Alcohol as Fuel : Will Aught Be Done ?
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TLIE PUBLIC is beginnia' to take the line that, when a need has becuiiae sufficiently pronounced to call for the appointment of a Special Committee to inquire into it, some action shall follow upon its findings. Thousands of hours of valuable time and thousands of the public money have been spent in important inquiries, .resulting in recommendations of some course of action discovered to be best at the moment, but the net effect has, almost invariably, been the pigeon-holing of the reports, perhaps the inclusion of a name or two in some honours list—and the continuation of the evils, remedies for which the committees were instructed to find.
During the war, we made the delectable discovery that reforms can be introduced and evils swept away with a few strokes of the pen—the Daylight Saving scheme was one instance, the prevention of cornering of stocks of foodstuff and raw materials another. The question now is, the war being over, are we to revert to our aimless methods of the past, the laissez faire attitude which has been so universally condemned, and which our war-time experience has shown to be easily avoidable I On two matters, this issue may soon be tested. The one is the provision of means of producing alcohol from Empire resources : the other is the question of facilitating London traffic and the transport of London's millions of workers to and from their homes.
The Committee on Alcohol Motor Fuel appointed in October was inter-departmental, and we are able to give a rather full summary of its first report in this issue. Its eight .months' work has not brought tip light anything that is particularly new. But it has served to focus into one document much disjointed information and has removed certain red herrings from the 'path of inquiry. It has made certain .definite recommendations and, if pressure can be applied to secure their adoption, it should be possible to develop an alcohol industry, drawing its raw materials from the ethylene recoverable in the coking of coal and from certain known sources in our Empire overseas.
The forces for reform vithie.h overstrode their barriers during war time have brought about the boring for oil in Derbyshire, the licensing of similar enterprises elsewhere and the expansion of the benzole industry. Is it too much to hope that these forces possess sufficient momentum to enable us to develop in the Empire yet one more source of fuel Can we not have it agreed that never again shall we be dependent for the life blood of our transport and the fuel of our Navy upon any foreign sciurce, however friendly it may be now and promise to be for a few generations to come? Moreover, we must provide for the enormous expansion of the demand for liquid 'fuel, and alcohol from home sources and from our ove'rsea Dominions can be, and should be, made a valuable contribution toward S that need.
Commercial Vehicle Show: Why Not at the Royal?
THERE HAS BEEN a goodly assembly of cornmercial-vehicle people at the Royal Show at Cardiff this year, and the trade has taken to itself this first opportunity of a. general foregathering, and, naturally enough, topics of current post-armiz stice interest have been discussed pretty fully.
It was our fortune to hear an opinion expressed, in particular directions which are generally regarded as authoritative by those who are concerned with the industry, that the somewhat vague question of the location of the Commercial Vehicle Show, might very well be solved by a decision to hold it each year, if this could be arranged, in conjunction with the splendid organization of the Royal Agricultural Society of England.
There is increasing commercial-vehicle interest in these shows, and, at Cardiff, this tendency has been greatly emphasized. It would be necessary if anything came of the. idea, to endeavour to arrange with the 11.A.S.E. authorities to allocate a considerable ground area for the exclusive use of the commercial-vehicle industry. As things are at present, commercial motors are mixed up with all kinds of miscellaneous other exhibits, ranging from agricultural machinery to butter-making equipment. The interest, therefore, is more or less a divided one.
The crowds attending these shows are increasing in numbers every year, and if these crowds and, in addition the special public which would inevitably be attracted by the commercial-vehicle show of the year, were available for publicity purposes for the industry, it would appear, at any rate at first sight, to be an excellent business opportunity.
Few enclosed buildings are suitable for the proper display of commercial motors. They are generally not large enough for industrial-vehicle exhibits. Room for 'buildings in plenty could be found at the Royal show venues, and there is the additional advantage of the changing location from year to year. This vast new industry calls, however, for one big show in London each year, supplemented perhaps by other shows of the kind suggested in different parts of the country. It is hoped that no decision will be reached hurriedly, as there are obviously certain disadvantages to an outdoor show. Not least, of course, is that of the possibility of adverse weather conditions, but those experienced over a long period have not been sufficiently desperate to put an effective damper on the organization of the Royal Show itself. No worse effect should be experienced so far as the suggested commercial-vehicle display is concerned.
