What the Associations are Doing
Page 50
Page 51
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• CONSERVATIVES AND ROAD TRANSPORT'S CASE.
The Conservative Party Transport Committee asked representatives of the A.R.O., the C.M.U.A., the National Road Transport Employers Federation and the British Road Federation to come before it to state their case, last Wednesday. The Transport Committee heard the views of the Railway Companies' Association last week.
Mr. W. F. Higgs, M.P. for Birmingham, has drawn second place in the ballot, and has given notice in the House that, on Wednesday, December 21, he intends: " To call attention to the disabilities and restrictions under which the road-transport industry is conducted, and to move a resolution."
Threat to Meat Traders?
Fears were expressed, at a recent meeting of the council of the Federation of Wholesale Fresh Meat Traders, in Liverpool, at the effect of the railway companies' demand for a free hand in dealing with freight rates on goods, including livestock. It was stated that the railways, in the endeavour to meet road competition, accepted a competitive rate for sheep and lambs, but there was no reduction for cattle. If the companies obtained a free hand it was possible the cattle rates would be increased, because, at the present time, not many cattle were transported by road.
Yorks A.R.O. and Rail Finance.
One of a series of special public meetings, which are being arranged under the auspices of the Yorkshire Area of A.R.O. for the purpose of putting road-transport points of view on the railway companies' " square deal " campaign, was held at Hull, last Friday. Mr. C. G. Genders presided.
The railway companies should first of all put their house in order, suggested Mr. F. G. Bibbings, licensing and propaganda officer for A.R.O. 's Yorkshire Area. Their capital was inflated to £1,200,000,000, he said, but if they were put under the hammer to-morrow he was perfectly certain they would not realize more than £200,000.000.
Eire Hauliers and Rail Protests.
The Irish Haulage Contractors' Association has forwarded a request, to the Eire Minister for Industry and Commerce, to receive a deputation so soon as possible. With the request, the Association has sent the following statement concerning the complaints, by railway companies, of unfair cornpetition:—" We suggest that the roadtransportsection of the railways is their greatest competitor, through operating a cut-price programme which must militate against the railways' goods traffic receipts.
" With regard to the decline in passenger receipts, an examination of the overlapping bus-rail service must n16 reveal where the fault lies. We would also respectfully point out that during the prosperous years the railways' surplus profits were directed to erecting an overhead machine, the expense of which could not possibly be maintained. This, we feel, is a big factor in the present state of the companies' finances."
C.M.U.A.'s Propaganda Moves.
In all, 10,000 handbills and 10,000 posters have been distributed by the North-eastern Division of the C.M.U.A., for the purpose of countering the railway companies' "square deal" campaign. The division's membership and propaganda committee, which has arranged this distribution, has also taken advertising space for a similar purpose, in certain Yorkshire daily newspapers.
Road Model in Wolverhampton.
Through the courtesy of B. Billingham, Ltd., of Wolverhampton, the B.R.F. is showing its road model during the period of this concern's special exhibition week, from December 19-24. MAJOR CRAWFURD RETURNS FROM U.S.A.
Major H. E. Crawfurd, president of A.R.O., arriving back from America on the "Queen Mary" a few days ago, addressed, within an hour of disembarkation, a Southampton meeting of the Association. The assembly, numbering 250, included Mr. W. Craven Ellis, M.P., who stated that the national transport problem might be approached from the angle that coordination of coastwise road and rail transport would furnish a solution. It was necessary to decide what freights could most efficiently be carried by road transport.
Liverpool C.M.U.A. to Celebrate.
A. dinner and dance to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the formation of the C.M.U.A. in Liverpool is to be held at the Exchange Hotel in that town on Friday, February 3. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Alderman Sir Sydney Jones, J.P., has promised to attend and notable personalities in transport are being invited.
Mr. Winson's Views on Transport " Crisis."
Mr. W. A. Winson, immediate past president of the C.M.U.A., spoke, last week, at the fourth of a series of C.M.U.A. open meetings in Bristol.
Referring to the railway request for a "square deal," Mr. Winson said that, patently, the Minister of Transport would consult leading representatives of the other arms of transport, and of trade and commerce, before acceding to the railways' present demands for freedom in their charging bases. It seemed, nevertheless, that the Minister could only get at the facts necessary for review and adjustment, by setting up a qualified commission of the type of the Baillie Committee.
Touching the Minister's desire for a rates structure designed to meet roadtransport's needs, tr. Winson reminded the meeting of the excellent preliminary work done by the National Liaison Committee, where principles had been discussed and provisional classifies., tions and terms and conditions of carriage had been developed. Those draft proposals had now been remitted down to the areas for their close scrutiny and observations, and it was hoped that local liaison committees would he set up all over the country so that all associations, sitting together locally, could put up helpful observations in the light of local needs and traffic flow.
The meeting appreciated the urgent desirability for this and, in order to make an immediate start, added several members to the Divisional Committee to constitute the first Haulage Sectional Board of the Division. Their names are as follow : —Messrs. Binding, A. Burchill, Howard Fish, Godfrey, E. C. Jones, C. Read, C. F. Russett, A. E. Withers. STRONG URGE FOR MORE PROPAGANDA.
A strong co-operative effort, among motor traders and those engaged in the road-transport industry, to use every means for placing before the public present-day problems affecting road transport, was urged by Mr. C. Boyd Bowman when he recently addressed a meeting of the West Wales branch of the Institute of Motor Trade at Swansea. Mr. Bowman, representing the B.R.F., said the Federation covered almost every industry in the country, and one of its aims was to bring about the right to give the public a freedom of choice in all forms of transport.
" It is absolutely necessary," he said, that you use your influence to show the people your side of the troubles that exist to-day. Use the means available to you in advertising, personal contact and discussion among customers."
Liaison Committee's Suggestions Approved.
The suggested conditions of carriage which the national association's Liaison Committee has circulated, for consideration in the Traffic Areas, were discussed at a meeting in Leeds, last week, of representatives of the NorthEastern Division of the C.M.U.A. and of the Yorkshire Area of A.R.O. It is understood that, whilst the meeting decided to put forward various suggestions, in general the conditions met with approval.
Eire Beet Hauliers' Demands.
At a meeting of the Eire Beet Hauliers' Association at Carlow, last week, a memorandum Was forwarded to the Minister for Industry and Commerce, asking that the Government should not amend the Road Transport Act, 1933, at the expense of the industries of the country. The memorandum states that " The licensed carriers of Eire proved to be the only body who gave perfect service, and who deserve to have their position strengthened. Beet growing would not survive one year if growers were to depend solely on the railways for transport." The memorandum outlines certain regulations which would have the effect of cutting down uneconomic competition.
Playing the Weight-game Properly.
" Motor vehicles, having been weighed once and passed as being the correct weight, and the trader receiving his licence accordingly, it is not playing the game to call for them to be reweighed," protested a member of the Birmingham and Midland Counties Grocers' Association at the December quarterly meeting. It was more than likely, warned Mr. A. H. Moyle, that owing to the accumulation of grease and dirt underneath the engine, gearbox and back axle, and the extra gadgets that drivers installed, the weight on which taxation was based
might be exceeded. Members were advised to have their vehicles weighed over a private weighbridge to see that the correct weight was not exceeded.