issue of 250,000, has so far been subscribed for shares in the Fellows Magneto Co., Ltd. The company's works are at Park Royal, London, N.W.

B.P. Spirit.

No reply had reached us, at the time of going to press, concerning the source of supply of the new motor spirit which this Germanowned company seeks to market. We invited the secretary of the company to answer, on this and other points, and notified him that space was held at his disposal.

Taxicabs on Hire Purchase.

Apropos the position of ownerdrivers who have acquired their cab g on the hire-purchase system; Mr. Walter Long again made it clear, in reply to a question in the House of Commons last week, by Mr. Bowerman that such men are protected by the Courts Emergency Powers Acts. The vendor of a taxicab cannot take possession of such a, vehicle without the consent of the Court, and assistance may also be granted in respect of instalments. Grants for this purpose have i already been made n a number of cases, and in some instances to the limit of the maximum grant-2104 per annum.

The Smithfield Show.

The one hundred and seventeenth show of the Smithfield Club will be held at the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington, 4th to 8th December next, under the Presidency of the Earl of Durham.

Palladium Vehicles.

It was to Palladium vehicles for loads of between three and four tons capacity that our paragraph of last week (page 2,71) referred. Messrs. Foster and Tattersall, 4, Great Marlborough Street, London, W., are the sole ooncessionnaires for this make of commercial motor.

Gazette.

Mr. William Wilson, of Richmond, Yorks., has been appointed liquidator in the voluntary liquidation of the National Road Traffic Co., Ltd., of Richmond, Yorks.

Mr. H. E. Ware, of 7, Unity Street, College Green, Bristol, has been appointed liquidator in the voluntary liquidation of Proctor's Garage, Ltd., Folkestone, Kent.

Creditors of the Cyprus Motor Transport and Development Co., Ltd., are required to send in their claims, on or before the 14th December, to Mr. F. Rowland, 70, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.

Creditors of the Penzance Motor Haulage Co., Ltd., in voluntary liquidation, are required to send in their claims, on or before the 19th December, to the liquidator, Mr. A. J. P. Whitaker, Tregunna Hill, St. Ives, Cornwall. The Late Mr. Ei J. O'Reilly.

-It is with sincere regret that we learn of*the death last week of Mr. E. J. O'Reilly, a member of the editorial staff of our contemporary, " The Motor Trader," following a street accident. He was an entertaining and informative writer in that journal under the nom de plume of "The Scorcher." Mr. O'Reilly, who possessed a versatile genius, was a ready speaker, and a confirmed optimist. His services to the cause of motoring were numerous, whilst his support of the claims of the agent were =emitting. He was a likeable man in all senses of the word, and one whose loss will be widely felt,.

Motorbus Service for China.

The Chinese Republic, which has practically no network of railway to speak of, considering its vast dimensions, is now interesting itself largely in the problem of transport. A large American company7 we understand, has already applied to, and obtained permission from, the authorities to open a motor service for both passengers and goods. This service will be run between the centre of Pekin and the outskirts. The streets will have to be prepared, but this work also has been given to the company running the service. The journal from which we cull this information states that in the province of Tschili also the roads are being remade so as to be suitable for motor traffic. National Steam Car Cc., Ltd.

We under.stand that the acquirement of the National Steam Car Co., Ltd., by the L.G.O.C. and Underground interests is in course of arrangement, and that the purchase sheme is practically completed. No details are yet available for publication.

Standardization of Agrimotors in the U.S.A.

It is evident that the farm tractor will loom largely in the forthcoming activities of the Standards Committee of the combined Society of Automobile Engineers, the National Gas Association, and the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. It has been suggested, by the way, that the name of the society shall be the Society of Automotive Engineers.

"Safety First."

To-morrow (Friday), the 1st December, Mr. 11 E. Blain, operating manager of the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., and the London Underground Railway Co., will take the leading part in furthering, a policy for which he has made himself whole-heartedly responsible. We refer to the scheme for "safety first" in all branches of London traffic. Mr. Blain has extended an invitation to the police, to county, borough and other local authorities, to various organizations of road users, to trade unions, and to the leading traction and transportation companies in all categories. The meeting will take place at Caxton HaIl, Westminster, S.W., at 3 p.m.

Tillings at Brighton.

We are glad to see that the directors of Thomas Tilling, Ltd.' have been able to carry through their programme for the acquirement of the Brighton, Rove, and Preston United Omnibus Co., Ltd. These two companies have entered into a contract under which the former acquires all the omnibuses, horses, plant, and stock-in-trade of the latter. The handing-over to Thomas Tilling, Ltd., took place on Tuesday last, and the number of motorbuses thus added to the Tilling fleet is no fewer than 53; of these, 12 are battery-propelled. Thus does an old feud -happily disappear, in conjunction with a guarantee for adequate progress in the future. The bulk of the work of carrying out this new departure fell upon Mr. Walter Wolsey, jnr.

We anticipate that there will be an early strengthening of the public services in Brighton by means of motorbuses, and one interesting point in the arrangement, as regards terms, appears to be the satisfactory payment to the local company. Whereas the directors of that undertaking were obligated to 040 the Brighton Corporation, in certain contingent events, to accept a payment of £12,000, they are receiving from Thomas Tilling, Ltd., not less than £44,000.

New Dunlop Capital.

The issue, with the consent of the Treasury, of £1,000,000 of additional capital, by the Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., in 6,'E per cent. " B " preference shares, was completed earlier this week. We referred to the objects in view, and particularly to commercial-motor extensions, three weeks ago.

Licences for Second Men on Steam Wagons and Tractors.

