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OPINIONS

6th November 1936
Page 71
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Page 71, 6th November 1936 — OPINIONS
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QUERIES

MOTOR MANUFACTURERS SHOULD HELP THE INDUSTRY.

[1920] I read with great interest in your issue dated October 16 a letter from H. R. Hood Barrs under the heading : "How to Counter Railway Bullying." I quite agree with this correspondent, and now you motor manu facturers please take a little tip from our friend. It is up to you, if you want to be in business in 10 years' time, to get together and help road transport all that you can. Are you going to sit down and see the " goose that lays the golden eggs" killed? If something be not clone soon it will be too late—the railways will have got there first. WORRIED HAULIER. Cleethorpes.

A READER'S ENTHUSIASM.

[4921] I read your paper regularly and think it excellent. I consider it to be the best commercial paper that has ever been brought out, and it is remarkable value for threepence.

I, like both the sections dealing with passenger and goods transport. "News of the Week" is a good feature, whilst the illustrations and advertisements of buses, coaches, lorries and vans are of great interest to me. It is well written, instructive and full of information. In my opinion, it beats all other motor papers, and that it is popular is shown by its large circulation.

I shall be interested to learn the-date when it was founded.

You may be sure that I shall remain one of your loyal readers. J. E. H. SNEPP.

• Birchington.

[We much appreciate Mr. Snepp's enthusiastic appreciation of our efforts to make The Commercial Motor both interesting and informative. The journal was first published on March IS, 1905.—ED.]

THE WAGES COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY.

[4922] Mr. R. P. Bailey's somewhat pathetic enthusiasm in rushing to the aid of his colleague, Mr. W.

Edwards, in the letter from him published in your issue dated October 23, in no way disturbs me. What really matters is that a few individuals describing themselves as the National Joint Conciliation Board for the Road Motor Transport Industry (Goods), presumed, without mandate or even consultation, to speak on be half of the industry, and then proceeded to act as though their appointments were by divine inspiration.

The unrepresentative character of their deliberations and the grossly unfair and vicious way in which they "ordered." the industry to adopt their drastic proposals are matters which call for no comment. Let us be thankful that after two years of protests and representations this select and august body of would-be dictators has been swept aside by an impartial Government Committee of Inquiry.

My own view is that if the negotiating abilities of the Employers' Panel had been equal to the skill of the experienced trade unionists, their recommendations in respect of wages and conditions would not have ignored the general economic position of the industry.

Leeds, 1. FRANK G. Bisurscs.

AUTOMATIC SIGNALLING MAKING DRIVERS LAZY?

[4923] While so much attention is being paid by authorities and road-users alike to speed, built-up areas, traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, it is the opinion of my committee that too little care is being given to correct A recent survey of road courtesy, made by the committee of the Order of the Road, revealed that the giving of clear indication to other road-users vigs on the decline. It has been suggested that automatic signalling, as fitted to modern vehicles, has, as it were, made drivers " signallazy."

Modern traffic conditions have resulted in vehicles following in close formation to within a few feet one from the other. This may be traced, in part, to a desire to beat-the-lights, but such a reason is no excuse for the prevalent lack of signalling.

The committee 'finds that there is a growing tendency for drivers to stop suddenly, pull out and turn left or right without the slightest vestige of a signal to other road-users. In the interests of safety, it deprecates the present failing to give clear signals and urges upon all classes of road user the necessity of stricter observance of this section of the Highway Code.

F. H. BALE, Secretary, London, W.C.2. The Order of the Road.

THE FUTURE OF PRODUCER GAS.

l49241 Your contributor, H.R.P. (page 316, issue dated October 16), seems to be an enthusiast in a hurry.. If he reads my letter a little more carefully, he will see that I mentioned wood fuel specifically, and stated that I had driven wood-fuelled vehicles on the road, as well as those with charcoal gazogenes.

So far as the value of gas-producers in the matter of national defence is concerned, nobody but an imbecile would question an opinion on military affairs expressed by the world's greatest living soldier. In this connection, I simply suggested ways and means whereby the French War Office scheme might be furthered. My real point is that producer-gas from solid fuels, whether charcoal, wood, anthracite, coke or anything else, does not always give satisfaction in the hands of private owners. The performance at Montlhery which he mentions, and which I attended, was certainly wonderful, but it would have impressed use a great deal more had the car been privately owned.

I fully recognize the immense value of producer-gas in cases where liquid fuels are difficult to obtain, as in many undeveloped countries, or in time of war, but n5

I consider that gazogenes must continue to occupy a secondary position in the commercial-vehicle world until such time as the performance of gas-driven chassis in the hands of ordinary commercial users can compare reasonably with that of the oiler or petrol vehicle. The expression gas-driven used above, does not apply to the use -of compressed gas, which has a real commercial future.

I note that H.R.P. has made a study of portable gas plants during the past few months, 'including a long stay in France," a statement which seems curiously contradictory. During this time, he should have been able

to check my figures on the number of gas-driven vehicles in France. They include State-owned lorries, naturally. H.R.P. has absorbed a "mass of printed matter" on the subject. He has my sympathy ; so have I! My own stay in France has extended to only 14 years, but long enough to teach me that French printed matter of this kind is made up as follow: 50 per cent. bilge, 25 per cent, deliberate mis-statement, and 25 per cent, of interesting and sometimes helpful matter, which must, however, even in the latter case, be taken with several

grains of salt. GRAHAM DAVIES. Paris,


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