Conducted by EDMUND DANGERFIELD. Editor: EDWARD SHRAPNELL SMITH.
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Vol, XV. N. 381.
No Time for Repairs.
We are hearing, too often, complaints from motorvan drivers that they are given no time for repairs ; yet the vans continue to run, although undoubtedly with less economy and efficiency than the maximum. The owners appear to be satisfied, and to continue to place repeat orders, but such owners are acting in shortsighted fashion when they practically leave the vans to look after themselves. We are well satisfied that there is a sufficient margin upon the working of the majority of motorvan services, for the omission of the proverbial "stitch in time not to spell disaster, Omissions and postponements of the kind do, however, involve owners in unnecessary expenditure, when repairs can no longer be neglected, whilst their drivers have probably had to bear some avoidable roadside consequences before then.
One of the principal causes of this plaint " no time for repairs "—is found in the unconscious adding up of daily mileage. We have a case before us, and one to which we may refer again next week, in which a van that was purchased to undertake 45 miles of running a day was given more and more work, until it was doing over 90 miles a day, and making above 120
individual calls a day. The driver became stale, there really was time for neither adjustments nor repairs, and the owner completely failed to realize what had happened. He did not complain about his extra repair bill, when it came, but he has rearranged his dispatch-department organization quite recently.
We have reason to believe that many other owners would do well for themselves were they to look more closely into the actual performances of their vehicles compared with the proposed daily round at the dates of purchase. The last straw on the camel's back will often be found to have sunk into insignificance.
Go to Doncaster.
There is every reason why supporters of this journal should go to Doncaster, but we know that all cannot do so. An itinerary guide to the a.grimotor, lorry, tractor, van and allied exhibits occupies much of our space this week, and the pages to winch we refer have been arranged by us to serve a useful double purpose. They provide a time-saving aid to visitors to the showyard ; they convey a correct impression of the share which commercial motors take in the Implement Section to other readers at home and overseas. The Royal Show this year possesses in undiminished measure its exceptional charm of variety within, with pleasing environment without.
It is gratifying to us, having regard to the consistent attention which we have given to the " Royal " for seven years past, to find in being so many proofs of results for exhib'tors. Migraiery in charaeter, each R.A.S.E. display taps a nsw district, and does so with the fullest and most-complete local backing. There are, of course, some years when the chosen centre is not of the best qua farming and industrial interests considered together, but in those respects Doncaster may fairly be classed as amongst the happiest of choices. The wealthy manufacturing and shipbuilding arena are drawn by 'its admirable position as a railway centre, no less than representatives of the huge landed interests which lie to it immediate south and south-east. There are, from the whole of these responsive districts, both positive and potential volumes of trade for the 40 odd manufacturers to whose exhibited productions our guide principally directs attention, The Show, the healthy trade support which it enjoys and the excellent " gate" which it should attract are further guarantees for the consolidation of commercial motoring, for the growth and strengthening of which we so strenuously contend. Next week, before the Show is 11 day old, our stand-to-stand report, with first-class illustrations. prepared from photographs taken in the showyard, will be one of the features of an enlarged issue of this journal. As we anticipated, newsagents' orders for that issue are much increased above the normal.
Street Accidents in London : Comparative Freedom where there are No Tramcars.
Why is it that the City of London, which is the. most congested of all traffic zones, can show proportionally fewer accidents than any other part of the Metropolis'? We are inclined to think that the explanation is found in the absence of tramcars, and we hope the City authorities will never allow those " bullies of the road" to enter the heart of the City,, or to be linked across it.
. Some daily papers are at the moment taking the. silly season in advance, and are joining hands with sleepy old men and women who think that the business of the United Kingdom in the year 1912 can be run, in the face of progressive international competition, at a snail's pace. They ask us in effect to. pay heed to the fallacious argument that "what was good enough for our grandfathers should be good, enough for us."
Exactly why some of London's up-to-date journalists should give support to this retrogressive policy is beyond understanding. There may be a public
demand for traffic regulation, but we are convinced, that there is no public demand for any course which will require "the whole of Wednesday to get Tuesday's traffic out of the way." Analytical investigation is required, not emotional and unbalanced outpourings. Let us face the accident statistics as they are. For the year ended the 31st December last, 410 people were killed by vehicles in the streets of London. These deaths are officially stated to have been caused in the following ratio: by horse omnibus, 1; by horse tramcar, 1 ; by other horse-drawn vehicles, 120 ; by motorbuses, 107; by electric tra.mcars, 26; by other motor vehicles, 155. Non-fatal accidents, for the same period, were: by horse omnibuses, 136; by horse t•ramears, 144; by other horse-drawn vehicles, 5296; by motorbuses, 1947; by electric tramcars, '2330 ; byother motor vehicles, 5401. It will be observed that, notwithstanding the smaller total number of tramcars and the less mileage run by them, they yielded a higher aggregate of fatal and non-fatal cases than did the motorbuses.