We have consistently advised readers of THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR to license (5s. per annum) the second man on any steam wagon or tractor, if there is at any time a probability that the second man will handle the steering-wheel. We take the view that such a second man, when he steers, is as much in control of the direction of the vehicle as the driver who holds the main stop-valve is in control of the motion generally. At the Sheffield police court, on the 21st inst. a driver named George William' Needham was fined 5s., and his employer, Mr. Oliver Jackson, haulage contractor, £3— the former for driving without a licence, and the latter for employing an unlicensed driver. Both fines were imposed in respect of the " offence ' to which we refer.

Depreciation on Commercial Vehicles.

We are sorry to have to record the failure of the negotiations between the Board of Inland Revenue and the Commercial Motor Users Association for a universal settlement in respect of the rate of depreciation upon commercial vehicles before the assessment of their owners to income tax. The negotiations did not include publicpassenger vehicles, negotiations in respect of them being conducted separately.

The proposed basis of settlement was a uniform rate of 20 per cent. on the written-down value, and a postal vote of the members of the Association was taken. The result of that postal vote disclosed a remarkable degree of apathy on the whole subject, and a. certain amount of opposition to the proposed rate. The replies were such, having regard to their percentage upon the total membership and their character, as to persuade the General Committee of the Association not to proceed further, an intimation to which effect was duly conveyed to the Board of Inland Revenue.

We are in a position to state that one of the factors which also contributed to the decision of the General Committee was this : the officials of the Board of Inland Revenue gave an intimation that

there would, as soon as the war was over, immediately be demanded a reduction of the suggested rate, which was for the period of the war only, to 15 per cent. upon the written-down value. This semi-official intimation had as much to do with the " shelving " of the scheme as anything else, for it was felt that the acceptance, even indirectly, of such a prospective reduction' was an obligation into which the Commercial Users Association could in no case enter on behalf of its members. Such a rate is in all circumstances too low.

The Dennis Meeting.

We last week summarized the financial results of the Dennis cornpany for its financial year ended , the 30th September last. At the company's annual meeting, held on the 23rd inst., in the course of his speech seconding the motion for the adoption of the accounts, we ollserve that Mr. Raymond Dennis, one of the managing directors of the company, was able to give the . shareholders convincing facts in respect of the company's output for military purposes, its fire-engine output and its works extension. Mr. Dennis also spoke at some length on the subrct of import duties on foreign-built vehicles. We quote from this portion of his speech Exceptional circumstances must be met by exceptional measures, and it appears urgently necessary that the Empire as a whole should assist our industry by imposing adequate import duties upon foreign vehicles. If duties are imposed in the first instance for a definite and limited period, it will be for us as manufacturers to prove to the public that it is not our intention to abuse the advantage thus accruing to us ; our object should be, and would be, first to recover and then to extend Our markets with the assistance of those protective duties, and to give our clients better value for money than has been possible in the past. This can only be done by increasing our output ; and such increase of output is also necessary for the reason that remunerative employment must be found for a, vast amount of skilled and unskilled labour. At present we are in no way protected from the process of the transference of our goodwill into foreign hands. The Board of Trade has certainly issued an Order providing for the 'prohibition of imports of foreign commercialmotor vehicles, but this prohibition is not absolute ; it is' only conditional. Up to the present the powers taken by the Board of Trade have not been effectively exercised. Foreign vehicles are still allowed to come into the country, not merely for the carriage of essential goods, but for.the conveyance of articles of luxury, the manufacture ,and distribution of which might very well be discouraged in time of war." •

The German Branch of the North British Rubber Co., Ltd. The North British Rubber Co. Aktiengesellsch.aft has been compulsorily wound up as from 31st

July, 1916. irector John Guttsman, of Berlin-Grunewald, has been appointed liquidator.

Petrol More Abundant Than Coal.

We read in a Dutch paper that it is proposed to run the railways in South Russia on petrol in future. This course is to be adopted in order to meet the shortage of coal v,nd to reduce the running costs.

Fault Location Chart.

We have received' from the Motor Training Institute, Ltd. (la, Heddon St., Regent St., W.), a copy of its " Practical Fault Location Chart." This is a chart designed to enable a driver, whose to is at fault, quicklk :o locate the trouble, and would appear to be very useful as an aid to that end. The price is is.

Continental Rubber CoFined £22,225.

The director of the Danish branch of the Continental Rubber Co. was recently, together with two of his assistants, condemned to three months imprisonment and fined £22,225 for smuggling rubber into Germany.

We gather that shortly after the outbreak of war, ' the manager bought to instructions received from the parent company in Germany a large quantity of rubber, the greater part of which was, indirectly, exported into Germany. After a time, however, the nature of the business which was being carried on was discovered by the Danish authorities, and further activities in this direction ceased. That part of the rubber which he had not been able to dispose of in this manner was confiscated, and a fine to the amount given above, which equals twice the value of the rubber smuggled, was imposed.

A Novel Magneto.

A patent has been taken out by Mr. H. Robinson, of 82, Aubrey Road, Small Heath Park, Birmingham, for a magneto of special design, and he claims to have eliminated the contact breaker, the distributor, and the condensor. The illustration, which we reproduce, will serve to illustrate the principle of its design. The current is produced by a magnet revolving on a shaft and surrounded by the requisite number of armatures, so that there is one to each cylinder. The interruption of the current in the primary circuit is produced by cutting the magnetic flux, which occurs each time the magnet leaves the polar horns of an armature.

Although apparently the machine is bulkier than the ordinary maw

neto, the weight may -be reduced. The simplicity is increased. An important point is that since the primary winding is closed and is never opened ; there is no need for a condensor, and the contact breaker being dispensed with the principal sources of occasional magneto troubles are thereby eliminated. It would appear to be capable of being ma i ufactured cheaply. The patentee is anxious to get into communication with some responsible persons who will afford financial assistance.


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