• WHEELS OF „INDUSTRY. „
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The
wheel of wealth will' be slowed by all dielotillies of fransport at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the roughlia ss of the roads over which. it runs."—John Beattie Crozier.
Ploughing Heavy Land at Lincoln. , ' Pressure on space in this issue prevents our dealing in the page devoted to the report of the Lincoln Tractor Trials with the tests which were carried. out on-heavy land. We shall deal with this more fully in our next week' a issue, but it is interesting to .note that some of the veins of the land exerted a drawbar pull of not less than 3,300 lb. On the whole, the tests on this' heavy land constituted quite ,a triumph for the competing machines, although some failed and others experienced great difficulty in doing the work with a three-furrow plough. Of those which gat through the stiff . clay with the three furrows demanded as a condition of the test, we may particularly mention the Chase, which came out. extraordinarily well, even doing better work than on light land; the Saunderson Model 0, which-made a pretty piece of work with furrows 6/, ins_ deep by 10 ins. Wide; the Glasgow and Peterborough; the latter greatly exceeding expectations both for good work and speed, The Wallis put up quite a wonderful per formance, as also did the Fiat,' and among ootlicr machines that suceeeded were the GB., Twin City, and-the GO . Considering the stiff nature of "the soil, the other entrants did quite well.
The,Corning -Belgian Show. " The International, 1Viotor!Exhibition to be held at Brussels from: December 10th to 19th, has 'disposed .of all its available! space. There will 64 car •exhibitors, 72 accessory • stands, 1.8 tyre. reanufaes tureri; 7 and 6 tractor and lorry exhibits respectively, 24 stands for stationary engines, and 20 for motorcycles. The show must be regarded as being of considerable importance, as it is the only one of its kind to be held on the Continent this year. In the 'circumstances, the practically negligible number of British exhibits must be regarded as regrettable,
H.L.G. Sparking Plug Clips.
In a recent "Ford Van Pointer ' ap
• pealing in The Commercial Motor, a description was given of a home-made spring terminal clip for attaching the high-tension wire to 's sparking plug terminal, and we were instantly, reminded by a correspondent that this type of clip was introduced by the Robinhood Engineesing Works, Ltd., the inventors and manufacturers of the K.L.G. sparking plug, and that the device in a much more practical form than that shown in "Ford Van Pointers" was patented.
We regret the error, Which obviously arose out of lack of familiarity with the devices that were introduced during the war for aircraft purposes.
15,000 Ton Motor Ship.
• " The internal-combustion engine is now making as much progresS, on the sea as it has done on land. It will no doubt surprise most •people to learn that already motor ships carrying 15,000 tens of cargo' have been built; whilst 14,000 tons ships are actually being constructed as standard craft on modified mass pro
o4
duotion lines. Details are given in the current issue of The Motor Ship of the first 15000 ton vessel 'afloat, as well as a--large number_ of illustrations of the ftret, of six 14,000 ten vessels which are being built in this country. sInformation is also.-givenconcerning a number of motor passenger liners noW -under construction, the firat of -Which ivill prObably be. completed before the 'end of the year. One -British, firm has a programme of motor ship construction in hand which, when completed, will give them a fleet of 18 ships with a combined carrying capacity of 210,000'tons of cargo."...
Alcohol Tests in Esthonia.
Recently, owing to the prohibitive price of petrol in Esthonia, a tractor demonstration s;sas made with, power alcohol, a fuel producible in the conntry
in great quantities. The petrol consumption of the tractor over hard,' stony . soil was .507 lb. per h.p. hour. The amount of alcohol used under the same conditions was .784 lb. per h.p. hour. The slightly greater Consumption of alcohol over petrol was aceosteted for by thessmaller amount of heating units in alcohol, but its relative cheapneasmuch more than compensates -for its greater consumption, " "Safety First.'
The London "Safety First" Council „has devised a competition, open to the children of railway employees residing within 20 sailer of Charing Cross, the object being, by the award of prizes and certificates, to encourage, special -interest in'Safety First" principles by children who are potential railway workers. An estty. of 500 words on safety first in dealing with the avoidance of accidents on railways is the task sot the children, and. prizes to the total value Of £20 Will be
awarded. • Full particulars can he Obtained fromthe Secretaries of the "Safety :First " Council, 2-3, Sanctuary, Westminster, S.W.1.
Tractors tor Esthonia. .
