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News of the Week

POLICY ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE S.J.C.

'THE Standing Joint Committee and 1 the Shadow Council of the Road Haulage Association wish to make it quite clear that the booklet entitled " The Road Carrying Industry and the Future," represents the views of the signatories solely in their personal capacities, and not those of the S.J.C. or the Shadow Council. These bodies took no part in the compilation of the document and had no knowledge of the intention to publish it.

The statement of policy of the proposed National Road Transport Federation and of its three constituent organizations will be published about the middle of this month. It will be fund that this statement of policy is diametrically opposed to the suppression of the small haulier ; instead, it will maintain that the services an operator can give to the public and his compliance with statutory requirements, should constitute the determining factors as to his right to continue to operate, irrespective of the size of his fleet.

EXPLANATION OF A.R.O. , MEMBERS' VOTING RIGHTS

WE have been asked by A.R.O. to

. point out that, in connection with the paragraph, " Association Merger Voting Procedure,'' published last week, the views of certain members as therein expressed are not quite correct, The procedure at the extraordinary general meeting will, as always, be governed by the articles of association, which.provide for voting by the show of hands of those present. It is only in the event of a poll being demanded that proxy votes would be involved. : The rights and interests of individual members can best be protected by the simple process of every member personally attending and recording his vote. If, however, this be not possible, he may appoint any other member as his proxy holder. . This will be clearly stated in the notice convening the meeting. The .inclusion of names of proxy holders in a notice is solely to give members an idea as to the area representatives who will attend ; they have been selected by the areas themselves and not by the National Council. The publication of the names is without prejudice to the right of any member to appoint his own proxy holder.

TRANSFER OF CONDUCTRESSES: OFFICIAL STATEMENT

ASTATEMENT has been issued by the Northern Regional Controller of the Ministry of Labour and National Service on the controversy over the refusal of 14 Newcastle-on-Tyne bus conductresses to take up siniilar work at Birmingham, as directed. The statement denies that there was a shortage of conductresses at Newcastle-on-Tyne, but asserts that at Birmingham about 100 conductresses were still needed.

The statement refutes repOrts that conductresses transferred to Coventry from Ashington (Northumberland) had been sent home on account of lack of work It was added that the vacancies could not be filled by Birmingham workers.

In the meantime, it is announced that the Newcastle office of the Transport and General Workers' Union is investigating employment conditions in the Midlands area.

At Gateshead Police Court, a 24years-old conductress of Gateshead, employed by the Northern General Transport Co., Ltd., was fined £1 with £4 costs for not taking up work at Birmingham, as directed. She was given one month to pay.

SHORTER ROUTS FROM LONDON TO EDINBURGH

LAST week, in the House of Commons, Mr. P. J. Noel-Baker, Parliamentary Secretary to the M.O.W.T., informed Colonel Greenwell that he would certainly bear in mind his proposal, in connection with the Government's plans for post-war mainroad development, to consider reconstructing the Roman road from Piercebridge, through Corbridge to Jedburgh, as a means for shortening greatly the distance from London to Edinburgh by road, and of avoiding the congested

industrial area of the north-east. • He appreciated : that Colonel Greenwell's proposal did not involve the building of an entirely new road, but merely the adaptation of roads which at present existed, that were not suitable for carrying a large volume of heavy traffic. In fact, he could tell him that the Ministry had already considered this report in connection with the extension of new trunk roads.

• OBITUARY We regret to record the death, at the age of forty-six years, of Mr. H. BOON, who, for a number of years, was advertising and publicity manager of -the Chloride Electrical Storage Co., Ltd.

KENT HAULIERS FORM TRANSPORT GROUP TWELVE hauliers in Kent have 1 formed the North and East Kent Transport and Trading Co., Ltd.,

Chalkpit, Sittingbourne, Kent. The members retain full freedom to operate their own businesses and collectively they control, and are not controlled by, this co-operative concern.

• It is claimed that it can provide, relatively without cost, all the services which could be offered by a clearing house'. In addition, it is able to render to its members and its customers services which would not otherwise be available, such as • the provision of warenousing and the bulk purchase of supplies of all kinds.

It is pointed out that the Government Road Haulage Organization, with its controls to which all operators are fundamentally opposed, will, nevertheless, loyally be supported by the new concern in the national interest during this period of emergency. The • company will also help the small haulier from being fprced out of business.

A.G.M.s OF A.R.O. METROPOLITAN SUB-AREAS

THE; Metropolitan Area office of A.R.O. advises us that the following Sub-area annual general meetings have been arranged :—Eastern Subarea, February 21, at " The Green Man," Plashet Grove, London, EM, at 2.34) p.m. ; Western Sub-area, February 23, at the Star and Garter Hotel, Kew Bridge, at 7.30 p.m. ; North London Sub-area, February 24, at the Angel Hotel, Edmonton, London N., at 2 p.m. ; Southern Sub-area, February 28, at Pynes Restaurant, Lewisham Way, London, S.E.14, at 2.30 p.m.