The foregoing figures are official, and we therefore accept them, but we do believe that the motorbus is unduly blamed. It is, of course, the vehicle which touches the unfortunate pedestrian that is debited with the injury sustained, and nothing is said about the other vehicle, which may have crowded both the motorbus and the pedestrian out of its way—the leviathan tramcar.
Our contention is that, in spite of the apparent superiority of the tramcar, according to the test of fatal-accident statistics, it is the tramcar that is the unrecorded cause of many fatal and non-fatal accidents which are registered against other vehicles. We cite the experience of the City of Londonthe very heart of the Empire's capital—in support of this contention, and we again draw attention to the fact that tramcars have not to far at least, been allowed to penetrate that innermost zone of congestion, although they have come up to, and even beyond, some of the City's gates. "The Daily Mail," in its issue of Monday last, disclosed a preparedness to look into this outstanding feature of traffic results in the heart of the City—in the City of London proper, which has not yet had tramcars inflicted upon it. "The Daily Mail" writes : " One clear fact emerges from these investigations into the perils of the streets. The denser the pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the greater is the safety to the pedestrian." Has not the writer overlooked the most-salient point of all—the absence of the tramcarl We trust others will not do so.
The City of London, where there are no tramcars, but where motorbus traffic is at its very heaviest, had a total of fatal accidents, last year, of only 25, and of this number 14 were caused by motorbuses. This record for the City of London provides invaluable testimony to the safety of motorbus and motorcar traffic, in the absence of tramcar traffic, and the writer has communicated with Sir Edward Henry, the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis, to express the hope that all fatal accidents may in futm e be scheduled under two additional heads or divisions, viz., streets in which there is tramcar traffic, and streets in which that predisposing influence does not have its killing effect.
We know full well that the L.C.C. tramcar enthusiasts are surrounded by difficulties from which they du not see any certain means of escape, but we venture to state that they are inviting Nemesis when they talk about the superiority of tramcars in regard to street accidents.
Synthetic Rubber.
Manufacturers and owners of commercial motors will naturally welcome any developments which have a bearing upon the biggest single item of running expenditure—tires. Chemists and physicists for very many years past have undertaken research work upon the production of synthetic rubber, and laboratory successes have been achieved. There is a huge gap, however, between a successful laboratory experiment and commercial production, as investigators in most branches of science know to their regret. Reports and rumours are again in circulation, anent this old, old story of synthetic rubber, and we have been asked what we think of them.
There are, without question, alternative methods of synthesis, by which chemically-true rubber may be produced. The difficulty is to insure the uniform attainment of those physical characteristics which are unfailingly reproduced in the plant life which yields the world's supplies of wild and cultivated rubber. Natural rubber is an organic compound, the product of definite secondary cells, and it will come upon the market, from the year 1914 forward, in quantities which furnish ample guarantees for a steadying of prices. We do not contend that no fresh enterprise of real commercial value may be introduced by successful synthetic production on the commercial scale, but we seriously doubt if any such invention would be exploited in terms which would do otherwisethan put enormous profits into the pockets of the parties responsible for any promotion and flotation, and quite legitimately so. To the consumer of tires. and other rubber goods, the advantage would be fractional, and we certainly refuse to assent to the view that the future of the commercial-motor industry is in any way dependent upon the production of synthetic rubber in commercial quantities. Its equivalent to the botanically-true rubber may never be secured, for uses which involve high stresses.
L. C. C. Apprehensiveness Concerning its Electric Tramway Undertaking in Competition with Motorbuses : Home Secretary's Snub.
The report of the Highways Committee upon the working of the L.C.C. tramways. for the year ended the 31st March last, was put before members of the L.C.C. on Tuesday last. The Council is now responsible for 146+ street-miles of tramways. of which 132; miles are electric lines, and 134 miles horsed lines. The capital expenditure, up to the 31st March last, amounted to £12,193,648, of which t;534,792 is in respect of street improvements. Capital expenditure upon sheet improvements—from which the tramcars derive the principal benefit—is actually more than 10 millions sterling, hut little more than one-twentieth of that sum has been charged to the tramcar account.
After meeting interest and redemption charges in respect of capital, and certain incidental expenses, there is a surplus of 2222,703—a little less than 1.1d. per ear-mile—to be carried to appropriation account. Under a resolution of the Council dated the 23rd June, 1008, there has to be set aside 0.67d. of this for renewals, which provision absorbs a total of 1;138,152. The balance, a sum of £84,551, has been transferred to the general reserve fund. Not later than this time next year, the Council will proceed to consider the adequacy or otherwise of these provisions, and the report of the Highways Committee discloses a state of apprehensiveness in regard to their sufficiency. There are very good grounds indeed for this apprehensiveness. having regard to the experience of the Glasgow Corporation and other owners of well-maintained tramcar systems.
