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Till' Riiviiiw OF Reviews. 



fi>lli)tt'inj; comlilioDS arc complir.l wilh ;il Ilu' linu' of |i:iymcnt : 

 (d) The nioU)r-li)rry must conliiiuc In lio inrolloil : (/') llic lurry 

 must remain lire property of the owner ; (e) llie lorry nuist l)c 

 in llie United Kingdom ; {//) o. cerlilicate lias been signed l)y 

 the War Department inspecting officer that the lorry has been 

 inspected by him and found to be maintained in a thoroughly 

 ser\iceable condition and in a satisfactory slate of repair. 



With regard to the right to purchase, the conditions set forth 

 that if and whenever the Army Reserve or any por'.ion shall be 

 called out on permanent service the War department shall be 

 entitled to purch.ise any motor-lorry enrolled. The price to be 

 paid for any motor-lorry shall be the then value at the date of 

 taking over by the War Department, plus 25 percent., provided 

 that the sum to be paid shall in no case be greater than tlir 

 original actual purchase-price, and never less than 30 per cent. 

 of such piircliase-price. Every motor-lorry is to be kept in a 

 suitably covered-in building where the necessary protection 

 from frost will be ensured. Motor-lorries shall be at all times 

 driven by pio/'erly qualifitd drivers. 



'I"he aveiage price of such a three-ton lorry vvjould 

 lie between £500 and £600.. so that the Government 

 subsidy means a very considerable saving. It might 

 al.so be arranged with the makers that the payment 

 should be spread over a period so as to enai)le a wider 

 class of prodticer to purchase. In case of war the 

 lorry" has to he delivered to the authorities within a 

 period of seventy-two hours. 



Jf the War Office scheme meets with the success it 

 de.-crves, a great step forward will have been made, 

 towards the freeing of the country' from the strangling 

 hold of the railways. The producer or the co-operative 

 society will be able to sell his or its produce and live 

 on the land , paying a reasonable carriage rate instead 

 of the present impossible charges. 'i"he sale of produce 

 will be locally centralised to the benefit of the centre 

 and of the neighbourhood. As drivers of the 

 lorries it would be an excellent idea to encourage 

 in a practical way retired soldiers or reservists to ta' e 

 service. 



So much for peaceful times. In time of war or 

 sudden raid — and we have i)ecn told that a raid, such 

 as was proved to be possible in this year's naval 

 manauvres, is the chief danger this country has to 

 fear — the possibility of doing without the railways is 

 an immeise boon. Even assuming that the military 

 authorities have evolved a plan for working the rail- 

 way system in time of war, and that they have so 

 informed the various general managers, it would take 

 a miracle to secure smooth or even possible working of 

 all the various companies' lines if taken over suddenly. 

 And if it is a raid that has to be met, there will be no 

 days in which to get things straightened out. Uesidcs 

 which there is no railway line in this country really 

 tqjippeii at any point for the rapid concentration of 



Ironjjs: there :irr plenty td' sidings, but nut whcir 

 thc>- arc waiilerl. A lesser Ualkan State has niilwa).. 

 JH'tter prcjiared for w.ir than are ours. Then a line of 

 railway is always liable to be cut by an enterprising 

 enemy; and we are now considering the case of a sudden 

 attack upon East Anglia, of which the first notification 

 would be the arrival of the transports. Railways would 

 be wiarse than useless,, but the motor-lorries could 

 enable a sufficient concentration to be rapidly carried 

 out to more than hold the attacking forces. Concen- 

 tration l)y motor-lorry would be more rapid than 

 disemliarkation from transports. On the announce- 

 ment of the war or raid all the lorries would concen- 

 trate at their local centre, carrying up the local reservists 

 instead of cabbages. Thence they wouTd proce3d by 

 the chosen roads towards East Anglia, duly ordered 

 and system:itically dispatched. The various types 

 might follow different roads, all converging on the 

 point of concentration. In a few hours literally the 

 entire garrisons of England could be drained into East 

 Anglia, and twenty-four hours see the first, battle of 

 defence well under way. There would be no congestion, 

 no delay, since the emptied motors would return by 

 different roads ; and it would be an energetic enemy 

 indeed who would undertake to deUroy all the roads 

 leading into East Anglia. 



No le.ss an authority than I'rince Henry of Prussia 

 has advocated recently the building of a great motor 

 hi,ghway from the camp of Doberitz, near Berlin, right 

 across country to the French frontier at the fortress 

 of iMetz. He declares the highway in times of peace 

 will be a boon to motorists and of inestimable value for 

 quick transfer of troops, ammunition, and artillery in 

 war time. 



The adoption of the roads of England in place of the 

 railroads, which would still have their functions to 

 fulfil, and the substitution to an ever-increasing extent 

 of the independent motor-lorrv, free to choose its road, 

 for the locomotive, tied and hampered by its inability 

 to do other than follow the rails, seem not only ine\ it - 

 able, but highly advisable in the true interests of the 

 country in times of peace or war, A striking parallel 

 may be found in the relative success of the motor-'bus 

 and the electric tram. Hut its adoption must be 

 tantamount to sounding the death-knell of the present 

 railway system, and the loss of many millions to rail- 

 way shareholders. But — who knows ,? — it may he the 

 needed shock to force the railways to put their houses 

 in order, antl by the adoption of sane business methods 

 fit themselves to wi>rk harmoniously with the motors 

 for the good of their country. 





