What Does the Porthcawl Conference Mean to road transport?
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By
F. G. BRISTOW, C.B.E., M.Inst.T.
General Secretary to the Commercial Motor Users Association and Honorary Secretary of the National Road Transport Conference.
SHORTLY after these words are in print, the Fourth National Road Transport Conference, at Porthcawl, organized by the C.M.U.A., will have been opened. It may well be asked " What does the conference mean to road transport? "
An indication of the answer may be gathered from the titles of the papers which are to be read, together with their authors, and the names of those responsible for opening the discussions —information which has already appeared in this journal.
Can it be seriously suggested that the subjects of these papers are not of fundamental importance to the road transport industry at the present moment, or that the authors of the papers, and those who are opening the discussions, are not authorities on their respective subjects? I think not. That being the case, the Porthcawl Conference must of necessity be of importance to the road transport industry at the present juncture.
Solving Important Problems.
It will be recognized that, in matters of public and business administration, many important problems requiring a solution invariably arise, and the method of solving those problems is of material concern to the particular forms of activity.
'It is obvious that, in seeking the solutions of such problems, it is of the greatest value to have the benefit ofthe widest possible experience and the hest available knowledge. General discussion, by an assembly of experts, such as is brought together at a conference, often tends to bring matters from the theoretical to the practical
stage. When the solution of practical problems is being sought, this constitutes an essential contribution to the end in view.
There is a further viewpoint which is of value. The presentation of papers constitutes a permanent record in connection with the problems with which they are concerned. The attendance of some of those in the industry, whose contributions to the discussions would be of importance, is often not possible, or it may even be that time does not permit of all those who are present to take part.
Similarly, subsequent consideration of the papers submitted may, and often does, result in " after-thoughts," either by those who are present, or indeed even by those who are not. Such after-thoughts may be of a nature likely to assist in solving the particular problems which have been dis cussed. In such cases considerable value attaches to the submission of written contributions to those responsible for the conference, subsequent to its conclusion.
There is one aspect of a conference which is often overlooked—that of the personal side. The Porthcawl Conference will provide an opportunity for those engaged in road transport to snake personal contact with each other, outside the business sessions, and the consequent exchange of experiences will, no doubt, prove of considerable value to all concerned.
National Scope.
The Porthcawl Conference will not only provide a needed opportunity for a full and frank discussion of the problems of the industry, by an assembly of a widely representative character, but will create a consciousness of the national constitution of the industry, and of the fact that, as regards its main problems, at any rate, any decision reached can be, and indeed must be, " national " in character. The decisions must be those most beneficial to the industry as such and conducive to the future well-being of the industry as a whole.
There is every indication that this, the -Fourth National Road Transport Conference organized under the auspices of the Commercial Motor Users Association, will be .representative of the road transport industry, and its value will therefore be assured by the fact that the problems to be put before the meeting are of practical importance to those present.