SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25TH,- 1909.
THE AUTOCAR B Journal publi5beb in tbe interests of tbe mecbantcall\? propelle~ roa~ carriage.
EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.
No. 740. VoL. XXIII.] SATURDAY, D ECEMBER 25TH, 1909.
[PRICE 3D.
The Autocar.
(Published Weekly).
Registered as a Newspaper for transmission in thr. United Kingdom. Entered as second-class matter in the New York. (N.Y ) Post Office.
Three Editions every Friday.
The THREEPENNY EDITION, printed on Art Paper. The PENNY EDITION, printed upon thinner paper. The FOREIGN EDITION, price 3d., printed on thin paper for transmission abroad.
Editorial Office :
COVENTRY.
Publishing Offices :
20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E.C., England.
CONTENTS. NOTES • .
USEFUL HINTS AND TIPS . •
CHRtSTMAS, r909 (ILLUSTRATION) • .
ON THE ROAD • .
The Autooar League .. SMALL CAR TALK
I02I
1022
1023
. . 10.:?.J 1025
. . 1026 1027
1028-1029
A GRADUALLY VARIABLE Gr.AR THE REINFORCED INNER TUBE (ILLUSTRATEn)-THE MOTOR
UNION AND THE GENERAL ELECTION-THE A~SOC.lATED CLUBS AND Co~oPERATIVE TRADING-HALL v. STEPNEY
SPARE WHEEL, LTD.-A GERMAN AE.ROPLANE DESTROYER
1029
1030
MOTOR U NION N OTES..
BODY DESIGN ANO CONSTRUCTION (ILLUSTRATED)
ON THE TRACK..
1031
1032
1033
CoRRESPONDENCE (ILLUSTRATED) . •
NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP..
DISCOURAGEMENT OF BOYISH INGENUITY (ILLUSTRATED)
EARTHED! BY OWEN }OHN (ILLUSTRATED)
So~lE MOTORS AND A CHANCELLOR • •
OLD INvIN ~IBLE
THE II OLDEST INHABITANT " AND THE 1\'IoToR CAR
FLASHES . .
• . IOJ4·ro38
. . 1039-1040
1040
. . 10.Jj·I0:'il
I0j l
• . to52-1053
ros+
• . 1055• ro56
Subscription Rates :
British Isles-Home Edition, 16s. ; penny (thin paper edition), 6s. 6d.
Abroad (thin paper edition), 19s. 6d. per annum. Index ta Advertisements appears on page 38.
Notes. The Coming General Election. On page 1026 we refer further to the excellent elec tion scheme for motorists which has been put forth by the Automobile Association. We cordially commend this scheme to all motorists, and earnestly urge them to adopt the plan if they use their cars for electoral purposes. \\·hatever their political leanings may be, the simple plan proposed by the A.A. will in no \\'ay clash ,,·ith them. It ,,·isely tak s adYantage of the fact that a general election affords a remarkably wide demonstration to the non-motoring classes of the extraordinary safety and ease of control of the modern motor car, and it is merely a proposition to focus the results of these widespread demonstrations into a tangible expression of public opinion. It entails practically no trouble upon the motorist, and we hope that everyone of our readers who proposes to lend his car will put him elf into ·communication with the secretary of the Automobile Association, Whitcomb Street, Coventry Street, \\i.
Discussions. At a recent meeting of the lnstitution of :.lechanical Engineers, the President made a very practical suggestion which at this time of the year, when papers and discussions are more or less numerous, it would be well if it were generally followed. After an exttemely interesting and valuable paper had been read by one of the members, the hairman, when opening the discussion upon it, pointed out that a great deal of time might be saved if those who wished to criticise the paper would refrain from opening their remarks by stating that it was a valuable paper, or words to that effect. He pointed out that this had become a time-honoured method of tempering criticism, and he begged the participants in the discussion to take all this as said. There is undoubtedly a natural desire on the part of any appreciative person who wishes to criticise a paper to pay a tribute to the author, as he probably knows how much labour and research have been necessary before the paper could be written, and he feels that he ought to pay some tribute of appreciation before commencing to bombard the writer with questions or criticisms. This is a very proper feeling, but when anything like an interesting discussion takes place, in which a number of speakers participate, it wastes a great deal of time and bores the audience. There is no need to say more.
Conscientious County Officials. In the matter of its road: and . road authorities Cheshire is a fortunate county. This fact is brought to our notice by the receipt of a report by the chairman (Mr. C. H. Pedley) a11LI ,·ice-chairman (Mr. F. G. Grafton) of the Main Roads and Bridges Committee of the County Council of Cheshire. This report has been kindly ent us by the Clerk of the Council, .and we must congratulate the chairman anci the vice-chairman on what they ha,·e doi1e, as their report is based upon a personal inspe· 'tion of all the roads in the county. \\'hat 1\'e particularly \\"ish tu dwell upon at the moment i. the thoruughness which characterises the effort . It is true ttiat e,·ery coun• cillor on the Roads Committee of his county has a more or Jess general acquaintance with the roads oJ his county, but we wonder how many ·have taken the trouble or devoted the time to a really systematic .and careful' inspection such as that dealt with in tlw report before · us. The main conclusions are thai very great damage is done to the roads, especiall~· after a spell of frost, by traction engines and heav: motor lorries, while the lighte r and fastei; private cars are stated to have a bad effect upon the roads where the traffic is exceptionally heavy and tbe road narrow. On the other hand, when the roatl is ,ride and tlw up and down traffic keep to two distinct lines much less damage results.