TRANSPORT ENGINEERS' BODY PROGRESSES

THE number of road-transport engineers who have expressed their intention of ., joining .the proposed "Institute of Road Transport Engineers " is steadily increasing. The figure we gave last week was 130; it has now increased to 165.,

GOVERNMENT ROAD PROJECT SOUNDLY CASTIGATED

THAT well-known authority on . 1 roads, Lieut. 6 Colonel Mervya O'Gorman, ,C.B., says that those who

• would save pedestrians and, notably, children, who would clear roads for workers to get quickly and cheaply to their tasks, who would promote our

light . manufacture and post-war exports, iraist all welcome the vigorous protest in the ' Daily Mail of . January. 26 against Mr. Noel-Baker's wasteful and ill-informed road policy. Mr. Noel-Baker wishes to keep all traffic Mixed together on so-called " trunk." roads because • he fears the segregation of through-going motors on routes of their Own, yet he knows quite well that motorways would pay for themselves in the money saved bY cutting out delays, also that the capital. outlay on his modifiedtrunk roads would be double that for motorways of comparable road space. To complete the modification of trunk roads would take 90 years, as against about six years for motorways, whilst the loss. of life on the former would be almost doubled.

PLEA FOR APPOINTMENT OF TRANSPORT COMMISSION HOW road transport could best play its part in serving the community during the war and in the post-war period was discussed at a Birmingham meeting of hauliers held, last week, under the auspices of Hauliers Mutual . Federation.

Mr. J. Arnold Kirby, of Leicester, saidthat hauliers generally thought the Government Scheme had not only thrown the industry into chaos and caused untold delays to the war effort and to traders., but had completely failed to secure savings in rubber, fuel and man-power. Moreover, there was also the grave risk of monopoly arising from the scheme, due to the deflection of all long-distance traffic into the bands of large undertakings. He urged that there now existed good reasons for the abandonment of the scheme.

On the subject -of poL.t-war road and rail transport, Mr. Ex." Andrews, the chairman, emphasized that it was utterly wrong that a problem of this nature should be decided between the large road operators and the railway companies. He thought that it called for the appointment of a Cominissioie on' which the smaller operators and, in particular, the users of transport, should be strongly represented.

KEEP VEHICLES FIT FOR SECOND FRONT, SAYS R.H.A.0,

"WE all units of the Govern

ment ment and, if we work together, we shall get on much better," said Mr. F. C. Farrow, of Gorleston, speaking at a dinner held last week at Yarmouth by 4/S/2 Unit of the Hired Vehicle operators of the M.O.W.T.

He said that the war had imposed much legislation, but both the hauliers and the controllers had their difficulties. They were all working for victory, and it was with this aim in view that they had met, because, by getting together, they could find out how best to co-operate. The Road Haulage Area afficer,' Mr. A. E. Ivatt, said that Norfolk' had the highest record of . unavailable vehicles_ in the Eastern Area, and he urged contractors to make sure that all their vehicles would. be fit for use when they would be urgently needed for transport connected with the Second Front,

Mr. G. W. Irwin, secretary of the Eastern Area of A.R.O., said -that the Yarmouth Committee had made' more progress in a short time than any other area, and he hoped. the day was not Jar distant when Yarmouth would be a Sub-area of its own, instead of part of the Norwich Area,He added that the industry would have to go forward together to the day when it would be able to throw off control.

REMOVERS REFUSE TO BE MERGED

THE executive of the National Association of Furniture Warehousemen and Removers has received a report from its finance committee expressing the dissatisfaction of the latter at the an-Meat the Association was called upon to pay as its share of the expenses of the SeI.C., also as to the fairness of the arbitrary allocation "between .the various associations regardless of interest, membership and finance.

After close study of the draft articles of association of the new Road Haulage Association, the executive was unanimous that it could give no consent to the merger on the basis of these articles in their present form. ARE HIRING CONCERNS BEING PUT OUT • OF BUSINESS?

THERE are 52 controlled haulage 1 undertakings, the head offices of

which are in Scotland, stated Mr. P. J. Noel-Baker, Parliamentary Secretary to the M.O.W.T., in the House of Commons last week. He was replying to a question put by Mr. McKinley.

He added that when these undertakings came under control, they operated a total of 1,916 vehicles; they now operate 1,953 vehicles. Three undertakings which hald vehicles on hire to the Ministry have been acquired by a controlled undertaking since the control began. If Mr. McKinley so desired, he would send him particulars of the vehicles operated by each individual undertaking.

" That is the information I want," said Mr. McKinley.

Mr. Noel-Baker: " Yes, but it would involve a great number of statistics and figures, and I should have to circulate it in the official report."

