The Outlook 501 



also, with increased encouragement from the railways, might 

 have advantages on urban markets fully equal to those of 

 the short-distance grower located in the suburbs. 



The whole question of the steadily increasing competition 

 between road and rail has thus become one of special interest, 

 at the present moment, alike for the trading, the motor and 

 the railway interests. 



That the use of motor-vehicles is destined to make even 

 greater advance in the immediate future has already here 

 been shown. Yet there are distinct limitations to its possi- 

 bilities, although this fact is apt to be overlooked by motor 

 enthusiasts, some of whom are, indeed, over-sanguine. One 

 of them proclaims that " the new locomotion " is " designed 

 to be the chief means of transit to be used by humanity at 

 large," and " eventually will probably to a large extent super- 

 sede all others." He further writes : " Many of us will live 

 to see railway companies in places pulling up their rails and 

 making their tracks suitable for motor-car traffic, charging 

 a toll for private vehicles and carrying the bulk of the traffic 

 in their own motor-cars." 



Granting that motor-vehicles are likely to supersede both 

 tramways and horse-vehicles, what are really the prospects 

 of their superseding railways, as well ? Should railway 

 shareholders at once sell out and put their money, preferably, 

 in motor-omnibus and commercial motor companies ? 



In regard to goods we have the fact that the quantities 

 thereof carried by the railways of the United Kingdom in 

 1910 were : 



Minerals . . . 405,087,175 tons. 

 General merchandise . 109,341,631 ,, 



Total . . 514,428,806 tons. 



Motor transport could obviously not be adapted to the 

 transport of 400,000,000 tons of minerals, and for these, 

 at least, the railways would still be wanted. But the number 

 of motor-vehicles necessary to deal with 109,000,000 tons of 

 general merchandise would still be prodigious, apart from 

 considerations of distance, time taken in transport, wear 

 and tear of roads, and, also, of the question whether a loco- 

 motive, doing the work of many motors, would not be the 