• According to a recent issue of the Eethonian paper 'Vat's/. Man, Ploughing tests' were made with the International HarVester C. 'tractoi-s on August '26th, many official persons from the Ministry of Agriculture and local farmers being present. , The resultsadhieved showed that the machines may he,Very well used in Eattionia, and it is confidently anticipated. that _the Ministry of Agriculture 'will place.large orders for tractors next springs • • In connection with the foregoing, al
• though it is net felt that :United Kingdom manufacturers are likely to take 'riff action on aceount'of financial difficulties of trade with Esthonia and the' proximity • of Germany,' the Department of Overseas Trade, 35, Old Queen Street.; EX., would be quite willing to offer its services in case any concern is interested.
A recent cable to the African World (London) states that tluisSouth African Motor Traders' Association, a new enter.. prise, has been launched with a membership of 200, 'representing the motor trade interest of 70 centres.
C.M.U.N. Parade at Worcester.
The commercial motor parade which took place at 'Worcester -on Monday of last week was quite a surprise to most people • concerned. There were more entries than expected, and more general interest disp15.yed, than such an event in a comparatively small town like Worcester
would seem to have warranted. Of courses the Association covers the greater part ,of the county, and there were entries from Kidderminster, BrornsgrOe, Malvern and Tewkesbury.
There was an excellent gathering of commercial vehicles of all sort s in the different classes. For the team chanipitinship of three Vehicles Harry Tyler
• entered Darracqs; F. Bullock, F.W.D., Foden and Alldays ' • Tewnshend's Mills, Tilling-Stevens, • Sentinel and Foden; Shaer and Fley, three. Fords; D.W.
Goodwin; three Claytons. .
Of the five classes each was well supported. D. W. Goodwin, millers, Kidderminster, made altogether nine entries, and had the oldest vehicle (a Thornycroft) on parade, which they had run for 16 years. J. Hera, one of their drivers, took the first prize for long service. Tessotthend's, Albion Flour Mills, Vv'orcaster ; made nine entries. F. Bullock, haulage contractor, _Worcester,eight. His F.W.D. and• large -platforin.'trailer 'ton rubber tyres proving a great attrae tion. • Harry Tyler; mail contractor,' had the next three oldest vehicles-Darracqs —one 13L. years, the' other 8 years, and the nest 6 years. Six entries were Made by Skater and Fley, grocers. Only rine
• omitibuS (A. .Staples, Worcester) appeared; but there were several chars-a,
banfct8-e
A r assembling on Pitchesoft, parade of the 'town was made, making avery suceessful day for the . first.C.M.U.A. parade in Worcester.
New Spanish Oil Companies.
The Sociedad Eiplotadora de Petrdlous
" °Tie," has been founded at Bilbao with a capital of 1,500,000 pesetas in 30,000 shares of 500 pesetas each for the exploration of oil fields, the transport, manipulation, refining, transformation, sale and importation of petroleum and similar products.
The Sociedad Espanola de Petrdleos has been formed to exploit the oil deposits discovered in tho provinces of Burgos and Alava. The chairman of the board is Don Frederica Echo warns, the vice-chairman Dan Julio Artmehe, anti the list of directors includes the names of Don Ricardo Power and Sefiores Ornilla, 'Urbino., and Yandizia. Two Swedish engineers will arrive shortly to direst the ivorks in connection -with the new oil fields, which, it is said, are of considerable importance.
Messrs. G. Sainways and Sons, coal merchants, of ljpwey, Dorset, have purchased a 3 ton Foden steam-wagon of Messrs. F. W. Berkeley and Co., of 39, 'Victoria Street, London, to enable them to carry out an important coal contract which they have secured.
St. Helens Traffic Census.
A conference is being arranged of the St. Helens and adjoining district councils to see if arrangements can be made for laying out route's for heavy motor traffic, so that local road users would. not be hampered so much. As a first step the St. Helens Highway Committee has decided to take a census of heavy motor traffic passing through the town from Liverpool and inland towns. It was pointed out that the char-a-laancs traffic was developing so rapidly that the Governinent would have to undertake the construction of many new and wider roads.
Bartle 's Coach Hood.
The illustrations accompanying a short article in opr issue for September 7th on " The Hood Problem ".ere typical of the trouble experienced by char-a-banes proprietors when putting up or closing down the usual type of motor coach hood. We concluded our article with the suggestion that the most obvious way of overcoming the difficulty was with some type of fixed top. Although this is the most obvious way, there aremany who assert that it is' not necessarily the beat method. For a vehicle engaged on winter work it might be preferable, but for a char-abanes where the work is entirely seasonal, the average passenger does not like a roof over his head in fine weather.
