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What a Hope!
Page 142
Page 143
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The Title of this Article is the Answer to a By Recent Contribution 61 J.D.P., "Will the T. A. McDowall Crisis Terminate Restriction?" The P.D.Q. Transport and Garage WHILST most of the members of our industry are content to meek about in their own little potato patch and hope the blight from over the fence will not blow their way, some may pay a subscnption to an association, but that is only putting wire iletting on top of the fence and the wind will still blow through until they get busy themselves and erect, by their own efforts, the high and strong hoarding of public opinion, well shored up by a strong propaganda fund.
A few paid officials and a minority of voluntary helpers cannot hope to do more than build temporary windbreaks, which are soon outflanked by a change of wind. That they have accomplished so much in moderating the gale of regulations is a great tribute to their efforts, but apparently no example to those for whom they labour.
If J.D.P. will think over the emanations from Whitehall during the past few years he Will know what a hope he has of getting a common-sense answer. It will need some extra-strength blue ointment to get rid oi our parasites. The last-minute attempts to organize crisis transport make it evident that only the initiative of the private enterprise of road transport, and the willingness of its personnel, brought forth that portion of the real requirements which was achieved.
It must be evident that roads which are choked on any fine Sunday are totally inadequate to provide for mass evacuation at the same time as they must provide for mass supply in the opposite direction.
It has recently been said that certain roads should not be imprOved because they are jammed only by pleasure traffic at certain periods. It apparently escaped the notice of the author of that remark that the pleasure people, who are so jammed, are paying all the time they are not using the roads and are certainly entitled to find that for which they are paying lying ready for their use when required. The condition-of such so-called roads in an emergency would be _indescribable.
Road Transport—King for a Day.
During the crisis, road transport took the bit between its teeth. It blew high and wide all the suffocating Tales and regulations, took' a deep breath and got to work. The men could work as they wished, the speed limits were forgotten, anything that would run went out. If any official organization existed it did not become known until it was nearly all oVer, but what a show the industry put up ! We had a grand time, getting on With the job to our own ideas and parked Grandmother" in the corner with her knitting. " Blimey, guv'nor," said one driver, "I just stuck A.R.P. up and rode through the King's front garden (meaning the Mall)—didn't 'art save some time." " Crikey !" said another, "the blinking cops pulled on one side and waved me on ; 'ad to pinch myself to see it I was dreaming." After all, these death-dealing machines, driven by D20 those who are apparently regarded as potentia! criminals, working for those who should be exterminated as pests, had been let loose on a mad career for a few days, those who have noted the legislation of the past few years might be excused for expecting to see all the hospitals and cemeteries overflowing. The accident figures are just published—they have gone down ! What a comment on the need for bureaucratic control. Will they remember and ease our burdens? Notoriously short are the expedient memories of bureaucrats.
It must be evident that railways are peculiarly subject to dislocation from air attack and for a much greater period of repair than is the case with roads. The road vehicle need not wait for its track to be repaired ; but why labour the obvious?
Shipping Depends Upon Internal Transport.
During the past war we had the spectacle of food ships getting safely into western ports. Such cargoes as were discharged often went rotten while waiting for choked railways to distribute the goods. To-day's road transport was not then in existence and now it would be as choked as were the railways. The progress in the air aggravates these conditions and practically no improvement in communication has been made in spite of the revenue from the road being many times that which is necessary to provide the facilities. Even such an obvious link as the Severn Tunnel has been tabooed. • Are we again to see those ships sent to sea, against much greater odds, to try to get their cargoes up Channel to London? There was a period when one could not come up Channel without passing, at frequent intervals, the wreckage, cases and bodies from our torpedoed ships. Now they would be bombed as well. The transport of supplies by road offers much smaller individual targets than either trains or ships. If blown up ashore one can at least pick up the pieces; at sea only the fish benefit.
It must also be evident that there was a woeful lack of vehicles available for crisis transport, which indicates an urgent need for drastic revision of the operation of the 1933 Road and Rail Traffic Act. In any industry but that of road transport it is possible to lay up machinery during bad times and bring it back into operation during a revival. The road transport contractor who lays up his vehicles will not be able to justify the retention of his licence at renewal time and will not be able to use his rolling stock in the future ; although there is no compensation for its loss and practically no sale for his unemployed vehicles to others, who will also be unable to obtain a licence. To secure the licence again on a revival of trade is almost impossible in the face of the evidence which is demanded to "prove the need."
These conditions have caused, in some quarters, frantic efforts to run the vehicles somehow in order to justify licence renewals, and without any regard to economic conditions, with the obvious descent to ruinous price-cutting and the adoption of any methods to inake such operation possible. Thus the Act which was to stop alleged abuses in road transport is itsell encouraging the exploitation of the decent operator for the survival of the unscrupulous.
The remedy is automatic renewal of licence for the man who has observed fair wages and conditions for his men and keeps his vehicles in good condition. The half-hearted reply to this obvious common sense is the " Sop' of five-year licences, at double the fee, when we get them. "Proving their need" against the opposition of competitors who will have more time to devote to opposing each renewal will be much more difficult. Why should a man have to prove that' he is working to full capacity before his continued existence is considered desirable? Why should he have to prove that others cannot do his work before he may extend his business? Surely the fact that he is prepared to remain in business is proof that someone needs his services ?
Trusting the Law to Find Objections.
Why should an A licence cost more than any other? Because it is unrestricted? Nonsense The "clever ones" have " gone into a huddle," banged their heads together a bit, and a new basis of objection has been discovered and passed into "Case Law." It is known as "an alteration in the nature of a business." A licences were devised by the Act to be unristricted in their scope so long as the conditions of good wages and conditions and mechanical upkeep were observed. Now a change of customer, type of goods carried, or district served may lead to cancellation of licence. How e= it possible for business to exist under such conditions? It is not, look at the falling number of A licences. Even a Licensing Authority says publicly : "I most state that I have some doubt as to whether it was the intention of the Legislature, in passing the Road and Rail Traffic Act, to bring about a state of affairs which would cause such hardship . _ . but I feet it my duty to follow the decisions of the Appeal Tribunal," and he had to cancel the licences for two vehicles out of a fleet of three because the operator had dared to secure better work when that in which he was engaged "proved undependable."
• The More Brilliant Star Chamber.
The Star Chamber of ancient days is much dimmed by the brilliance of our modern legal luminaries, who have found a way to kill off more quickly those who have guts enough to struggle while they are being subjected to a lingering death.
The ways of British dictators are remarkable for their humanity. They do not have a purge and bump them off quickly—they might have to pay compensation. It is much more dignified to tie them down and let the tide rise quietly, while no one is watching, but if they struggle, well it is just too bad, they have found a cooked-up legal way to bump them on the head in the Traffic Court, which the public scarcely know about, never visit, and never find reported in their newspapers. After that they go out to a nice function and probably converse sanctimoniously about the methods of American graft or totalitarian government. No wonder the rest of the world looks on the British as a nation of hypocrites, past-masters in the perverted art of expediency.
Well I well I it's the fifth of November and I must go to light the bonfire. I wonder whether you can imagine whose face I shall see on the guy and to whose pants I would like to tie a few rockets.