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The Review of Reviews. 



the better judgment of many Ministers 

 to prevent the appointment of this 

 much-needed Board. Now, however, 

 what ought to have been done in the 

 interests of the people of the metro- 

 pohs is being effected in the interests of 

 shareholders. Last month has seen the 

 announcement of what is virtually a 

 gigantic London Traffic Trust. The 

 Underground Electric Company, which 

 has already taken over the London 

 General Omnibus Company, and pos- 

 sesses a large interest in the District 

 Railway, besides controlling the Charing 

 Cross, Piccadilly, and Bakerloo Tubes, 

 has now acquired control of the Central 

 London and the City and South London 

 Tube railways. As a consequence, 

 practically the whole of the London 

 traffic system, apart from the London 

 County Council tramways, is under the 

 control of one company. As the multi- 

 plication and improvement of the motor 

 omnibuses are more and more success- 

 fully competing with the municipal 

 tramway system, the immediate out- 

 look for municipal enterprise is not too 

 rosy. Sir Edgar Spe3^er, Chairman of 

 the combine, disclaims any desire to 

 monopolise the traffic of London, but 

 declares that " as long as no authority 

 exists effectively to control and guide 

 the traffic of this great metropolis (and 

 in my opinion such an authority should 

 be an owning authority), so long will 

 private enterprise be compelled to seek 

 to obtain such results by amalgamations 

 and alliances." So the Progressive 

 leaders, by opposing a Traffic Board, 

 have obtained a Traffic Trust ! They 

 now seem driven to demand that the 

 " owning authority " referred to by Sir 

 Edgar Speyer shall be the Council of a 

 vastly extended London County. 



The enormous develop- 

 wanted, a New Hicnt of motor trafhc, of 

 Road System. wMch the motor omni- 

 bus is only one phase, 

 has been again brought vividly before 

 the pubhc mind by the November 

 motor shows. The chief feature was 

 the boom in cycle-cars. This light, 

 miniature motor-car to seat one or two 

 persons is already on sale for about ;(8o, 

 and may be expected before long to be 

 offered at something like £50. This 

 opens the prospect of a vast increase 

 of motor traffic. These inexpensive 

 machines will soon be everywhere. 

 Already they are on hire as " taxis " in 

 one or two European capitals. The new 

 developments make more imperiously 

 imperative than ever the expansion of 

 our system of roads. Highways that 

 were adapted to the old slow-going 

 horse traffic are totally inadequate to 

 the new demands. Of this fact, the 

 slaughter that is going on in London 

 streets, and that has led to the 

 appointment of a Parliamentary Com- 

 mittee of Inquir}^ is a sanguinary re- 

 minder. The slow processes of the 

 Road Board, which seems to be rather 

 a means of secreting than of applying 

 national revenue, must be superseded 

 by more drastic methods. 



In The Review of Reviews for October 

 several striking diagrams were printed to illus- 

 trate the article " Give Us This Day Our Daily 

 Bread : The Truth about This Country's Food : 

 How to Save ^^ 180,000,000 a Year." In 

 response to many requests we have had these 

 diagrams reproduced on art paper, and they can 

 now be obtained from our office. Any of our 

 readers requiring the set of diagrams should 

 send sixpence to the Manager, Review of 

 Reviews, Bank Buildings, Kingsway, W.C, 

 and they will receive them post free. 



