THE CHRONICLE OF THE CAR .sx By H. THORNTON RUTTER .sx ONE of the bugbears to motorists on tour in this country is the necessity for traversing large towns , usually congested with traffic , and very often presenting an intricate route not easily to be followed by a stranger .sx To overcome this difficulty , the R.A.C. includes with every route sent to a member a large-scale plan or map of any big towns that lie on the way , showing the easiest way through ; or , wherever possible , a loop route that will avoid the busy parts of the town altogether .sx The increasing number of by-pass roads now being constructed in all parts of the country simplifies the matter to a large extent , and , wherever possible , the R.A.C. routes are arranged so as to avoid big towns altogether .sx In certain circumstances , however , it is not possible to avoid a large town , and this applies particularly to London .sx Motorists from the provinces visiting London for the first time frequently experience considerable difficulty in finding their way to their destinations , and are often confused by the various one-way traffic signals now in operation in the Metropolis .sx For the convenience of its members in such cases , the R.A.C. arranges for a " town pilot " to meet any car on the outskirts of London and conduct it to its destination , avoiding the busier streets wherever possible .sx If desired , the pilot is prepared to drive the car , and so relieve the owner of all anxiety .sx This service has been found of such assistance to drivers that it has now been extended to certain of the larger provincial towns for the benefit of R.A.C. members on tour .sx A Folding Cooking-Stove .sx As the camping and picnic season is in full swing in the British Isles and elsewhere , a correspondent asks me to recommend a useful cooking-stove which is easily carried .sx Now , having personally tried one which is satisfactory , I have kept to it , so my experience is limited .sx Being a petrol-using merchant , I naturally prefer a petrol stove .sx The one I can thoroughly recommend is the Gipsy camp stove , sold by the Sunshine Radiator Co. , Ltd. , of 70 , Old Broad Street , London , E.C.2. The Gipsy weighs only 11 lb .sx , and when folded as a suitcase , with its handle for carrying , measures 17-in .sx by 4 in .sx by 9 in .sx The actual cooking space is 16 in .sx by 9 in .sx deep .sx It heats up in half a minute and lights just as easily under rough weather conditions as in fine sunshine , when there is no wind .sx But write to these people for their catalogue ; I believe the price paid was 39s .sx 6d .sx , but I am not certain .sx This stove is a two-burner affair , and is equally useful on caravans , motor-boats , and anywhere else as a camp cooker .sx Most campers who have used it approve of its easily cleanable features , and my first knowledge of its existence came through a friend who bought a Rice caravan with the Gipsy camp stove among its fittings .sx Pump Carburetters :sx Distinctive Features .sx In answer to another correspondent asking me why motor manufacturers are now fitting down-draught and pump carburetters , I suppose that I had better give the designers' views on the subject .sx Down-draught carburetters claim the advantage that the petrol vapour falls into the induction-pipe naturally by its own weight , and so assists the speed of its entry to the combustion-chamber by the suction of the engine .sx Up-draught or side-draught carburettors have the weight of the vapour fighting against the pull of the suction .sx Then most of these down-draught carburetters also combine a petrol-pump which enriches the mixture by mechanical means when the throttle is opened by the driver .sx With the demand for very rapid acceleration of the speed of engines and their much-increased number of revolutions - 6000 per minute in place of 2000 per minute - the mixture was apt to be starved without the aid of the pump to force more petrol through the carburetter-mixing chamber .sx At the same time , if my correspondent is contemplating changing the carburetter of the old type to one of this new down-draught variety , he will probably find that the new gas-mixing machine will require a special induction-pipe in place of the existing one on the car .sx Another query was in regard to Lucas's " panoram " driving mirror for saloon cars .sx The advantage of this mirror is that the driver using one on his front screen can see reflected on its surface the traffic on each side of the car , as well as that following in its immediate rear .sx This mirror costs 12s .sx 6d .sx , and is well worth the price as a beneficial safety device .sx In London it saves crashing cyclists and motor-cyclists who cut in on the near side , a very common trick also indulged in by taxicabs .sx Any local dealer can supply it , as Lucas's are the standard equipment on a large number of cars built in England .sx THE VOICE OF THE TAX-PAYER .sx By A.A.B. .sx X. - WANTED :sx MORE MONEY !sx AFTER great wars there ensues , almost invariably , an epidemic of finance , of which the stages are a book , a slump , and convalescence .sx After the Marlborough wars came the South Sea Bubble .sx After Waterloo there was a boom in 1825 , followed by ten years' depression ; then the railway book of the 'forties ; the panic of '48 ; and , finally , the steady convalescence of Queen Victoria's reign , broken by the Overend Gurney and Baring crises .sx After the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 , there followed a sham boom in 1920 , which tailed off slowly into the American slump in 2929 , and our own slump , beginning in 1930 , in the middle of which we now lie , irritable , but , on the whole , keeping our heads .sx The new feature of post-war finance is that it is more international than formerly p ; so that we are all " in the soup " together .sx America has always congratulated herself hitherto on being outside European entanglements , and it is only slowly and reluctantly that her statesmen have been forced to the recognition