One of the best hoods which fulfils these conditions is that made by James Bartle and Co., Ltd.' r,f Western Iron Works, Notting Hill, W. We will not go into details of this hood, which we have already described, but those who are not familiar with its construction will be given an opportunity of seeing it at Olympia, where it will be fitted on a char.a-bancs on the company's stand and alto on coaches' on a number of the leading manufacturers' stands. The Bartle hood is essentially a one-man hood, whereas we have known " one-man " hoods to require four men to handle them.
Light Lorries for Turkey: In the course of some interesting. observations on the trade and economic conditions of Turkey for 1919, Captain C. H. Courthope-Munroe, Commercial Secre
tary to the British High Commissioner at Constantinople recalls that motorcari were introduced into Turkey about 1908, whilst lorries were unknown until the war, probably .on account of the bad condition of roads. A big demand, he says, exists for light lorries fitted to carry passengers and luggage from one interior town to another, and from railway. stations to distant towns. The points to. be noted as necessary are: high ground clearance, not to be heavy, baggage Carried ontside and around, not on top. It is of essential importance that esiery. representative of motorcars should be furnished with a repair shop, not simply a shop where spare parts are in stock, and need only to be adjusted, but also a shop ready to manufacture parts which may be out of stock.
Snow-removing Lorries in New York..
The Street, Cleaning Department of New York will shortly order 212 five ton motor lorries to be used for removing snow. The following tenders have been received: The White Co., 1,215,790 dollars; International Mater Co., 1,330,895 dollars; Pierce-Arrow Motor Co.. 1,354,465 dollars; and the Packard Motor Co., 1,4.52,242 dollars.
Personal Pars.
Owing to-the( rapid progress being made by ,l3arimar, Ltd., the sicientilic welders, Mr. C.. W. Brett, managing director, has found it necessary_ to appoint a, deputy manager to assist him with his many responsibilities, occasioned by the opening of several large home and overseas branches. Mr. W: Ewen, who.e portrait we reproduce, has been given the position. He -has had gonsiderable and varied commercial ,experience, both in London and .the North • of England, an.d is thoroughly corrversant with 'all modern business methods in connection with managerial matters. He is a man of many parts, full of enthusiasm and • initiative, and should prove a valualle acquisition. both to Mr. Brett and Barirnar, Ltd:
Anglo-American Trade, the monthly' organ of the American. Chamberof Commerce in London, announces that Mr. J. H. Wilson, managing • director of General Motors, Ltd., has been chosen to fill the vacancy on the board of directors of the American Chandler
cerated by the death of Mr. Louis Moa•gan Porter.
We learn that Mr. J. D. Fry; M.Sc., lecturer on physics at Bristol University, and Mr. A. lie.ssell Tiltman, B.Sc., have been appointed to the scientific staff of the Research As.sociation of British Rubber and Tyre Manufacturers.
Coach Owners Getting Together.
The Liverpool area committee of the Liverpool District, Cheshire and North Vales Char-a-banes Owners Association has decided to get into touch with the Manchester and Counties Motor Transport Association with a view to entering into some working arrangement and cooperating generally. The Manchester i Association s a powerful Organisation, laving a membership owning about 300 coaches, whilst the Liverpool ,-ASsociation is of comparatively rcent, formation, with a membership of 50 per cent, of the total membership of the association. ,
AustraliA and Oil.
The Commonwealth has increased its ,offer of a reward for the discovery of petroleum oil in commercial quantities in Australia from £10,000 to £50000.
The Good Roads Movement.
The good roaers movement has been given tremendous impetus in Northern Ontario, Canada, by the recently completed 1,400 miles' tour of promoters held under the auspices of the Michigan Pikes Association.
Consisting of 40 cars and lorries, carrying more than 200 motor enthusiasts, this procession travelled roads unknown to motor vehicles, in order to Stimulate construction of a highway that will enable motor users to travel through Ontario, via Windsor, Toronto, North Bay, and thus to.the sea.
Starting from Detroit with a total of 60 cars, including three kitchen lorries, motorized lighting plant and, showerbath lorry, the procession travelled for 15 days, meeting with an even more enthusiastic reception than on five previous trips that had resulted in boosting construction of modern roads. Mr. W. D. Edenlaurn, automobile .editor of the Detroit News, was tha tour manager. Over 90 road meetings were held on-the tour.
