422 



The Review of Reviews. 



since it comes from one who was speaking for 

 those having the greatest possible direct interest 

 in the railways. They could hardly be accused 

 of painting unnecessarily gloomy pictures, since 



this would only have caused their stock to sink 

 still further, the very thing they took action to 

 avoid. It would be interesting to hear what has 

 been done since 1906 ! 



THE EDITOR OF " MOTOR TRACTION." 



VVe have always recognised the depressing 

 effect which an inefficient or costly system of 

 transport has upon agriculture, and no one will, 

 we think, disagree with the statement that the 

 producer of foodstuffs — i.e., the farmer — finds 

 a difficulty in marketing them, either because 

 of the cost of carriage or through the delay and 

 difficulty in getting them placed on rail and un- 

 loaded when they finally arrive at their destina- 

 tion. It appears to us that this difficulty of 

 getting the producer into more direct and imme- 

 diate touch with the consumer is one that will 

 probably be solved by the co-operative organisa- 

 tion of motor traffic in rural districts. 



It is when we come to examine the writer's 

 scheme for the linking up of the grower of pro- 

 duce with the markets which exist locally that 

 we find ourselves more in touch with proposals 

 of a practical character, though whilst agreeing 

 that there exists " the natural arteries along 

 which the produce of the countryside should 

 flow towards the centres of consumption," we 

 doubt if the natural arteries — the roads — are yet 

 sufficiently sound for an enormously increased 

 volume of traffic. It is lamentably true that in 

 many quarters it is still believed that traffic 

 exists for the roads and not the roads for the 

 Iraffiic. 



FACTS re COMPETITION. 



In support of the statement that " railways 

 cannot hope to compete with organised motor 

 traction locally centralised," the article provides 

 nothing in the shape of a concrete example. 

 Fortunately we are able to rectify this omission. 

 .\ certain manufacturing company consigned 

 five tons of perishable produce daily by an early 

 morning passenger train to a station fifty- 

 five miles distant, for which the rate charged 

 was 20S. per ton, or ;^30 a week. Not being 

 able lo secure frotn the railway authorities any 

 abatement of this rale, the consignors decided to 

 adopt motor traction. A five-ton petrol lorry 

 was purchased, with the result that the same 

 work was done, and for a sum not exceeding 

 ;£'i2 a week for running expenses (but not for 

 interest on capital, depreciation, etc.). 



MOTORS TO HELP RAILWAYS. 



In citing an example of the foregoing charac- 

 ter we must not be taken as accepting the state- 

 ment that the motor lorry is going to become a 

 serious rival of the heavy mineral train, and 

 more especially as the miles of Ir.ick and sidings 

 are not likelv to be abandoned, merely because 



a considerable proportion of stock pays no divi- 

 dend. On the contrary, we contend that the 

 future of motor traction, so far as this country 

 is concerned, will be largely in conjunction with 

 the existing railways, to be employed as feeders 

 not only at the numerous terminal points, but 

 also operating in circles with hundreds of im- 

 portant railway stations as their centres of 

 activity. In this connection we see a new and 

 more prosperous lease of life for the railways, 

 because with their motor wagons they will be 

 able to collect and carry larger quantities of 

 produce to the railhead for conveyance to the 

 many markets that exist at all industrial 

 centres, and thereby enable the farmer to grow 

 more, seeing that he has an outlet for it, whilst 

 his profit is not absorbed by heavy cartage fees. 

 The increased traffic which the railways could 

 create in this fashion for themselves should 

 more than counterbalance the revenue lost by 

 the decreased returns from the handling of im- 

 ported foodstuffs, and at the same time lessen 

 the disparity which at present exists between the 

 relative increases in gross earnings and working 

 expenses. 



SHORT AND LONO JOURNEYS. 



Again and again we have advocated the use of 

 the motor lorry for short-distance or locally 

 centralised work, not only for perishable pro- 

 duce, vi'here considerable handling is eliminated 

 and better prices are consequently obtained 

 through the produce reaching the consumer in a 

 better and fresher condition, but also for other 

 traffic where quick delivery and reduced cost of 

 handling are prime necessities. The writer 

 again appears to have forgolten the long dis- 

 tances which must ine\itablv be covered bv the 

 mineral train, where, no matter how effiiciently 

 the motor lorry can be run, it is inconceivable 

 that the modern method of road transport can 

 be substituted for a system which can exist on a 

 freight rate of i'i23d. per ton-mile. 



The theory as to how far British roads lend 

 themselves to rapid motor concentration in time 

 of war is an interesting subject of study. For 

 the present we can only point out that the War 

 Office authorities, who are very keenly alive to 

 the disadvantages of rail concentration and the 

 importance of the motor vehicle, have not vet 

 been able to leave the railways out of their 

 reckoning. They have, however, a very com- 

 plete scheme for hypolhetlcnl needs, in which 

 the motor lorry figures conspicuously. 