of the fact that the United States is , for better or worse , a financial part of Europe .sx President Hoover is well enough informed to have foreseen that Germany was on the point of default .sx Cleverly , he mad a virtue of necessity , and proposed an all-round moratorium , which Germany would have declared for herself without his intervention .sx The plain position is that Germany is being made to pay in reparations to France and England , and in the principal and interest of loans to France , England , America , and Belgium , more money than is producible in her country .sx A suspension of all debt payments for a year , and a stop-gap loan to Germany of 20,000,000 , advanced by America , England , and France , appears to be all that is possible at present .sx As America refuses to discuss war-debts , and France declines to discuss reparations , the London Conference has been a disappointment , and has only been able to " plug the waste-pipe .sx " France has more gold in her banks than any other country , and continues to increase her hoards , at the same time keeping the biggest army in the world on a war footing .sx France might undoubtedly aggravate the worst crisis the world has ever seen by refusing to join in any plan to help Germany , though President Hoover is of opinion that , if put to it , America and England can save the situation without France .sx But is France likely to isolate herself and to defy the public opinion of the civilised world , as expressed by the League of Nations ?sx It does not seem to me to be like France to outrage the feelings of her neighbours in that way , for the French nation has always shown itself to be sensitive to the point of touchiness as to what others think of her .sx Is the prevailing opinion in England pro-French or pro-German ?sx It is impossible to dogmatise on the point ; nor are articles in the Press safe guides .sx Most of my friends , who are engaged in politics , and therefore bound to keep in touch with the views of electors , tell me that the predominant feeling , particularly amongst the working classes , is pro-German and anti-French ; and that is my own conviction .sx There is the sentiment that the Germans are unduly handicapped , by the fears and jealousy of the French , in sincere efforts to rehabilitate their country .sx That is quite enough to rouse the sympathy of the British masses , though , if it should turn out that the Germans are bluffing and exaggerating their distress for the purpose of driving a better bargain with their creditors , the revulsion of feeling will be sharp , and disastrous to Germany .sx What is wanted is more money in the world , and money can only be created by new credit .sx It is not more commodities that are wanted , for there are at present more commodities than can find buyers .sx It is money to buy those surplus products that is the desideratum Tea , rubber , sugar , tin , copper , nitrate , are all being produced in such quantities that they yield no profit to their producers .sx What is the cure ?sx The Macmillan Commission has produced a Report which is so technical that it must be " caviare to the general .sx " For myself , much of it is as unintelligible as if it were written in Chinese .sx I gather that , in the opinion of these pundits , the Bank of England should be allowed to issue more notes to the extent of 40,000,000 , and that credit facilities should be extended .sx My experience is that the banks lend money readily enough , where there is good security :sx and if the security is bad the banks are risking the money of their depositors , as well as the reputation of our commercial system .sx What is wanted is not credit , but customers .sx What good , for instance , would it do to a rubber company whose capital is running out fast to get a loan from its bank to enable it to go on selling at three-pence rubber which costs 5d .sx or 6d .sx a lb .sx to product ?sx It would only prolong the agony .sx Mr. Amery proposes a new way of creating money , or , rather , the return to an old way , namely , the adoption of bimetallism .sx He points out that all the gold is in the hands of a comparatively small number of Western nations , viz .sx , England , America , Belgium , Germany , France , Holland , and Sweden .sx When the Eastern nations want to buy English goods they have to purchase sovereigns , or gold bills , with depreciated and fluctuating silver .sx If silver were monetised ( that is , made legal tender ) , it would apparently increase the purchasing power of India and China , two of the largest markets .sx Bimetallism was fashionable towards the end of the last century , and its most popular advocate was the late Lord Chaplin .sx I was sitting behind Mr. Chaplin in the House of Commons while he made a long and famous oration on bimetallism .sx Sinking back on the front bench ( he was a heavy man ) and wiping his brow , he said to Mr Balfour .sx " How did I do , Arthur ?sx " " Splendidly , Harry , splendidly !sx " was the answer .sx " Did you understand me , Arthur ?sx " " Not a word , Harry , not a word " .sx Let us hope that Mr. Amery knows more than Lord Balfour about bimetallism .sx THE CHRONICLE OF THE CAR .sx By H. THORNTON RUTTER .sx LORD DERBY , as Chairman of the " Come to England " movement paid high compliments to the Daimler Hire Service for their unique and world-famous carriages for the use of visitors to Great Britain to explore the countryside , attend State functions , or for ordinary town use .sx The public demand to hire from this service has grown so much , that a new and additional depot has been built large enough to house 400 " double-six " Daimlers , with stores , repair department , waiting-rooms , mess-room for drivers , private lockers for visitors garaging their own cars there , and all suitable appurtenances .sx This new garage is situated behind Russell Square , in Herbrand Street , and its four floors are accessible from the street itself by means of a double-span 21-ft .sx driveway , or ramp , connecting each floor .sx