Conducted by EDMUND DANGERFIELD.
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Vol. XXX. No. 779, —1
Petrolat a Famine Price.
THE VEIL of anonymity has been torn away and the "spirit message from beyond" has been blazoned forth by the herald of the Shell Marketing Co. We have a suspicion that the increase contemplated was to be between sa and 11d. per gallon, but the petrol people have had a "bad Press," as they say in political circles. Despite a " bad Press," however, they have taken advantage of their virtual, monopoly to mulct the public in eightpence, the least with, which they would be satisfied.
We cannot say we admire the light way in which petrol is spoken of in the company's apologia; it is referred to as an " accessory." It 'is far from being' an accessory. It may provide a useful addition to the means of enjoyment of the wealthy pleasure seeker who, spending freely on a week-end trip. to the ceast, would consider an extra four or five 'shillings for petrol to be beneath his notice. But the relation of petrol to goods and passenger transport is that of a vital necessity, and no more an accessory than is his life blood to a man.
Our indictment against the petrol suppliers (for the other three or four distributors are expected to follow the Shell lead with no noticeable delay) is that they have not considered. the commercial vehicle user nor shown the slightest acquaintance with the difficulties under which he has been labouring 'during the period when railway competition was excessively severe_ Take a service which in this country probably represents the high-water mark of efficiency in orga.niza, time that of the Landon General Omnibus Co. The previous two increases in the price of petrol served to turn a eoncernz,which was just paying into one showing a dead loss. The present increase, operating directly the existing contracts for supplies fall for renewal, must entail so heavy a loss that either the service on all but the most lucrative routes must be closed down or fares generally must be raised, so that the pocket of the travelling'publie will have to be delved into deeper. And why? Because the British importing house—the Asiatic Petroleum CO., we believe, but one finds a different concern at every phase of the operations—pays dearly for its petyol in the States (although the group is supposed to own a large number of productive wells, the cost of which has been already entirely written off) and pays .a high rate of freight (even to the ships belonging to the group itself).
Our big sticks must be benzole and power alcohol, and it is good news that the Scottish whisky distillers are spending their vast war-earned profits in laying down distilleries for the production of power-alcohol without waiting for the reports of the research committees, whilst it is highly probable that distilleries will be erected in tropical countries contiguous to the sources of raw material, so saving freight and other dead. charges. Every encouragement must he_given to the Production of these competing fuels, and it is. desirable that, whilst we are waiting for alcohol, hetizole should be asked for and used.; it will be wanted for admixture with alcohol, and public demand for it now should prevent the control of its supplies from being cornered by the petrol people in the meantime.
Difficulties of Repair Work on a Large Scale.
IT WAS FOUND necessary during the -war to institute heavy vehicle repairs upon a scale which , had never previously been attempted. Moreover, the circumstances of the war led to the establishment of what is undoubtedly the largest motor vehicle repair works existent in this country, namely, the muchdiscussed Slough Depot. Many people have, there- fore, turned their thoughts to the possibilities of carrying out repair work commercially on somewhat similar lines, and mean equivalent scale, and, whilst the proposition is undoubtedly attractive, theta are certain facts which cannot be overlooked in approach ing the problem. .
First of all, any scheme for the repair of vehicles in great numbers, unless it be in connection with a very large fleet of standardized vehicles such as the London bus services, inevitably entails the repair of .
a. large number of different makes and types of vehicles. Now, apart from all questions of the large area from which such vehicles would necessarily be drawn in a commercial undertaking and the consequent difficulties and expense of transportation of derelicts which would arise, the main fact must not be forgotten that spare part supply is an almost insurmountable difficulty which stands in the way of the continued success of such a project.
During the war, it was permissible and, in a sense, economical, inasmuch as it saved valuable time, to substitute new parts for old on a somewhat lavish scale, and the army authorities were in an exceptionally .strong position to gather together large stocks, but, in spite of all the facilities which then existed, we believe that, in many of the large repair shops, continuity of output was only made possible by the wholesale "robbery" of other, vehicles waiting in their hundreds for repair, and the use of serviceable parts taken. from them .to augment the supplies 6f
new spare parts. • Such a system, defensible in war, would be impossible under commercial conditions. Moreover, few commercial concerns could afford to hold spare part stocks—even if tl ey could obtain them—on the scale wh:eh !lie army authorities were able to during the
War. s
A Mass Production Myth.
