Preparations for Manchester.
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Our second notice of intended exhibits at the forthcoming North of England Show at Manchester will be found on page 475. Preparations for this important exhibition appear to be well advanced, and the same may be said of our own programme. In order still further to strengthen the circulation of THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR throughout the counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire, we have arranged to mail a number of extra copies of the issues of the 15th and 22nd inst. to additional influential manufacturers and transport users whose business centres are placed in those counties, and who are much concerned in Manchester trade one way or another. Readers who are in the habit of purchasing copies at bookstalls or newsagents' shops will do well to place their orders for these two issues in good time. Although the circulation of each number will be in excess of 10,000 copies inclusive of the extra envies (all of which will contain stand-to-stand guide or stand-to-stand report), we anticipate that the demand for them may be such as to divert a considerable portion of the ordinary supplies into entirely-new hands. Regular supporters will no doubt take the hint in time to avoid disappointment.
Horse-van Weaknesses.
We shall be glad if the direction of attention to various weak points in horse-van performance brings about in our columns a general .discussion under " Opinions from Others" upon points both pro and eon, in relation to the topical subject of Horse v. Motor. We are not desirous to propound the theory that motor vehicles. are at all times and under all circumstances superior to horsed vehicles, although each year, since the coming-into-force of the Heavy Motor Car Order, 1904, has consistently seen more and more valid transference of work from horse or horse-cum-rail spheres of service to those of motor service. There has been a steady annexation of work hy motor interests. That cannot be denied with any degree of honesty. Further, as the figures of i-elative output show,* motor transport is just now advancing in geometric ratio.
The fundamental weaknesses of horses and horsed vehicles lie in their low capacities for performance under the following principal tests of qualities in which corresponding features all modern motorvans score heavily :, (a) long runs demand relays of animals ; (b) haulage along routes of ahilly character limits useful load on level ; (c) animal transport is unable to respond unharmed to demands for con
ftinuous duty at times of business or seasonal pres
sure; (d) if left untended or unexercised during holiday or slack periods, loss ensues by illness or want of condition ; (e) sensitiveness to weather conditions and general fall of efficiency during snowfalls or prolonged spells of cold. In favour of horse transport, we unreservedly admit: (a) that it is still better understood than motor transport by a majority of unskilled labourers and drivers ; (b) that it can still be augmented or replaced at short notice with comparative ease—by hire or purchase ; (c) that, for people who are short of trading capital, it is still attractive when first cost is under discussion ; (d) that many people who have small amounts of traffic to handle themselves cannot provide enough work to justify the change. On the other hand, the widespread extensions of motor transport are month by month reducing the value of (a) and (b) as factors in the situation ; (c), we suppose, must. continue to be a handicap to many who would otherwise buy motorvans, but we would point out that great industrial and economic improvements are not led by traders who find themselves in that unfortunate position ; (d) may or may not hold good, and we take notice below of this excuse. The expediency of purchase by a house which has but little haulage to do is one of the most-interesting problems of the day. We quote one instance within our knowledge, in order to give point to the statement. Friends of this journal use a• horse-van. They are a go-ahead firm, believers in advertising and proud in their own self-consciousness of a liking for progressive tendencies. None the less, a horse-van is still graced by their name-we do not care to express in words our view as to what that ancient style of equipage does to their name and reputation when it is seen on the streets. Asked why it survived, the manager replied : " Oh! You see, we have so little work of eur own ; carts come to the works for nearly everything. A motor would not pay us." This was in London, and we were clearly expected to accept the opinion as conclusive. We did not do so. Inquiry and reference to the books showed : (1) that the firm owned the van ; (2) that a contractor horsed it and provided the driver ; (3) that the average distance run per week (over a term of years) had been 20 miles ; (4) that the van " stood by " most of the time ; (3) that, in competition, the contractor was paid R:3 weekly. We gave motorvan figures for the same work, and drew attention to the potential capacity of a motor at times of pressure or during strikes. Satisfied that the motorvan was the better proposition, and startled by the fact that the horse-van was costing three shillings per mile for the work done, the manager decided to order a motorvan.
Is not. this example typical of the lethargy which exists in other quarters where horse costs in•relation to work done are never examined ? We have again experienced convincing proof of reluctance to get out horse costs, in connection with the preparation of the article which appears on page 471.
Tarred Roads in Winter.
