A Successful Haulage Function
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THE first annual dinner of the west midland area of the Long Distance Road Haulage Association (now the Road Haulage Association) was a successful event, a large and distinguished gathering being present at the White Horse Hotel, Birmingham, on April 30th, when the chairman was Mr. C. J. Hurst, A.M.Inst.T., chairman of the west midland area committee.
The toast of "The City of Birmingham" was proposed by Mr. 0. C. Power, ALInst.T., of the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd. Referring to the progress made by the city, Mr. Power reminded the gathering that municipal development and road trans
port are interdependent. Continuing, Mr. Power pointed out that although, on the municipal side, Birmingham was a little late in developing the use of buses, the city was now doing quite well in this respect. (The city has the largest fleet of municipal buses.) In reply, Alderman J. B. Burman, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, congratulated the Association on its decision to cover short as well as longdistance haulage.
Mr. P. H. Winwood, president of the Furniture Warehousemen and Removers Association, congratulated the L.D.R.H.A. on being the first to reply publicly to the railway companies' memoranda, which he described as a monument of bias and mis-statement.
In responding, Mr. E. 0. Marston, president of the council, referred to the one-time disorganized state of road transport, and mentioned that before the inauguration of the L.D.R.H.A., long-distance hauliers approached existing associations which would not make room for them within those organizations.
Mr. Marston preferred not to comment on the Road-Rail Committee other than to mention the fact that the railways themselves are apparently in favour of L.D.R.H.A. representation on that committee, but other road-transport
organizations had objected. He welcomed the presence of Mr. Fowler, the President of the Short Distance Hauliers Alliance, and of Captain E. G. Gordon Poggi, also of that Association, and mentioned that as the result of a recent meeting the Association's activities would be extended to cover not only the short-distance hauliers, but also the clearing houses.
Other speakers were Sir Percival Bower, J.P., Mr. E. W. Bache, of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Mr. R. Carey, and Mr. L. W. Oupwell, M.Inst.T., who was responsible for the efficient organization of the evening. Others present were Alderman A. H. James, Mr. A. C. Baker (Birmingham tramways and omnibus department), Mr. H. H. Humphries (Birmingham city surveyor), Messrs. J. Smedley Crooke, M.P., S. R. Marston, P. P. Fowler, Donaldson Wright, W. H. Watson, E. B. Hutchinson, F. J. Marston, R. B. Stockdale, T. J. McKenna, S. C. Smith and John Howell