What the Associations are Doing
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ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP THE ROYAL ROAD TO UNITY.
From the National Road Transport Employers Federation comes the information that the following resolution Was adopted at a meeting held last Friday:-" That a Standing Joint Committee having been formed for the express purpose of furthering the wellbeing of all Aand B-licence holders throughout the country, and comprising representatives of every class of professional road haulier, urges every Aand B-licence holder who is not a member of a national road-transport organization to join one at once and so serve his own interests and those of his fellow hauliers, by presenting that united front which is of such vital importance if road transport is to consolidate its position as one of the key industries of this country.'' Another Reason for Unity.
A notable passage in the speech of Mr, Trevor Morgan, K.C. (Western Area Licensing Authority), at the recent Plymouth A.R.O. dinner, and a passage which gave much gratification to the officials and members, was one in which he emphasized in no unmeasured terms the vital importance,. from the national point of view, of operators of road transport being organized. He not only counselled existing 'licence-holders to join organizations, but added that the authorities would undertake to " shepherd " new licence-holders into the fold.
Road Transport Needs an Eagle
At the annual meeting of the Leicester and District Horse and Motor Owners' Transport Association, Mr. W. Burrows, president, reviewing the past year's work, impressed upon the meinbers :how necessary it was to keep a close 'watch upon the legislation relating to the road-transport industry. No 'person, he said,. who operated a .mechanical vehicle Could these daysafford. to be without the guidance of.a ruling body..
A.R.O.'s Eastern Area Activity.
The annual general meetings of most of the sub-areas in the Eastern Area of A.0.0. have now been held, and have proved decidedly more successful than those of previous years. Mr. J. L. Kinder, from the head office, has been the speaker at all meetings, and additional membership has resulted. At most of the meetings the first item on the programme has been a gramophone record of the propaganda speeches by Major Crawford and Mr. Roger. Sewall.
Wisbech and King's Lynn sub-areas were at one time combined, but the arrangement never worked as they were concerned with totally different sets of . conditions. Both have now formed pro • visional committees, The annual dinner of the Peter
borough Sub-area was held on January 24, and has set a standard by which all other sub-area functions will be judged.
London I.T.A.'s Progress.
We learn that 25 new members have already been admitted this session to the London branch of the Industrial Transport Association, and applications are coming in steadily.
A Big Parade Helps Propaganda.
Most impressive was the parade of commercial vehicles arranged for propaganda purposes by the West-Midland Area of A.R.O., last Saturday. Bearing banners and posters, 73 vehicles made their way through Bilston. Darlaston, Walsall, Willenhall and back to Wolverhampton. A loudspeaker van headed the parade. PLEA TO STOP UNFAIR WEIGHTRECORDING.
The following resolution, on the subject of the taxable weight of commercial vehicles, was carried unanimously at the quarterly council meeting of the National Federation of Grocers and Provision Dealers Associations, held at Marylebone, London, on Thursday of last week:-" That this National Council urges that provision should be made in the Finance Bill, 1939, that the weight of a vehicle, as admitted and certified at the time of registration of the vehicle by the local taxation officer, shall be accepted thereafter for taxation or other purposes, subject to there not having been any structural alteration to the vehicle." Mr. T. Williams (Cardiff), seconding the resolution, contended that once the vehicle had been weighed, that should be the standard weight afterwards.
I.T.A. Scheme forSecuring Right
• Atmosphere.
This year's Annual Congress of the Industrial Transport Association wilt take place at Norwich', from June 26-28, at the invitation of the Norwich Traffic Club,'of which Mr. L. A. Carey,
1VI.I.T.A., • transport manager of Reckitt and Colman, Ltd., Norwich, is the energetic founder-secretary. „ The plan, adopted with good results at • Hull, is to be repeated on this occasion, and delegates will be invited to forgather on the Saturday afternoon and evening prior to the official Congress opening so that a day and a half's informal social intercourse may create and renew a spirit of friendliness.
Strides in Organization for Emergency Transport.
Organization of the entire volume of the road transport of the city and district, for national emergency purposes, was fully discussed at the annual meeting, last week, of the Plymouth. and District Sub-area of A.R.O., over which Mr. J. Metcalfe presided. The area secretary, Mr. Norman J. Bennett, explained the Ministry's plan, • as detailed at a private consultation which had taken place the previous day between representatives of the Western Area Traffic Commissioners, the A.R.O. and the C.M.U.A.
He said the C.M.U.A. had intimated to the Commissioners that it was willing to work in conjunction with the A.R.O. in the matter. Mr. Bennett explained how the Western Area was being divided up into districts and sub. districts, and said that the Ministry's
plans were being expedited. Subsequently, all operators would be formed into convenient groups, each representing 25 to 30 vehicles, with group managers at the head. He pointed out that it would be necessary for every operator to be in a group, otherwise he would not be in .a position to draw petrol Supplies and use his vehicles.
It was decided to appoint a sub1321 committee to carry out the necessary preliminaries, the members chosen being Messrs. Curtis, Koapnian, Westlake, White, 'F. S. Huxham, A. Burgoyne, C. Warden and J. R. F. Bradford.
The election of officers for 1939 brought about no changes. There was no other nomination than that of Mr. Metcalfe for the position of chairman, and a vote of thanks was accorded to him for the work he had done on behalf of his fellow-operators. The large and representative committee was reappointed en bloc, with the addition of Mr. Burgoyne as a representative of the South Devon. district. 'A good evening's entertainment, short speeches and plenty of fun," was how the chairman described the programme arranged for the members at the forthcoming annual supper, which, he said, would be a free and easy affair. It is to take place on February 28.
More Parades for Yorks A.R.O.
In the Yorkshire Area of A.R.O. arrangements are being made for mass parades of commercial vehicles to be held simultaneously in a number of Yorkshire cities and boroughs, following the recent demonstration held in Chesterfield. It is understood that the holding of these demonstrations will not be affected by any developments arising from the road-rail negotiations.
It is planned to hold the demonstrations on April 5. Places at which they will probably be held, states Mr. Ribbings (licensing and propaganda officer), include Sheffield, Doncaster, Hull, Leeds, York and Scarborough.
B.R.F. Speakers Get Busy.
As indicating the extent to which the B.R.F. is taking its efforts to secure fair play for road transport, we would point out that on one day (March 6) no fewer than seven meetings are being addressed by Federation speakers