WAIT and see !
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says
E. H. B. Palmer, O.B.E.
"Do Nothing that is likely to Embarrass the Government at Zero Hour. . . . Unrest in the Ranks is Quickly Identified and Swiftly Exploited by the Opposition"
THIS is the eve of the day of action, the result of which is still uncertain. Let us, therefore, do nothing that is likely to embarrass the Government at zero hour. Let us discourage a murmuring in the ranks.
Enough has been said regarding the delay in removing the 25-mile limit. Further comment is not called for, if only because our appreciation of a difficult situation must be limited by lack of information that cannot be shared by everyone. An apparently trivial adjustment of any provision out of proper sequence may do more harm than good and lead to disastrous economic consequences.
Watching the Pocket As regards the proposed levy, here is something that most of us wish to avoid-much the same as our, disinclination to meet the demands of the Inland Revenue. Criticism of this levy conies largely from those 'who, ether-Wise, are the champions of the emancipation .of road transport provided it costs them nothing personally.
Unrest in the ranks is quickly identified and swiftly exploited by the opposition. It is a matter of elementary strategy. It is the business of Her Majesty's Opposition to disturb the Government's chance of dominating the situation and every device to this end will be employed. No opportunity to reduce morale will be neglected.
Shock Tactics For example, Mr. Morrison himself was quick to assure us that with a change in government we should _ go back and, probably, farther than before. This shook the timorous as it was intended. Then a prominent member of the late administration publicly expressed the opinion that investment in transport would not be sound. Now, Mr. Morrison has returned to the attack by inferring that the proposed levy can be a mere palliative and is bound to increase.
Let us regard the question of the levy from our own angle. The Socialist Government sought to cover its loss on transport operation by raising rates and fares. This affected all of us. The Tory Government seeks stability and equity by restoring road transport to private ownership and saddling it with additional taxation. This new itnposition will be passed on to the consumer.
But can we afford to regard such matters from a purely personal angle? Would it not be more reasonable to credit the Government with an ability to see beyond the horizon? A policy is first discussed by the Cabinet, which means by all Ministers concerned, who have been briefed by their respective departments. It is then presented to the House of Commons. If it meets with approval by the majority, we can rest assured that this approval is based on original findings.
Whilst it is natural to study one's own interests, is it not also possible to remember that there may be wider issues involved? Were Lloyd's to approach an emancipated haulier with an offer to underwrite the possibility of losing his freedom once again, would it be regarded as an imposition or, as some would have it, as a mild form of blackmail?
This levy happens to be no more than an attempt at ensuring stability where there has been none. The railway system of this country has struggled on under a charter by which it is committed to obligations the like of which no road operator has ever been required to face. The railways cannot please themselves in any respect. They cannot scrap redundant branch lines and they cannot withdraw services without argument and legislation. They must abide by a rates system that has not kept abreast of economic development.
The industrial map of Great Britain bears little resemblance to that of 100 years ago. Yet railway operation is embarrassed by measures that reach back into the early part of the 19th century. Some of us wonder at the accumulation of scrap littering up the railway yards and at the long, long lines of antiquated rolling stock. We must remember that our railways have struggled through one World War, the aftermath of which found them faced with unfettered competition from free-lance road operators. They swarmed on to the road until the Act of 1931 took hold of the situation. The railways are again suffering from the aftermath of another World War and the more we can help them the better for us and for the country as a whole. By the same count, the legitimate road operator is entitled to some consideration.
Railway Stability Were the economic and operational stability of the railways to be of minor consequence, then the situation could be regarded with equanimity. But it is not so. Most of us remember disruption in the past and, should this recur, other means for transport might see us through..as a_temporary measure, but not vAithotit :improvisation and -high cost.
There are certain matters that one might wish could be raised above political level. A national crisis invariably brings us together, Why, therefore, cannot the operation and direction of transport be accepted within this bracket?
Some of us have been calling for an immediate relief from radius restriction. Some of us are shaking our heads over the prospect of a levy. We have had our say—now let us wait and see. As a precept, this is not without merit when the issues at stake are possibly beyond our ken.
Reluctant Minority "All for one and one for all," is a motto that can be adopted advantageously and adapted to the coordination of all forms of transport. Horse carmen of other days will remember the problem arising from one of a team not doing its bit. The same problem persists to-day when we find that in nearly every industry there are those reluctant to do theirs. The trade unions might well apply themselves to the solution of this problem instead of penalizing those who are anxious to do a little bit more.
In forming our ideas from a limited view of the situation, are we not emulating the' infantryman who complained that, being on the inner flank when the whole of the Army changed direction, he had to mark time for a fortnight. We shall soon have some idea of how and why things are shaping and in the meantime, having said our say and vented our spleen, let us also mark time unathe movement has developed.