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

MOTOR ROAD TRANSPORT : PAST AND PRESENT 3 of having a smart-looking van on account of the manifest advertisement gained thereby. This was natural and logical. Here was a travelling advertise- ment, and, if attractive, people who saw it would say, “ That man must be doing well,” with the result that fresh business would be gained. The truth of the saying that “ nothing succeeds like success ” is never better borne out than in this branch of business. To-day it is no longer a question of profit only, but more often than not a question of existence. Growth of Motor Haulage Companies. Since the Armistice a great number of motor haulage contracting companies have sprung. into existence, and undoubtedly this movement will expand to very considerable proportions all over the country. With the present uncertainty and fluctuation in the costs of material and labour, many commercial houses prefer to contract for their transport rather than to organize a fleet of vehicles of their own, more especially when their knowledge of the subject and actual experience are not extensive. This method, though unquestionably possessing certain advantages, can never, as a rule, compare in efficiency, economy, and independence with that of a fleet of motors run by a firm itself on well organized lines. With all forms of transportation, reliability, elas- ticity, and economy are the features essential to success, and the system by which these qualities are gained to the greatest extent is the system to be adopted. Reliability is of primary importance, and that this can be secured was definitely proved in the war. Triumph of Military Motor Traction. There were demerits as well as merits in our mechan- ical road transportation in France, and the business