Mr. McKinley: "In giving" that information, will you give the circum stances concerning the acquisition of hiring firms by controlled undertakings? Is it not a fact that the hiring people are being pushed out of business?"

Mr., Noel-Baker : " As a general proposition, that is certainly not true."

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF PLASTICS

MOST interesting is the book entitled " Plastics—Scientific and Technological," by H. Ronald Fleck, M.Sc., F.I.C., which has just been published by Temple Press Ltd., Bowling Green Lane, London, E.C.1, at 25s. net. It contains 325 pages and 80 illustrations

Pleasingly arranged, the tfiok starts with a short history of plastics, followed by a chapter on raw-material sources, paving the way for a detailed discussion of the chemistry of thermoplastic and thermosetting resins. Syn • thetic rubbers (or elastomers) and synthetic fibres are treated separately, and the general chemical aspects of these materials are included. An account is given of the physical properties, including electrical and water absorption.

This field is completed by sections on synthetic resins, fibres and textiles, adhesives, plywoods and impregnated woods.

Also included are detailed instlructions for the preparation of both raw materials and finished products.

CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY'S TRANSPORT RECEIPTS DECLINE

THE motor-coach section is one of 12 departments of the 24 constituting the Plymouth Co-operative Society 'which recorded decreased receipts during the quarter ended December last. A table of departmental sales gives the motor-coach receipts as Z845,. a decrease of 7.7 per cent. as compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The traffic department also recorded a fall, its receipts last quarter being :2990, a decrease of 23.3 per cent

R.T.C. INVESTIGATES RATES QUERY

D ECENTLY, Mr. A. T. V. Robinson,

R.T.C., South-Western Region, N■ms asked by the St. Austell Gas Co., .Ltd., to decide whether the charges by the Heavy Transport Co., Ltd., conformed with paragraph 2 of the Road Haulage and Hire (Charges) Order, 1942. The applicant submitted an account for October, 1943, for the haulage of 342 tons 11 cwt. at 3s, per ton, a total of £51 7s. Sd.

The obarges for haulage from the railway to the St. Austell works have risen from 1s. 11d, per ton at the outbreak of war to 2s, 5d. in October, 1940, and 3s. in July, 1943. In October, 1940, the hauliers concerned .sought to increase their . charge to 2s. 6d. per tbn, but the St. Austell Co. suggested 2s. Sd., the final agreement being 2s. 5d. The applicant claims that, taking the hauliers' basic figure of 2s. 6d. in 1940, the increase of 6d. per ton equals 20 per cent, increase and is unreasonable.

The R.T.C. consulted certain reprosentativ6s of trade and haulage interests, and at their suggestion obtained

from the Heavy Transport Co., Ltd.. detailed particulars of the task, a copy of which was furnished to the applicant. He 'also had taken out, independently, estimates of costs likely to be incurred on this work in the district in question for a daily average lift of 14 tons under variable charges (running and standing). Comparing these with the average earnings of the haulier for the work, he did not find the profit so disclosed to be unreasonable, and he reached the conclusion that the charge made had not exceeded by an inappropriate percentage what would have been a fair and reasonable charge in October, 1940.

ASSOCIATION MEETINGS . IN THE MIDLANDS

A NNUAL general meetings of A.R.O. and C.M.U.A. in the Birmingham area have been arranged to take place at the White Horse Hotel,

Congreve Street, Birmingham, The former will be held on February 17 and the latter on February 23, both meetings, commencing at 7 p.m.

The Coventry Area of the C.M.U.A. is to meet on 'February 14, at the Wine Lodge, Burgess, Coventry, at 7.15 p.m. BIRMINGHAM OPERATORS CO-OPERATE FOR PROTECTION

UNDER the chairmanship of Mr. 11.J. Bedworth, the first informal meeting of shareholders of Birmingham Road Haulage, Ltd., was held last week. This company has been formed with a view to safeguarding the interests of small operators and is being run on a purely co-operative basis. Under the terms of its articles of association, any A or B-licensed operator within a 15-mile radius of Birmingham is eligible for membership, and operators can take up any number of shares from a minimum of five to a maximum of 25. In these circumstances, no firm can hold a monopoly.

We understand -that approximately 100 operators, covering a large number of vehicles, have already joined, and at the meeting the company's future policy was enthusiastically dis, cussed. It was proposed to appoint an organizing secretary and to establish 'a central office., The Board now consists of:—Messrs. B. J. Bedworth, L. E. J. Bayliss, II. B. Clarke, II. Gops111, H. Herringstaw, W. A. ILyslon, W. Ingram, A. Neely, A. Rutty, A. S. Ward. T. E. Weatherhogu, and K. 0. Bouckley-'

GOVERNMENT POST-WAR AID FOR THE INDUSTRY

QIJESTIONS of Government aid for %.,Z, the motor industry in the post-war change-over of production was referred to by Mr. .11. Woodhead, chairman of Jowett Cars, Ltd., at the company's annual meeting, last week.