AN ERROR into which it is quite easy to fall is to assume that, because it was possible, under the conditions set out in the preceding note, to introduce a certain degree of specialization,
to standardize the operations of repair to some extent, and to apply some of the principles of "scien tific management" on which the modern factory is run, it may be possible to organize large scale repair works in the same way on a commercial and profit-paying basis. Now, massed production in the factory is mainly :the reduction of the manufacture of a standardized commodity to a matter of routine. Inaprovisation is uneconomical and out of place in such a scheme. But the large scale army repair shop Was a hot-bed of improvisation. Although there may have been a.steady output fromit week by week the devices to which resort was made to produce that result, ingenious and creditable as they often were in the circumstances then obtaining, were the negation of routine.
Their productive existence was often a hand-tomouth affair in spite of prodigies of organization. That is to say that, with no' balance sheet to show and with almost,inexhaustible resources at its back, the military repairworks, though, perhaps, it developed quantity repair work as near to an exact science as it could be brought, could not reduce it to absolute routine.
If military experience proves anything at all, it proves that large scale repair work is a very difficult proposition, and that its success or failure hinges finally on the adequacy of spare part stocks, and the continuity of their supply. To ensure this under ordinary' commercial .conditions and. at. the same time, to preserve financial stability is bound to be very difficult indeed.
Horses and Modern Roads. a IT IS STATED that associations of horse owners, particularly among the agricultural class, have started ,a movement to bring pressure to bear upon county councils and other road authorities with a view to discouraging the construction!of the hard, even and dustless roacis needed by motor users, but not well, suited to horsed traffic. The alternative ,is suggested of the provision of comparatively rough macadamized tracks' alongside of the roads reconstructed for motor traffic.
The horse, of course, prefers a road upon which he can get a grip. He is, moreover, shod to assist that grip, or in other words to create or accentuate minor inequalities in the road surface. If the motor road is bad for him, he is equally bad for the motor road, unless it be of concrete or some equally hard sub stance.
Presumably, the associations of horse owners base their argument chiefly on the fact that the horse existed before the motor and is still, to some degree, essential for a certain number of purposes. The weakness of the ease lies, we suggest, in the freedom from taxation enjoyed in the past and, apparently, 'to be enjciyed in the future by the owner of any horsed vehicle used for farming or trade purposes.
In the old days -the national policy was that the roads had to be made for the use of all and sundry . that
the public provided them mainly for its trade vehicles and that the general benefit conferred by trade upon the community was such that no trade vehicle' should be taxed at all.
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Newadays, the theory has been substantially modified. We are told . that, if we -want good roads for motor vehicles we must pay for them, the trade vehicle bearing its share in taxation.
Rightly or wrongly, the Government fears -to suggest that this taxation shouldbe extended to the horsed traffic. It would be interesting to have the proposal that this should be done put' forward tentatively with official sanction, and to see what would be the attitude of the associations of horse owners in the matter. Should they prove -willing to accept a reasonable measure of taxation, then they would-have a reasonable claim for the expenditure of .money in their special interests. Should they protest against the proposal that they should be taxed, they would, under existing theories, definitely sacrifice their right to special consideration.
The thorough reconstruction of roads cannot take place immediately, and its consequence must become noticeable first on the main roads, upon which horsed traffic is rapidly becoming negligible in comparison with motor traffic. On the other hand, by-roads, which are thoseonainly used by farm carts, are likely, for some time to come, to continue to -be constructed on the system which horse owners would presumably advocate.
If 'motor Users pay some part of the cost of providing country roads for the benefit of the horse owner, then, so far as we can see, the horse owner has very little to complain of if some roads, instead of being improved from his point of view, are actually made less suitable. Surely, the man who pays the piper has the right to call the tune.
The Opportunity. of Alcohol Fuel.
AFTER MANY YEARS of persistent neglect, and even of ridicule, there is,. at least, a reasonable chance that the claims of alcohol to be regarded as a fuel of great utility will 'at last be recognized. ,
The increase in the price of petrol and the incontestable fact thatfthe supply of•petrol cannot be increased at the same rate as thedemand, and is by no means inexhaustible, is compelling people who haveihitherto been indifferent to look for another fuel capable of being produced in sufficient quantities to have a real effect upon the position.
