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In Your Opinion
Page 70
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Spring-making Techniques
note with interest your report on the fitment of tapered Nsingle-leaf springs on Rubery Owen suspensions in the February 11 issue.
It should be pointed out that this reduction of a laminated spring to the ultimate single leaf is not the first to be fitted to a vehicle suspension in this country. For a number of years past, in fact, the British spring industry has endeavoured to interest the major motor vehicle manufacturers in the potentialities of this type of spring.
Its principal advantage is one of cost, as the major proportion of the cost of a spring is contributed by the steel of which it is made. Hence any technique which reduces spring weight also reduces the cost of the spring and therefore the cost of the vehicle to which it is fitted.
J. P. HODGES, Sales Manager, English Steel Corporation Ltd.
Misleading and Untrue
VOUR recent articles and headlines concerning the Road 1. Haulage Association members in the Potteries are, at the best, misleading and, at the worst, blatantly untrue.
There is no suggestion that a haulier is required to give any motive if he wishes to resign from the Road Haulage Association, so the question of taking legal action does not apply. Any member of the RHA in the West Midlands receives repeated requests for his subscription and only in the last resort is legal action taken, and not even then if hardship is involved. This is the policy throughout the area and, to this end, the headline "RHA takes legal action in Potteries" is very misleading and inflammatory.
The greatest concentration of hauliers in the West Midlands is not, as you state, in the Potteries, but in the Birmingham area. and the new area offices at Tipton are situated as near to the geographical centre of the area as it is possible to be.
The services given to RHA members in the Potteries are not in any way inferior to those given to any member elsewhere and the area committee is most concerned that this should continue to be the case. It is my wish that the members of the Potteries sub-area should resume their activities as soon as possible, as in the past they have supplied many eminent men at both area and national level.
The publication of sensational headlines and biased articles does not assist the area committee in its intention to produce harmonious relations with the Potteries sub-area.
A. C. W. NEELY, A. Neely Ltd., Birmingham 9
Shocked!
T WAS shocked at the headline to the report on page 23 of the I February 18 issue of COMMERCIAL MOTOR and the allegation in the first paragraph stated to be confirmed by me.
It is utterly untrue that I have ever mentioned that action is being taken against hauliers failing to give "proper motives" for resignation and the "scare" headline creates a completely false impression of discrimination against Potteries members.
Such irresponsible repoiting reflects no credit on a publication which one would expect to encourage harmony and co-operation in the industry.
J. T. PARNELL. Secretary, West Midland Area, RHA
I Use of the word "motive' was a transcription error; the correct word should have been "notice". The first duty of any journal is to report facts without fear or favour; this we did, and do not consider such action to be in any sense irresponsible (Mr. Parnell) or biased (Mr. Neely). Repeated, and largely unsuccessful, attempts were made to obtain statements from Mr. Parnell and Mr. Neely. A request to report on a sub-area meeting was refused by Mr. Parnell, who gave us the information that the greatest concentration of hauliers was in the Potteries (Mr. Neely).
Two weeks ago Mr. Parnell was offered every facility to explain the area's position: he did not accept. Later, an arrangement was made for a reporter to interview Mr. Parnell and Mr. Neely: the former was unwilling to answer all questions; the latter did not appear. If our stated facts are wrong they should be corrected: but neither gentleman has challenged one substantial fact in any ofour stories on the subject.—Ed.]