Among the features of the tour that. attracted great attention were the Ford band and the Goodyear lorry on pneumatics that holds the coast-to-coast record of America of 14 days and which has travelled 120,000 miles since 1917.
Transport Growth in Peter borough District.
Significant evidence of the growth of motor transport in the Peterborough area is afforded by the official figures which have just been rendered available regarding the number of motorcars, lorries, etc., which have been,registered
in the cathedral city, particularly notable being the developments for commercial purposes.
Apart front instances in which licences have been transferred, the number of new licences issued for motor vehicles is already greater than the total registered last year. Then, 119 new licences had been obtained at Peterborough, including those for lorries and motor tractors, and 315 for motorcycles, a total of 434. But up to last wcTic 444 motor vehicles had been already neWly registered, an increase of 32 over the whole of last year.
Welding in the North.
A welding engineering business of an interesting character opened this week at 160, high Street, Sunderland. The thief feature of the company under whose auspices the concern has been established is that practically every engineer engaged is an ex-Service man, and all are shareholders personally interested in the prosperity of the company. All kinds of motor, marine, colliery, textile, electrical, agricultural, printing, and other machinery will he repaired by up-to-date methods.
Mr. IngBS, who is in charge of the welding department,. -was oneof two highly-skilled specialists attached to the British Submarine Service during the war. Mr. Kenneth Macdonald, in charge of the machining department, is an extremely able engineer, whose life has been spent in the industry.
A branch is being opened at 3, Regent Terrace, New Bridge Street, Newcastle-. on-Tyne.
Tyre Presses for Overseas.
Hollings and Guest, Ltd., engineers, Thimble Mill Lane, Birmingham, are supplying their well-known tyre presses in large numbers, having during the last few months completed numerous airport orders.
As showing the universal demand for these machines, We may mention that presses have been shipped to the following destinations, amongst others : China, South America,Spain, Portugal, Egypt, Ceylon, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Dutch East Indies, New Zealand, Turkey, Persia, Mesopotamia, Cape Colony, Roumania, etc.
The company can now give good delivery of their standard presses.
Mexican Oil Developments.
The Mexican Petroleum Co., already one of the largest producers of oil in Mexico, and holder of some 600,000 aeras of proved and prospective oil land in that country, has more than doubled its present holdings, having acquired a 40year lease on additionaf800,000 acres of prospective oil territory in the State of Tamaulipas.
-A Traffic Manager Available.
We know of a man, age 39, possessing an all-round knowledge of passenger railway rates.and charges, railway organization, and facilities; etc., shipping and dock charges, and also road transport management, who seek& a post as traffic manager or assistant. He is a capable organizer, and possesses a good knowledge of transport conditions generally, Letters marked " care .of the Editor, will be forwarded
Petrol in South Africa.
" A Trade View oi the Petrol Situa.tion " is the titleaof an article in the Natal. Mercury, whose Maritzburg correspondent lately interviewed Mr. H. M. Hawkins, of IIiipp,Ganages, Ltd., on the subject. Mr. Hawkins expressed himself somewhat forcibly, baling the view that the recent announcements 41 a rise in price was perilously *suggestive of profiteering, "seeing that it coincides with the releasing of large stocks which have been held for seine time."
It is up to General Smnts,'the Premier, he declared, to take instant and drastic action, as there are at the present time
hundreds of motor traderi conntry districts who are. virtually upon thespoint of closing down owing to the failure of petrol supplies. "Many of the larger firms of motor traders,' continued Mr. Hawkins, "are arranging to, import their own, supplies of petrol, independently of the oil companies, and one very well-known firm already has a large consignment in transit. There is plenty of petrol to be had, and as soon as the Government sees lit to remoye its restrictions, supplies will be fully up to the demand. And then the question of price will automatically adjust itself. Petrel we must, and will, have at any price."
"Made in U.S.A."
gio-Amerian Trade, under the heading of "Motor Vehicles," says the American Chamber of Commerce . in London is advised by its automobile section to remind American exporters, not only of automobile accessories, but also of 411 lines of trade, that American trade-marked articles coming into Great Britain are required by the British Customs to bear the words "Made in U.S.A." or equivalent indication of tho country of origin. The Chamber is certain that nothing other than unfamiliarity with the British Merchandise Marks Act leads American exporters to. dim'egard these regulations, and is confident that once they are put in possession of the facts they will see to it that their goods are properly marked.