If one were to offer other criticisms, it is that the facilities for feeding are generally inadequate. This -whole question is being actively discussed by men who matter in the trade, and it would be interesting to notice if it goes any further.
One Agent and Many Makers.
IT WOULD SERVE no useful purpose were we to mention names. Suffice it to say that, during our perambulations round a recent show ground, we encountered a very fine display, and a very varied one, of commercial motor vehicles on one agent's stand. Amongst the collection were three competing steam wagons and two . competing petrol threetonners. Now, at a time when the commercialvehicle industry, after a, very great deal of thinking about it, has apparently decided to take advan-9.ge of the sF.2,rvices of local agents' organizations, it is at least interesting to consider whether the policy of entrusting the local sales of competing models to one house is one with much to recommend it.
It is, of course, perfectly true that the present remarkable demand for the leading types of machines, and the consequent advance bookings, render the agent's task unusually difficult. In these days, when, for instance, a well-known make of chassis, fitted with a ehar-a-bancs body, can be sold by public auction for 2,170 guineas, the agent's anxiety not to have to lose sales is perfectly intelligible. There may, therefore, for the present, be Considerable reason for this local pooling of interests, but it is a policy which we are little inclined to commend. It is almost impossible in such eases to ensure thatwhole-hearted and single interest which is the only condition which will maintain lasting and satisfactory relationship between manufacturer and agent. We are of opinion that the well-equipped agent has a great role to play in the coming wide development of industrial motoring, and it is, therefore, a matter of great moment that the general policy to be pursued should be a 'wise one and, certainly, one that cannot be classified by the sceptic as largely opportunist.
One agent, one maker for each model, is the arrangement which will in the end prove the profitable and enduring policy as between maker and dis
tributor, if we are not gravely mistaken. It is a wellnigh impossible task to do full justice to the claims, for instance of a Clayton and ShuttleWorth, a Foden and an Atkinson five-ton steamer, when all are on offer by one agent as alternatives. A sale of one must be to the prejudice of the other, however skilful the salesman. .
An Alternative to the "Bus Queue."
WRILE DEALING with minor expedients devised mainly for the purpose of getting over our temporary traffic troubles, we suggest that the London Traffic Committee should at least give serious consideration to the system of bus control adopted in Paris. We do not propose that this system should be applied at every stopping place in London, but we think that good results might be obtained by its limited application at certain selected' points: Briefly the srF Lent is as follows :
At certain selecter. stopping places, a standard is erected or a lamp post adapted to carry, at a height of 6 ft. or so above the ground, packets of numbered papers. These papers are of different colours anti each packet refers to a specified bus service using the stopping point. When the intending passenger arrives at the stopping place, he pulls off the top sheet of paper. Every sheet bears a number and, when the omnibus arrives, the passengers are admitted on to it in the order of the numbers on their papers. Thus, the person who has arrived first is given the first opportunity of boarding the bus if there are any vacant seats. The system leads to a little delay, but this is reduced to a minimum, since any passenger who feels that his turn has arrived calls out his number as soon as the bas stops, and, unless someone else then calls out a lower number, he is given the first opportunity of getting on board. The numbers are, of course, shown to the conductor so that there is no chance of anyone taking an unfair
advantage.-. the system Were . applied in London at very crowded points it would probably occasion considerable t delays, but if it were applied only at intermediate points then people who, through physical disability, stand DO chane in a crowd would; know that by walking to the nearest of these points they would at least get their turn and obtain a seat sooner or later. In this way, a real grievance would be more or less eliminated, and some provision of the kind appears to be particularly necessary now that we have among us so many people who have lost limbs, or, become in some way crippled, and are, ' therefore, unable to fight their way into the front of a crowd scrambling for one or two vacant seats. It would help 'also to eliminate the very dangerous practice now.-prevalent of gripping the back rail of an omnibus 20 or 30 yards before the stopping point is reached at the risk of stumbling in the crowd and falling heavily or being dragged along the street.