Benzole is of .course, an ...admirable fuel, but all the circumstances point4to the conclusion that it cannot be regarded as the ultimate'successor of petrol. At the best, it can only -perform a supplementary service.
Had the motoring organizations, a few years back, proposed to put really substantial sums of money into the work of creatingslarge suppliestof alcohol fuel, the bulk of their members would have regarded that money as wasted and they.would have been subject to an immense amount of clan-kaging criticism.
" Now, "the position is changed. People are at last beginning to get really frightened. The general Press devotes space to a subject-upon which the technical Press has cried in the wilderness for years. The average motor owner would now, we believe, welcome the news: that organizations existing in his interests were doing everything in their power, both financially and in other ways, to bring about the extensive production of alcohol crops. We-feel, however that the proposition is such a huge oneithat it cannot be left to private enterprise, unsupported by the whole community through the medium of the Government. The greatestbenefits from the general use of alcohol as a fuel would accrue to the countries producing alcohol crops. In those countries, new agricultural industries would becreated and new and large industrial concerns would be brought into being.
It seems to us, therefore, that it is mainly for the enterprising Governments of the Overseas Dominions to push this matter forward. An immediate step , should be made with a view to ascertaining what would be the best alcohol crops to grow in ea-ch elistrict. Land, at present mainly. uncultivated, should be made available for the growth of such crops at the lowest possible rates, and expert advice supplied to the growers to -ensure prompt satisfactory results.
We, in thisA'country, would be interested, as consumers rather than as growers. We should not,stand to make a profit but, rather, to avoid a loss. Consequently, it would seem that the British Government's share inthe matter should be the conduct of complete investigations without undue regard to their cost, coupled with an adequate scheme of propaganda to assist in awakening that interest without which tbe measures taken by the Dominion Governments could not bear immediate and adequate fruit.
We trust that -the work which has now been inaugurated under the control of Sir Frederick Nathan will not be curtailed or delayed by any parsimony, at a time when free expenditure may be confidently expected to prove extraordinarily profitable, both directly `in respect of the development of the land values of the Empire, and indirectly in respect of the fixture economy of national transport.
The Motor Coaching Season. .
IT IS HIGH TIME for all who contemplate the operation of motor coaches or chars.aebancs during the coming season to turn their attention to the final completion of their plans. The best results cannot be obtained by merely ,putting vehicles upon the road,. without prior thought, and without any organization to draw attention to them and to make the services as efficient and comfortable as possible.
Those who, owing to the difficulty of getting delivery of new Vehicles of the highest class, are compelled to depend on older machines must, at least, see that the mechanical condition and also the appearance of these are as good as they can be made. In some cases, money may be well spent on body work with a view to bringing it up to date and, gen eralla.r, to smartening it up. It is also essential to consider just iwhat trips shall be run, with what frequency and at what fares, .and to prepare time-tables and other public•-announce ments accordingly. Arrange/bents should be made with the owners of shops, of a suitable kind and suit ably 'placed, to act as agents for the sale of tickets and to 'display time-tables and other advertisements. Similar arrangements should also be made at. leading hotels and boarding-houses. In some cases, it would be well worth while to get out booklets, illustrating and briefly describing the principal trips, and these should be in the smoking rooms and lounges of hotels, copies also being left with the agents. It may be possible to cover a part, if not the whole, of the cost of the production of such booklets by securing advertising support from some representative local traders. We suggest that, in any centre sufficiently important to justify the working of motor coach services by several proprietors, it is probably worth while' for these to form a little committee of their own, to arrange certain details as to the way in which the business shall be done by all concerned. Thus by common consent, touting May be prohibited, and the times of starting so arranged as not to clash to any unnecessary extent. Similarly, the running of trips to some one point by several■coaches on the same day can be avoided by consultation, and it is, by no means, inconceivable that the cost of general propaganda as, for example, the illustrated booklets suggested above, could be borne jointly in the interests of the business, as a whole, rather then iu that of any single coach proprietor. In fact, in this business as in others' there is room for some measure of co-operation, the merits of which arenew generally recognized, provided only that no attemPt is made to carry the thing to an undesirable extreme,