The electric cars carried a total of 516,092,480 passengers, and ran 48,777,026 miles, during the period of 12 months under notice, and the report upon that working is concluded in the following words : " Viewing the position of the undertaking as a whole, we are of opinion that at the moment the financial position is sound, though the margin of surplus after providing for renewals and for repayment of debt is exceedingly narrow. The Council will, we are sure, in the circumstances, feel strongly that all new proposals. either for increasing working expenses or reducing receipts, as well as new schemes or extensions of iistinw lines, should be very carefully examined." We quite agree.
In presenting its annual estimates for the tramcars, for the year ending the 31st March next, the Highways Conwittee again puts into circulation the fallacious view that the payments in respect of local rating, estimated to be about 2104,000, will provide relief to the road authorities in respect of the cost of maintaining the paving of roads where tramlines arc laid. In point of fact, wherever tramlines are laid and used. the tramcars have the effect of concentrating the ordinary wheeled traffic upon the side portions of the highway, which have to be repaired at the cost of the borough councils, and the alleged relief by the L.C.C. is more imaginary than real.
The revenue account for the ensuing year shows an estimated net surplus of 2200.105 to be carried to appropriation account. It is pointed out that, after provision for renewals at the rate of 0.67d. per earmile, this net surplus is eanivalent to only 0.27d. per ear-mile for transfer to the general reserve fund. Theqe margins do indeed compare unfavourably with results in motorbus service, where the realized surplus at the moment, in London, is well in excess of ad. per mile_ The public takes it choice, and that choice is now seen—the motorbus is preferred.
It is a commentary upon the financial straits to which the L.C.C. is reduced, in respect of its tramways undertaking, that the Council is only able to write off its loss on the horsed tramways at a very slow rate. The L.G.O.C., it may be recalled, got rid of something like 2400,000 of dead loss on its horse account in less than a couple of years. The L.C.C. asks until 1929 to wipe out obsolete capital now placed at £991,818. Handicapped, as the Council is, with units which have to travel about London for three-quarters of the working day with a high average of unoccupied seats. and with public opinion veering distinctly in favour of the lighter and more-frequent motorbus, we are not surprised to find the following additional precautionary warning embodied in the text of the report which accompanies the 1912-13 estimates: " The estimates show very clearly the necessity that exists for exercising for some time to come the utmost caution in dealing with proposals which might adversely affect either the revenue or the expenses of the tramways undertaking." What does this mean Next, immediately above the signature of the Chairman, we read : " In conclusion, we would point out that we are continually receiving petitions from the employees for improved conditions of labour. The concessions made to the employees during 1911-12 involved increased expenditure of about 26,700 a year. In these circumstances, the Council will see that any proposals in the near future involving an expenditure of an unremunerative nature will have to be very carefully scrutinized."
The Council, we observe, recently sent a deputation to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and alleged that its tramcars were treated in a manner which "compared very unfavourably with that of large provincial municipalities which are the tramway authorities for their respective areas." Dissatisfied with its present monopoly for the use of flanged wheels upon its street railways, the Council evidently thinks it should " nobble " the police—a situation which we are sorry to say does exist in many provincial cities, so far as concerns the treatment of the tramcars.
Mr. McKenna, it, is satisfactory to observe, administered a well-deserved reproof to the deputation, and reminded the Council that they were not, as they alleged, "charged among other responsible duties with looking after the interests of the public in the matter of locomotion," but that the London police had "the responsibility for the control of traffic put upon them by the State." Mr. McKenna added that he was of opinion that the central authority should be the police authority in London. He also quoted figures to show that. L.C.C. cars had enjoyed easy times at the hands of the police, in respect of repair and stop notices, compared with the motorbuses. and again reminded the deputation that the Home Office acted "simply and solely in fulfilment of the responsibility placed upon the Department for the general control of the traffic of London." That fact. is distasteful to the L.C.C. Tramcars are not a fetish with the police.
We have realized, for upwards of three years, that London is destined to provide an object lesson to the world in respect of the problem " Motorbus v. Tramcar." In practically no other city is there any approach to free competition, and in practically no other city are the tramcars treated other than with an unfair degree of municipal or local favour, either by reason of franchises which have been acquired by methods into which we need not inquire here, or by reason of the common administration of the police and thR tramway undertaking.
We are naturally delighted that the L.C.C. deputation. when it asked that it might be suitor and jury too. received a severe snub from Mr. McKenna.