Orders Pouring in from Every Quarter for Freight Cars and Passenger Buses Trenrsns News Senvice.
Tientsin, May 16.
Big activities all over the Northern provinces are reported in motor-transportation and many of the Tientsin, Peking and Shanghai dealers are deluged with inquiries and orders for passenger and freight cars. Early summer usually sees a certain amount of activity but nothing like the present has ever been known, Sales records this season will undoubtedly break all previous records many times over.
The Chefoo-Weihsien Transportation Company has placed orders in Tientsin for 10 Dodge Brothers "screen" bodied convertible passenger'and freight ears, and two White trucks, "Two months ago they purchased six one-ton Ford trucks with J0 passenger bodies, all of which have been delivered. The same company hax placed a substantial order, it is reported, in Shanghai, for Buick cars, with 10- passenger bodies.
The Chinese have at Inst awaken to the possibility motor-transport for inquiry coming from the most te places. Merchants in small towns several miles away from railway lines write saying they have heard of the vantages of quick transport and} ish to buy "60-passenger" buses! Neatly all the dozen or more companies already in ¢xistence are increasing their services and branchimg out with bus lines to other towns in their neighbourhood, Tt has been proved many times over that light 10-passenger trucks, of one or one and a half tons, are the best for use on dirt roads in the northern provinces. The soft roads will not stand up under anything heavier and it is with the greatest difficulty that newcomers into the field of transportation are convinced that they cannot success-folly use "G0-passenger" cars.
Motoring in the Gobi, 'A grent deal of activity is also reported from lines using the Gobi desert, especially in connexion with freight. It seems that the constantly cut passenger rates have redueed profit in that business to a minimum, and most of the lines turning their attention to freight. They are converting their cars and The principal reason given for the remarkable activity, besides the native awakening tothe benefits of the general be-not be a Chihli-Fengtien war this year. 'The Chinese have come to the conclusion that the dissension in the Chihli party prevents it taking any hostile stand iaé-vie of Chang Tso-lin, while, at] the same time, they' consider Chang his. own affairs, is position in Manchuria and watching the outcome of Russian movements in the north, to Pay any attention to Peking affairs.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.