Gas Fuel of National Importance ( - N NE important feature of the
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Commercial 1...../Motor Exhibition this year will undoubtedly be the number of producer-gas plants on view. Moreover, some at least of these exhibits will have passed the experimental stage and reached the point at which their makers can claim satisfactory service under commercial conditions. One of them, in fact, is in use to the number of upwards of 10,000 units. This is excellent on several grounds. It is welcome because anything which widens the field of selection for alternative fuels is good for the industry. It is good, in particular, because of the opportunities of economies in cost of operation which are offered, especially since, in the new models we have examined, the cost and trouble of .maintenance have been reduced to small proportions. Most important of all, however, is the national aspect. Widespread use of plant of this description would confer considerable advantages in the event of war. Home-produced fuel is used of a kind which is readily available throughout the country. The situation which would arise in the event of a national emergency occurring would be most hopeful indeed if, in the road transport rolling stock available in the country, there was a substantial nucleus of gas-equipped vehicles, able to carry on without the need for imported fuel. If, in addition, there be several concerns making these plants, and in a position to increase production at short notice, the situation would be even better. It seems to us that the immediate need is for owners of large fleets to give this development their practical encouragement by adapting numbers of their vehicles to the use of producer or coal gas. Moreover, the example thus set by leading operators would be followed by others less experienced, and the chances of the rapid development and more widespread use of gas be correspondingly increased.
The Mouthpiece of the Industry THIS is the third and largest of the three great 1 special issues of The Commercial Motor dealing with the Exhibition at Earls Court. Next week we will publish a technical review of the Show, also details of the vehicles and appliances to be staged at the Roads and Transport Exhibition at the Royal Agricultural Hall. The four numbers constitute a triumph in roadtransport journalism and are so comprehensive in their review of the industry that they should certainly be retained for reference purposes, particularly as they contain the considered views • of many well-known personalities. Some of the people who purchase these issues may not previously have studied the journal, and we would emphasize to them the vital importance of obtaining it regularly. The Commercial Motor is the leading organ of the industry in all its branches. It deals lucidly and concisely with every problem that besets the operator, and fearlessly comments upon all proposals likely to prove harmful to him. It has been instrumental in bringing together many thousands of users, thus enabling them to speak with authority.