TOUGH LEGEND
Page 57
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IOLS often have a longer currency than the things represent. In fact, they may develop a life and a ilness of their own. For example, the secretaryof the Road Haulage Association, Mr. G. K. , has recently said, cautiously enough, that the le small, rugged individualist in the road haulage may be beginning to fade. At a time when, for a of reasons, a number of profound changes may ;ted, the statement is opportune. The promise thallenge of the future may seem nebulous unless iomething with which to compare them, and the the small, rugged individualist provides just such
rguable whether the image corresponds, or has -esponded, to reality. In the early days of road immediately after the First World War, there may n some remarkably rough diamonds with no use fellow operators. The evidence for their existence tong, and in any case they either went out of or -established at least some degree of co-operation, nt to which hauliers work together has, or so it em, been consistently played down both by their -s and their opponents.
2r this is so or not, the symbol of the small and Ian has proved potent and enduring. The entire system created in 1933 is •a monument to it. railways were complaining bitterly of the havoc 1 the rough and independent pioneers—one railway Ln coined for them the magnificent Victorian on of a " disorderly rabble --the actual repre
■ of the hauliers who gave evidence before the
■ mrnittee seemed to be well organized. It is true also tended to accept the railway picture of a lawless operators cutting each other's throats .eason, but it could also be said that hauliers rawn the same picture year after year subseand may well continue to do so for another
milool played its part in shaping nationalization. mption of the Labour Government was that they 'ging order out of chaos. By the time they had Lheir mistake, it was too late to admit the fact. ough, they feared the image of the unorganized la they had conjured up, while pretending to t. In so far as he remained independent, they hat he must keep within a radius of 25 miles. y were they following their own legend that, or uld appear from their recent public statements, looked the growth of the C-licence holder.
and industry were not completely emancipated myth. When the time came for denationalization, readily accepted the contention that independent could never provide an organized service to match itish Road Services. The hauliers may unwittingly tributed towards this conclusion and become the I their own propaganda. They were understandous to prove that the small, rugged individualist, Labour Party had set up as an image and then A, was better in every way than the State-owned that the Party substituted.
sly, the sterile quarrel precipitated by nationalizathe legend a new lease of life, It is evidently still active, although it. corresponds less and less to reality. Hauliers would be well advised to lay it ro rest. While it remains in their minds, they are perhaps not able to see as clearly as they should what changes are taking place around them. They have no reason to object to these changes, but whether they do so or not, and however they close their eyes to the facts, the effects are bound to be felt through the road-haulage industry.
One way of plotting them would be to follow the course of events within the R.H.A. The founders of the Association in 1945 undoubtedly built a sound and workmanlike structure. All the same, they cannot have been unaffected by the concept of the small, rugged individualist, and much of their work was calculated to keep him within bounds. There was an impressively solid pyramid showing the steps from the rank and file member to the highest office.
The sub-areas are generally taken as the basic units, although even these are sometimes subdivided into districts. From sub-areas elections are made to areas and thence to the national council. The smaller executive Committee of this body perhaps plays the most important part in conducting the affairs of the Association at national level, although ultimate authority remains with the national council.
THE essential strength and unity thus provided are plain to see. The structure was particularly valuable during nationalization, when there might easily have been a tendency for a less firnily based and interlocked association to fall apart. In an expansive situation such as is now promised to hauliers, the same structure may reveal not so much weaknesses as shortcomings: The average haulier, Who has come to appreciate its advantages, may be too slow to accept changes. There are other hauliers, perhaps willing to take a more prominent part in R.H.A. affairs, who may find it difficult to accommodate themselves to the established chain of promotien.
One may expect to see gradual but significant changes Within the Association. From the very first, the classical pyramid design was not found completely adequate. Additions had to be made, and the most important were the functional groups. Their institution was a tacit admission that certain types of operation called for special provisions, including representation on the national council.
At first the exceptions were treated merely as variations on the basic theme_ The groups were to be like areas, elected from regional committees lower down the scale and appointing their own national representatives. The privilege of fanning a group was guarded strictly, and restricted mainly to the operators of special types of vehicle.
Exceptions have gradually insinuated themselves. There is now an agricultural group for members serving a highly important national industry rather than using a specific kind of vehicle. There is a long-distance group, formed after denationalization, although the need for such a group was not apparent in 1945 when the Association was formed (when perhaps there were just as many long-distance operators as now). There is an international group consisting of members with a similar interest but not split up on an area basis. It may well be that one should look to. the formation of new groups and of new committees within the R.H.A. for signs of the direction in which the road haulage industry is heading.