Motor Road Transport For Commercial Purposes
(Liquid Fuel, Steam, Electricity)

MOTOR ROAD TRANSPORT FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES CHAPTER I MOTOR ROAD TRANSPORT : PAST AND PRESENT Before August, 1914, the motor vehicle, wh.eth.er for private or commercial use, was a great asset; now it is an absolute essential. At the outbreak of the war the days were not long past when it was wont to be looked upon as a luxury rather than a necessity; the horse, and more especially the railway, being formidable competitors in spite of their manifest limitations. All this has been changed, the three types of traction being now complementary to one another, and it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that the motor—either directly or indirectly—dominates to-day every phase of interiör economy. The war nas given a great impetus to mechanical transport as a whole, and practical experience has shown that it is now an indispensable factor of national life. ithout motor traction—and motor traction in the most up-to-date form—no country can hope to maintain a footing m the universal competitive reconstruction which is everywhere taking place. European Road Mileages Compared. Great Britain is eminently suited to road transport, as may be seen from the table appended, in the final column of which is shown the proportion—pre-war__ of road mileage to area for several countries. It will 1—(1889) 1