That is very much an individual tic point of view—one which is concerned solely with the cost per! gallon to the owner of a car, bat there are "ther considerations of wider import. Thus, for example, may be considered" the general offest on the motor trade in Shanghai, With up-to-date facilities for the purchase "f vehicles on the hire purchase system the primary factor for consideration Uy the prospective purchaser is the monthly cost. Thus a man who ig paying Tls. 100 per month off the purchase price of a car has had his choice of makes limited by the amount he ig able to afford monthly, for the cost of running has also to be considered. Consequently in, or-mary running of a moderate sized fear, the recent changes in price mean a reduction in running cost of Tls. 20 to Tls. 25, which, now, might very well be an inducement, to purchase a car anyhow, oF to acquire a more expensive" model than otherwise would have been the se, Three hundred taels a year may make all the difference between the purchase of a low-grade car and one of better make and in the best interests of the motor dealerd and, incidentally, of the public at large that the best grade fof cars should be on the streets.
The Tied House System But there are wider implications involved in this gasoline price war, The system for the retailing of motor spirit, as it hae been deserib~ us, appears very much like the tied house system which [brewers imposed on public hou! in England. Garages have been, and are, at the present moment Bound to handle only certain ines of gasoline and oils from the sama companies, the effect being to restrict the trade and cut out that degree of com:
jon which is always so bene~ ficial for the consumer at large. Garages have been unable to handle Jcertain brands of lubricants because their agreements with the gasoline purveying companies have prevented them, That certainly is not to the dest interests of motering which this newspaper has had consistent ly at heart ever since that mode of conveyance became an accepted fact fon our streets, and an ern of treey open competition is one of the best things that can happen for the tram well-being, of this city.
Excellence of Honigsberg's Spirit First impressions of this new spirit. which Messrs, Honigebers: is, retailing are highly favourable. The specification, which we have seen places it ax a high credo Spirit. while very ordinary tests show that the refractory processes through which the spirit hax passed have resulted in a fuel of excellent able to rank ax a first Trade gasoline, That has to be established at the cutest, for in dealing with such a monopoly as hax now been challenged, the quality of the challenging fuel 1s considerable importance in cone rection with the question of what sort of merchandise is being given in-return for the lower price The gasoline which "Messrs, Monigsherse ix selling, under practi= cal tests, which of course do not yun over a great length of time at present, ignites quickly from cold, offers no difficulty so far as Marling is concerned. and gives every showing of being a good quality spirit for use in the best of cars running on our streets. ig pure white and exceptionally clean to ook at, while certain simple tests indicate the absent of those heavier oils which are often to be found in low grade spirits, It is practical tests such as these which form the real consideration, for it is no inducement to the average motoring man to be told that he is receiving the best avia tion spirit in exchange for a price which appears on the very face of things exorbitant, The question 80 far as he is concerned is—does it yun the car? If it does, it does not matter if it consists only of pink tea, so Jong as the iniquities of the former monopoly re forced out of existence by Tittle healthy competition Arnoros of a letter which recent appeared in our correspondence columns, it is of interest to note that the Russian Volunteers stationed at the different bridges ever Soo chow Creek are holding un trams and motor buses now and that the passengers are being searched by Chinese police A PAHANG correspondent of the "Malay Mail" writes that three, Chinese living in a hut near Man-chis were "attacked by wild elephants. Two of the men were trampled to death but the third escaped and reported the matter to. the police, who brought the Bodies to Bentong hospital.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.