Inst. A.E. Meetings.
The following, is a list of meetings which will be held during the month of October under the auspices of the Institution of Automobile Engineers:— Wednesday, October &h.—Meeting of members in Wolverhampton district at the Talbot Hotel, Wolverhampton, at 7.30 p.m., when Mr. Cyril -Winiame (winner of 1920 Junior TI'.) will read a paper on "The Racing Motorcysle." Wednesday, October 13th.—Eirst meeting of the session of the main institution at tiles Royal Society of Arts, John Street, Adelphi, London, W.C., at 8 p.m., when Sir Henry Fowler will deliver his presidential address. .Thursday, October 14th.—First meeting of the session of the London Graduates at 28, Victoria Street., London, S.W. 1, when Messrs. Chatterton and Watson will read a paper on "Factors Affecting Power Output. '
Monday, October 18th.—Meeting of the Scottish centre. at the . Royal Technical College, Glasgow, at-7.30 p.m., when Sir Henry Fowler will deliver his -presidential address to the Scottish members.
Wednesday, October 20th.—Meeting of the Birmingham. graduates branch at the Chamber orCo-mmeree, New Street.
Birmingham, at 7.30 p.m. Paper by Mr. V. A. Ford on "Die Castings."
Wednesday, October 27th.—Annual dinner of members of the Institution of the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, London, S.W. 1, at 7.30 p.m.
Thursday, October 28th.—Second meet bag of the session of the main institution at the Chamber of Commerce, New Street, Birmingham, at 7.30 p.m., when Mr. C. H. Savage will read a paper on "The Springing of Motorcycles."
AmericarkLorries and South Africa.
Motorcars, lorries' and chassis imported into South Africa during 1919 were 6,846 in number' valued at
1,214,295, a figure greater by £300,000 than the total for 1917 and, 1918 combined.
Thus, Mr. W. G. Wickham, H.M. Senior Trade Commissioner in South Africa, in an official report on the trade of that country for the period named. Proceeding,Mr. Wickham adds The figures representing motordars, lorries, parts thereof, and motor tyres combined were' for 1913, ' 1,136,820; 1914,
780,461. Taking this group in detail; we find that in 1919 the United States had 79 per cent, of the motorcar importation, taking the money value, tanarlaIs share being just under.20 per cent.
Of motor-bicycles, the American. dinFoliation in 1913 was only 3 per cent., and, in 1919, 67 per cent. Of motor lorries, the ,Aneerican share was 50 per cents and even in bicycles 10 per cent, of the trade went across the Atlantic. These three last lines were, of course,. before the war, practically British monopolies.
Bus Service for Preston.
Preston Corporation Tramways Committee is considering the establishment of a motorbus service, and has asked the engineer to obtain information from other towns on thetsobject.
Local Proceedings.
Kingston-upon-Hull Council is getting :a loan of £1,985 for the purcha,setof motor fire-engine.
Cleethorpes U.D.C. has obtained permission to borrew 21,650 for the purchase of a motor fire-engine.
Ruislip-Northwood U.D.C. is -obtaining fresh tenders for a motor lorry, both for re-conditioned and new lorries.
A loan of 21,450 is to be obtained by the Ashton-under-Lyne Town Council for the purchase of a motor fire-engine.
Preston Corporation ploposes to purchase a five ton steam wagon from Messrs. Atkinson and Co., for £1,410.
The Health Ministry is inquiring into a proposal of the Goole T.C. to spend £1,800 on the purchase of motor veluclee.
One thousand eight hundred pounds is to be spent by Brampton U.D.C. on the purchase of aasteam wagon andastone crusher.
Ilford U.D.C. has accepted an offer from Messay and Co., Ltd., to supply immediately a 4 ton Orwell electric lorry for £1,690.
An inquiry has been held" into the application of Mansfield 'T.C. for power to borrow £1,800 for the purchase of a motor fire-engine.
Lambeth Council's Cleansing Committee proposes to purchase the latest pattern motor sweeping machine from the
Lacre Motor Car Los Ltd. '
The Ministry of "Health has sanctioned the borrowing by the Walthamitow Urban District Council of £5,025 for the purchase of six steam wagons.
Preston Corporation Health Committee has authorized the purchase of a motorvan at an estimated cost of 300; to replace two horged disinfecting vans.
Unable to purchase a second-hand DEO ton lorry, the WaIthamstow Council surveyor is getting a Ford Chassis and building a body in the Council's workshop.