Opinions from Others.
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters should .be on one side of the paper only, and type-written by preference. Tin' right of a'ibreviation is reserved, and no responsdnlity for the views expressed is accepted.
Decarboniser " for Petrol Engines.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[9761 Sir :-1 regret that only to-day has my attention been drawn to the letter (No. 958), in your issue of 27th May, on the above subject, from Messrs. The BritishAmerican Company. The fluid with which I experimented was not called " Casso," and it was not applied in the way which your correspondent mentioned. I am greatly interested in these reputed " decarbonisers," as I think they will be, if effective, a great boon, not only to the motorist, but also to the oil manufacturer, and I shall be greatly obliged to the British-American Company if they would send me enough " Casso " to experiment with on
one cylinder.—Yours faithfully, A. Dues:Ewe Millwall.
17th -June, 1909.
Users Experiences (No. XIX).
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[977] Sir :—I am very much pleased to find that manufacturers are confirming my previous statements as to the difficulties which would be created by the suggested alterations in wheel diameters of steam lorries. I hope the excellent example set by Leyland Motors, Ltd., will be followed by other makers in the interests of the trade. One would feel tempted to wonder why the leading manufacturers were not consulted in the first place, if it were not for the fact that proposals concerning the motor industry are being directed at the moment by those who evidently have very little sympathy with either the makers or users of motor lorries. Proof of this is found in the constant protests which appear in the leading motor journals on the subject. I have just come in from a 36-mile rim on a wagon, and, whilst I do not recommend anyone to try and run a business and a wagon at the same time, it is sometimes a necessary evil if the work is to be kept going, and provides a means of obtaining an insight into the work which no office experience can supply. We have started a fund to meet drivers' fines, having got the idea from a recent letter which appeared in your paper by Mr. " Observer." I have contributed a certain sum, to give the fund a substantial basis, and have undertaken to subscribe a sum per week equal to that of the employees : the drivers assume entire responsibility for certain breaches of the law, such as standing on bridges [This is not an offence under the Motor Car Auts.—En.], leaving clinkers on the road, etc.: the firm undertakes all cases of overweight; and some cas:?s will be dealt with on their merits. The cases under whieh a driver can definitely claim relief from the fund are clearly specified ; the relief, however, which a man receives will be in inverse proportion to the number of applications within a specified time. Drivers who do not apply for relief within a certain period will be entitled to have half their subscriptions returned to them on leaving, and new drivers joining must pay a small entrance fee as a guarantee of good faith. The most-gratifying point is that the fund has been started at the instance of the drivers themselves, and time alone can prove how far such a scheme is practical: experience will no doubt suggest alterations. In my mind, a motor-wagon carrier's business is one which essentially requires co-operation.
I had the pleasure of a trial run on a steam wagon fitted with rubber tires recently, and I am decidedly impressed with the absence of vibration and noise. Rubber tires a-ill undoubtedly prove very beneficial to heavy
vehicles running light when the greatest vibration is set up on a machine. Drivers, however, will have to remember that, when fitted with rubber tires, a machine must be very carefully handled in starting, stopping and turning, it the tires are to remain on the wheels. The tires also appeared to provide a suitable cushion to the compensating gear, which makers have endeavoured in the past, without effect, to provide by rubber rings on the compensating shaft. It will be interesting to learn what saving can be effected in fuel, and, if road surveyors will only exercise a little patience, the gradual adoption of rubber tires, coupled with a means of preventing frost from penetrating a road, may hasten a. solution of the road problem. Our log sheet for the week is as follows :—Earnings, £62; mileage, 883; tonnage, 166; percentage of work done, 90; coke used, 8 tons; oil (gear) 8 gallons; and oil (cylinder), 3 gallons.—Yours, etc., "MOTOR-WAGON CARRIER."
Rubber Tires for Steam Lorries.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[978] Sir :—I have read the discreet advice of " MotorWagon Carrier," in your issue of to-day, with the feelings of a " brother in doubt." It will be stupid, too hurriedly, to abandon the proved steam-wagon, which has been continuously evolved under lice-ton loads since the year 1898. Now, Sir, the petrol lorry has dealt chiefly with smaller loads, and it is only during the past 2i years that it has been anywhere near the mark for five-ton loads.
It is, rather, on the solid-tire question that I want to say a few words and, this time, to ask advice. The letter in question (No. 975) points out, as you did about a year ago [Issue of the 2nd July, 1908.—n:e], that rubber tires may become more general upon " steamers." One sees them, already, upon a fair number of the threetonners, and I believe several of the leading makers will sell them under yuarantee for five-tonners. It is true the first cost may run to as much as £180 for a set, and the mileage cost to 3d., but I can discern a number of cases where the extra would be quickly recouped. Repairs must be less, and daily performance greater. It is enough for me that so shrewd a man as Mr. William Birtwistle, of Preston, has solid-rubber tires fitted to a steam lorry. I shall do the same.—Yours truly,
Manchester. " A. Netenaoun." 17th June, 1909.
