Passing Comments
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Service Men AppreAS an example of the way
date' Their Own men in the Forces appre Trade Papers . . ciate the journals of their
normal trade s, we have extracted the following points from a letter sent by an R.A.F. sergeant in the B,L.A., L. A. Gilks. He is receiving regularly from a reader in Britain copies of this journal under our posting scheme. He says these now go to seven other interested ex-owners of vehicles and, later, to some 20 drivers. Copies have also found their way into the camp reading room.
Some Points ConcernWE wonder how . many mg Extra Payments IT people travelling in a
on Taxicabs . London taxicab trouble to study the fare table which has to be mounted on the inner side of the bulkhead, and which, incidentally, and somewhat ridiculously, has to be covered with safety glass. The points often missed concern the extra payments. The charge for each additional person beyond two is 6d., but two children under '10 count as one. For each article or packet carried outside, 3d. must be paid, or 9d, in the case of a bicycle, perambulator or baby carriage, except when the last be -folded. Some people 'believe that there is no elearge for any number of pieces of luggage or articles carried inside, but this is the case only if they do not exceed 2 It. in length, whether
in the form oVbags, parcels, etc. There is no charge for articles of personal wear, or ordinarily carried On a person or in the hand, or for games or sport. For other articles, including personal luggage exceeding 2 ft. in length, a charge of 3d. is made for each above two. A similar amount is required for each basket or other receptacle, containing one or more animals, and for each animal not so carried. We are sure that a solitary passenger with, say, a pekinese, would be surprised if charged the additional 3cl.
This is Not the Way A MONGST a list of cases of to Run a Hire-Car bribery quoted by the usin ess . League interested in preventing such 'actions, is one dealing with a garage proprietor who, in order to obtain petrol for his hire-car business, gave receipts to drivers for the full amount of petrol shown on their coupons, but did not supply such quantities. His sentence, which included 18 months under the Pre, vention of Corruption Act, was four years' penal servitude, together with :625 costs. Another man in a similar occupation handed a constable o.
note when warned that he would be reported for 'misuse of fuel-. He was fined' 210 for, an attempt to bribe. Drivers and others should remember that although, occasionally, a weak-willed member of the police may be found, the bulk of the force is incorruptible. Why Not M ore nUBL1N TRANSPORT has Honesty Boxes on 1-Jrevealed statistics in rela
Buse tion to the amount collected in
the " honesty " boxes placed , in buses. Introduced there as an experiment in 1938, the boxes quickly justified their installation. In 1942 they brought in £130, the following year £218, Whilst for the first six months of 1944 the figure as £130. It is assumed that 99 per cent. ot these sums are made up of penny farts, and it appears, therefore, that some 48,720 honest passengers, when hurrying from the bus, struggle to reach the little boxes and depart with a clear conscience. Nevertheless, it is estimated that if every passenger had put his uncollected fare in the box during the past three years, the amount totalled would-be enough to purchase a new doubledecker. Although some buses in England have these boxes, it is amazing that the system has not been adopted throughout the country—there are still people who like to pay for "services rendered"
How Birmid Industries Grew from Chance
THE oldest director ot the Birmid Industries Group, Mr, H. J. 'Owen, remains active despite his 80-odd years. He has seen aluminium rise from an almost unknown, quantity to a leading place amongst the strategic metals of war, and one which will be a serious challenger to older metals in the post-war fields of transport. It was in 1901 that Mr. Owen assisted-a man to push a broken-down motorcycle in Birmingham. The motorcyclist proved to be Mr. Clement, founder of the Clement Talbot Motor Co., the chance meeting resulting in Mr. Owen receiving hi § first order for aluminium casting's for motorengines. This was the unusual beginning of the Birmingham Aluminium Casting Co. (1903), Ltd., and from it Birmid Industries, Ltd., with its 12,000 wpikers, has sprung. This company now has 301) workers who have qualified for the Long Service Award, and Mr. Percy Pritchard recently paid tribute to the latest recipients.
Meeting