The directors, said Mr. Woodhead, were increasingly concerned with the difficulties that would face the company, and the motor industry generally, during the change-over from war-time to peace-time production. The problem of reorganizing the layout of the works, restoring machinery,. and carrying out the many things required before actual production commenced, would be formidable.

Stressing that it would be necessary to have a readily saleable product, and particularly one that would help to solve -the country's export problem, the chairman remarked : " We are convinced that if we can prove to the Government that we Jiave a product and a works capable of such an achievement, Government aid in the changeover will be forthcoming. We have to a large extent worn out our plant in doing our part in the war, without being able to retain much profit to apply to replacement."

GOVERNMENT'S ROAD POLICY JUST "GOOD INTENTIONS"

SPEAKING at Norwich Rotary Club, last week, Major H. E. Crawford, president of A.R.O., said ,that the recent statement by Mr. P. J. NoelBaker, Parliamentary Secretary to the M.O.W.T., on the Government policy on road construction, had been a bitter disappointment to the road-transport industry. It consisted of a catalogue of the Government's good intentions, and they all knew .where reads paved with good intentions led .to, whether they were trunk roads or motor roads.

In the present case, the Government had been given advice by practically everybody concerned in the problem. The industry itself, in the past 20 years, had contributed many hundreds of millions of pounds, through taxation, which formerly it had been promised should be devoted to the construction of a modern road system.

The Government should realize that the construction of roads should not be regarded simply as. a palliative for unemployment. They were as much an essential for the efficiency Of modern industry as skilled labour or up-to-date plant. The need was for more roads and better roads and for a number, of roads devoted purely to motor traffic.

LIVERPOOL OPERATORS' FEARS

DISCUSSION took place at the recent meeting of the. Road Transport Section of the Liverpool Chamber

of Commerce on the proposals for the reconstruction and development of the Mersey Dock Estate. Members expressed the opinion that the Toadtransport industry had materially contributed to the efficiency of the port and must continue to he an integral part of its transport system.

There was some apprehension at the possibility of the amenities of the rail way companies being extended to the detriment of the road-transport industry, which members considered would be prejudicial to the interests of the port•as a whole. Endeavours are to be made to present the views of the Sec tion to the road-transport representative on the Merseyside Dock Access Committee.

Concerning the complaints which have been made of the delays in the settlement of outstanding demurrage accounts, members were informed that the chief reason for delay was because, in a large number of cases, claimants did not submit sufficient detailed information to tile local Road Haulage Office. Every claim had tu be examined on itsmerits and no progress could be made with general complaints.

LAST TRAMS AT SOUTH SHIELDS TO GO

FOLLOWING consideration of the respective advantages of trolleybuses and motorbuses, South Shields Transport Committee has decided to abandon theremaining tram system between Moon Street and the Ridgeway so soon as possible after the war, and to introduce trolleybuses. It is also proposed to serve other areas of the town by trolleybuses.

"JOHN BULL" SUPPORTS THE SMALL HAULIER

THE isSue of " John Bull '' dated February 5 contains some interest ing referenoes to road transport. It .refersto Mr. Noel-Baker's depressing speech on the future of our roads, saying that this makes it clear that* the Government has not a real transport policy at all. It suggests that all forms of transport should be co-ordinated under a Ministry of Communications, and asks what the M.O.W.T. is doing in connection with the "00,900 road hauliers in Britain. It also wants to know if the big monopolies are to retain control when the' war is over or whether the little men who gave road transport its efficiency are to come into their own again.

The war, it continues, has played right into the hands of the combines, whilst the small haulier, doing a flourishing peace-time business with, perhaps, only one lorry, has found hint. self crowded out of the long-distance business. By energy, willingness and experience he was beating the ,combines at their own game, but Lord Leathers has given no sign that there is to be a change back after the war. Considering the number of men who will come out of the Forces trained to drive heavy lorries and with a zest for the work, his clue ought to contain a good element of hope for -them.

KERRY'S PRODUCE NEW MACHINE-TOOL CATALOGUE

WE have recently received from Kerry's (Great Britain), Ltd., (formerly the East London Rubber Co., Ltd.), Warton Road, High Street, Stratford, London, E.15, a copy of a machine-tool catalogue which it has just produced. It is a' fine piece of work, particularly in war-time, and although it has not been possible to make it as comprehensive as the company would have liked, it takes up 224 pages.

Machine tools and accessories, portable tools, compressed-air and spraying equipment, handtools, electrical equipment—these are a few of the main items covered. It is well printed and bound, and a copy may be obtained by hona fide applicants from the address given.