Trade at His Own Door.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
(979] Sir :—Perhaps the makers are willing to see you go on with special Colonial and Foreign Numbers? The succession of those issues, dating back to March, 1905, at least show that you--even if you have not been sent round the world—have been doing something? Do you not think that makers have done the proper thing to begin at home, and may it not be very hard for them to find trustworthy men who possess the necessary knowledge and tact for so long and responsible a journey ?--.Yours, etc.,
Birmingham. ROBERT JAMES.
rwe consider any round.world trip should only be undertaken by a rincipal, or ce..tainly by a responsible traveller of exceptional merit and addoess. We have every reason to believe that, the present highlysatisfactory volume of export trade is in no small measure doe to the issues quoted hy us last week, hut more should be done. A " beginning" was made at home more than 10 years ago: we urge broadness of view, end a widening of the field of action. The world is our market, and not the United Kingdom alone.—En.) The Edi or, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
1.953`0] Sir ;—As one of your readers, I was interested with Messrs. Shoolbred and Co.'s letter (No. 968i in your issue of June 10th. The point that has been most interesting to me is the one dealing with the cost of tire repairs, but what impresses me somewhat is the very low figure which Messrs. Shoolbred pay for this item. The " Owner of Two's " figures (Answers to Queries, No. 1,410) seemed to me at the time to be much too high, but neither in my own case, nor in any other with which I am acquainted, are the costs so low as those given by Messrs. Shoolbred and Co., which apparently work out as follow :—
.42 of a penny per mile for 3-year vans.
.51 LI 11 2 My own figures, obtained under similar conditions, are just under a penny per mile, and, if Mr. Harwell could give any further information as to how he achieves such results, I am sure it will be interesting to all who read " THE COMMERCIAL Moro."—Yours faithfully, The Boon of the Taximeter.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
l'9811 Sir :—The woes of drivers of hansoms and fourwheeled cabs have been discussed by the Press of the country, and a stirring appeal on their behalf has been answered in generous fashion. It is surely fitting that a. few words of warning should he addressed to the newcomers, the drivers of motoreabs. A very large propertern of the users of cabs of all descriptions is in agreement that the tragic plight of the " kebby " is due, to a great extent, to his dealings with his clients in the past. The price of a journey in a cab, unlike that of most of the other necessities of town life, has never been a definite one to those who have to do the paying, and few of us there are who do not count the cost before indulging in any luxury. it is " kebby " himself who has kept his tariff on a sliding scale, to his own detriment and that of the jobmasters. This sliding scale has been regulated, in his idea, by the apparent wealth, or otherwise, of the hirer of his vehicle, and by " kebby's " estimate of the hirer's intelligence and knowledge of the streets and distances. In other words, it has been a case of the expert against the amateur, and the expert took, too often, a mean advantage of the hirer.
The motoreab, when it came upon the scene of operations, was received by almost everyone with open arms, and little has been seen of " sentimentalists " who regard the old conveyances with regret. That is, I am sure, due to the fact that all human befilgs are just a little imbued with the spirit of revenge, and certainly try to " get their awn back," when the time is ripe_ " Kobby " has over-charged us all for years, and what a relief it. is to be able, thanks to the taximeter, to obtain the use of a rapid means of transit at its market value. There is no doubt but that it is to the automatic fare-recorder that a. large part of the popularity of the motorcab is due.
The old " kebby " was notorious for slow progress through the streets. Why must the motor driver err on the side of excessive speed? Here is an opportunity for the exercise of common sense. Broadly, let the cabman seek to attract the public to his means of conveyance, not to frighten away his clients by fear of reckless driving. The hansom has fallen from its former splendour : it must be the business of its successor to leave a better record when time brings in still-further changes in our means of locomotion. Let the cabman remember that his business should be, not to drive his hirers into the tubes and trams, but to offer the most comfortable and convenient form of transit, in a, manner befitting a public caterer.--Yours etc., " LEGAL."
A " Horseless " Sunday
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[982] Sir :—I was immensely amused to see the reproduction of the cartoon from " Pearson's Weekly " in your issue of the 10th instant, although the sketches are obviously ridiculous and overdone. They show, none the less, that the suggestion by Mr. Thomas Lyon is tending to " catch on.' The most remarkable feature in connection with this proposition, to soy mind, is the absence of any protest other than that from the Walsall Chamber of Commerce_ The interest of Walsall in saddlery and harness sufficiently accounts, of course, for this ultra-conservatism, but few people would have imagined the quiet reception of the scheme on the behalf of horse interests generally. Had this idea been promulgated so little as three years ago, there is no question that it would have been scouted by every paper, numerous societies, the jobmasters, cabmen, omnibus companies and thousands of individuals who, to-day, recognise that it is both practicable and within the range of realisation.
was glad to see that Mr. Turner followed my lead by promising one guinea to the expenses, which are sure to run into a good many hundreds of pounds, but I presume steps will be taken, hereafter, to obtain the support of recognised motoring bodies? The advertisement for the whole movement, which cannot fail to be provided by a widely-reported demonstration of the fact that all passenger traffic in a particular area can be conveniently accommodated without recourse to the horse, should be worth a considerable expenditure in hard cash, apart from the abstract benefits of the cabled reports, which are sure to be sent all over the world, of a progressive achievement which has been attempted in no other capital.— Yours faithfully. R. J. WILLIAMS.