We have observed the publication of many different views in regard to the unsatisfactory condition of some tarred roads during the past few months, and to their slipperiness most of all. Opponents of motor traffic appear to favour the view that this slipperiness in winter is inevitable, and to seek to hinder the use of tar in the future on that account. loads in several of the home counties, over which we have driven since the beginning of December last, vary sufficiently in their behaviour under winter conditions to convince us that the proper explanation has not yet been generally admitted. In the county of Kent, it is the exception to find a tarred road which is in any sense appreciably disagreeable for traffic of any kind in respect of the feature under discussion. On the other hand, in the county of Berks., there are several roads in a condition which is most objectionable. Inquiry satisfies us that tarred roads neither give trouble nor yield slippery mud in the winter when the tar or the tarred material has been laid in dry weather, and for the whole width of the road, whereas applications during wet weather, and for only part of the width of the road, give rise to serious trouble afterwards. The wet and loosened binding material of any untarred portions is carried by the traffic upon the tarred portions, and a thin skin of slippery material forms over the hard and tarred surface, the value of which modern class of crust is very materially reduced by the retention of "
mixed" construction. In other cases, tar has obviously been applied at a time when it 'would have been much better to have suspended .operations.
We make these references to a subject of general public interest, chiefly because of the important bearing which the increased strength of properlytarred roads has upon the future of commercialmotor transport. Pro-horse and other hostile interests are naturally inclined to lay the blame for any change at the door of the motorist, whereas it is the ill-considered and wrong methods of using the tar or tarred material that are at fault. There may, of course, be unavoidable causes in particular cases.
The Speyer London Traffic Deal : Will It Be Unfairly Exploited ?
The requisite amount of stock in the L.G.O.C. is now in the hands of Messrs. Speyer Brothers. No opposition, therefore, can be effective. Henceforward, the control of London's oldest and largest omnibus company will be vested in parties who are primarily concerned in railway shares and bonds. The existence of that interest is in reality the causa eausans of the deal which may now be treated as completed. Its existence is also the best of all guarantees for capable administration of the motorbus arm.
We believe that there will be no deliberate rearrangement of surface routes for the purpose of leaving particular lengths of tube or underground lines in sole possession of traffic. As we have pointed out in an earlier issue, any such obvious move to deprive the travelling public of a choice which is now available would be the surest method to encourage and justify fresh competition. There is traffic enough for motorbuses and electric trains, even upon " roads " that are co-terminous and super-imposed, for the simple reason that a very big proportion of passengers wants to go short distances only. We do not go so far as to say that some revises of present-day services may not be introduced, but we do unequivocally assert that an outraged public opinion would veer wholly to the support of new flotations were rumours of monopolistic practices to prove to be based upon fact. We give no credit to them, as we are not able to conceive the acceptance of a plan of the kind—at once shortsighted and calculated to justify tramcar extensions—by a group whose far-seeing policy has so far been admirable. As the controlling heads have been conciliatory throughout the negotiations, both in London and Paris, so will they be, we think, in their public relations now that they find themselves in a position of unprecedented strength. The benefits of the recent deal can alone be maintained intact by the fullest consideiation for public
susceptibilities. Those benefits, in the shape of legitimate surplus profits from the motorbuses for application to sections of Underground capital issues, cannot in any event be seriously impaired by competition for at least another two years. They are needed, we opine, for years to come, and it remains in the hands of Sir Edgar Speyer and his colleagues so to act that the ever-growing habit of public travel shall be cultivated to progress more rapidly than any contemporary new opportunity. A single and isolated step imaginary or real—in the direction of leaving the people without alternatives must inevitably be the precursor of a return to an excess of facilities by reason of semi-sentimental support for numbers of unwanted fresh promotions. There will, in the natural course of events, be a few genuine and useful cases of new-company formation and old-company expansion. It is the excuse for one or more new million-pounder flotations that should not be provided. Every little traffic change of the new combination will be watched, and probably magnified in the correspondence columns of the 'daily Press of the Metropolis, and for that reason alone, if for no other, it will demand the exercise of. diplomacy at every turn to prevent the establishment of the conviction that Londoners are being exploited. One or two false moves, and we might witness a pre-arranged fanning of grievances to suit exploitations that could not fail to hit most seriously the very parties whose possibly-innocent changes of detail in organization had been misconstrued to furnish the needed ,-u/-on. d'etre for new and substantial rivalry.