424 



The Review of Reviews. 



distributor and consumer by means of motor 

 vehicles than by means of horse vehicles plus 

 railway vehicles, with the consequent double 

 handling and extra expense. The certainty that 

 we shall soon be able to use cheaper fuel and 

 cheaper tyres will also increase the probability 



that nearly all the goods traffic of the future 

 will be conveyed by means of motor vehicles 

 and not by means of vehicles on rails. The 

 outlook therefore for railways in this country — 

 unless they wake up in time — is very unsatis- 

 factory. 



PROFESSOR ROBERT W. A. BREWER, Consulting Engineer. 



I am much obliged to you for giving me an 

 opportunity of expressing an opinion upon the 

 most convincing argument on the above subject 

 appearing in the September number. This 

 shows up in a very pronounced manner the ex- 

 treme inefiiciency of our present methods of 

 transport, particularly for agricultural produce. 

 One cannot fail to have noticed the enormous 

 development in the design and construction of 

 commercial motor vehicles which has taken 

 place, particularly in England, during the past 

 few years, and this development has concur- 

 rently been met by a development in the con- 

 struction of our roads and the perfection of 

 road surfaces. At the present time it must be 

 obvious to all that the Rritish roads are second 

 to none in the world, not only with regard to the 

 method of their construction, but with regard to 

 their surfacing and upkeep. These roads are, 

 of course, still open to improvement, particularly 

 when one gets ofT the main routes, but the Road 

 Board is doing such excellent work that there is 

 no doubt that the development of the secondary 

 roads will follow as soon as sufficient sums are 

 available for the purpose. It is unnecessary for 

 one to point out the enormous advantages to be 

 gained bv the producer in handling his goods bv 

 motor transport instead of through the railways, 

 as not only is this transport much more rapid, 

 but it is far more convenient. There is, how- 

 ever, the question of capital outlay, which is a 

 somewhat important one, and so soon as a 

 commercial vehicle can be produced and sold 

 at even a cheaper rate than it is at present there 

 is no doubt that such vehicles will be sold in 

 very much larger quantities than thev now are 

 for the handling of this produce. Now we come 

 to the question as to whether it is better all 



round to use self-contained units, propelled by 

 an ordinary petrol engine and running on 

 resilient tyres, or to resort to the older method 

 of steam traction, when a comparatively cumber- 

 some engine drags a number of trailers along 

 the road. To my mind the former method is the 

 only one which can be carried out in an exten- 

 sive manner, as, although the question of fuel 

 is an important one with the internal combustion 

 engine, and one which is attracting a great deal 

 of attention at the moment on account of its 

 cost, yet undoubtedly the time will come when 

 those who are responsible for the maintenance 

 of the roads will cry out against the damage 

 done by the heavier and non-resilient tyred 

 machine. Even at the present time these heavy 

 machines are a considerable source of conges- 

 tion and inconvenience to the road users, and 

 it is only necessary to take a trip along some 

 of the Kentish roads to have this fact brought 

 forcibly before one. However, this method of 

 transport is undoubtedly cheaper than the self- 

 contained steam unit, and on this score it pro- 

 bably appeals to the user as being the most 

 profitable system of transport. 



However, the fuel question is receiving an 

 enormous amount of attention at the moment, 

 and it is undoubtedly one to which a solution 

 will be found in the near future. The War 

 OHice subsidy will undoubtedly give a stimulus 

 to the purchaser of a commercial vehicle, and it 

 has been a very praisew'orthy step on the part 

 of the authorities. It is only to be hoped that 

 this scheme will meet with the success which it 

 deserves, so that the grower of market produce 

 will have the opportunity of selling his goods at 

 a profitable price, whereas at the present time, 

 in manv instances, this is not the case. 



SOME FACTS FROM SCOTLAND. By the Editor The Border Standard. 



The subject is of great imimrtaiue. li: 

 Scotland we have a Farmers' Supply Asso- 

 ciation, and I think there is another organisa- 

 tion working- on the same lines. By co- 

 operative buying the members of these asso- 

 ciations get seeds, feeding stuffs, etc., in large 

 quantities, which means cheaper prices than the 

 farmers could hope to buy at dealing individu- 

 ally. But, so far as I am aware, the other side 



(if the question — co-operative action in irans- 

 |)orting the produce of the farms — has not been 

 tackled. There is any amount of growling, 

 h()we\cr, .ihout high railway rates, but I don't 

 think the farmers in Scotland have done any- 

 thing but growl and curse the raihvay com- 

 panies. Vou may know that Galashiels is the 

 centre of the Scotch tweed trade. We have 

 only one railway passing through the district — 



