To What Green Altar?
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By JANUS
Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, 0 mysterious priest, Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies, And all her silken flanks with garlands drest ?
F4 VEN long after the result is a foregone conclusion, two armies at war will fight on until an armistice is declared. In the same way, the opponents of the Transport Bill are still fighting the Government hammer and tongs, although the measure should become law within a few weeks. During the closing stages in the House of Commons, the Socialists have put out their full strength, and even enlisted support from such unlikely quarters as the Association of British Chambers of Commerce and Aims of Industry. The impression left by much of the debate was of the Government diligently knitting at one end of the Bill while the critics were busy unravelling the other.
The difference between each side's point of view came out clearly in the discussion on the setting up of companies as part of the process of selling the Road Haulage Executive. The Socialists wanted to make the company structure compulsory, thus limiting the scope both of the Disposals Board and of the British Transport Commission. The Conservatives had in mind that the option to form companies would extend rather than limit the range of possibilities. It was on this score that the Minister decided to include a provision which would at least not prevent companies from being set up.
The Government is wise to leave the Commission and the Board the maximum of elbow room. The mixture of advice, plans, conjurations and threats that is still pouring out shows how difficult it is to plan denationalization in detail. Like the orators at Hyde Park Corner, the critics are fairly clear about where they want to go, but fail to inspire confidence in the methods they propose to adopt.
Pandemonium The present confusion will be nothing to the pandemonium when the Act is passed and the Commission and the Board get down to business. Prospective purchasers within and outside the R.H.E. will all be trying to make their views effective. There will be traders without their own transport, traders with C licences and those who have been accustomed to hire vehicles on contract. The short-distance hauliers will not sit quietly by, the finance companies will join in the fray. and there are few sections of the public who will not have some interest. The Socialists and the trade unions, who have washed their hands of the Disposals Board, will be busy sniping from the outside.
In trying to build up a picture of the likely demand for transport units among its members and ex-members, tne Road Haulage Association is acting prudently. Changes made since 1947 have not destroyed the 'previous pattern of long-distance road haulage, and I here is even a surprising number of former operators who would like to start again from where they left off. But the old pattern is not exactly the same, and there will be many knots to untie.
One fairly common problem will be that of the man who had depots in each of, say, three key towns. For him the ideal transport unit may still be one that gives him bases at these three points, which may each be in a different division of the R.H.E. Such a man would be well advised to bring his wishes to the notice of the Association, for neither the Board nor the Commission may realize that the unit he wants is a sound proposition.
There may be further difficulties. Possibly one of his depots is no longer in the possession of the R.H.E., or it may be coveted by an existing operator who wishes to add its facilities to those of his own business. Here again, if both parties have been in touch with the Association, the clash of interests may be detected and a satisfactory compromise reached.
With the best will in the world, not every difference of opinion can be resolved through the Association. Even if all the problems cannot be settled, it is an advantage to bring them to light. If anything like a reasonable response be given to its request for information, the Association should be in a position ultimately to delineate a plan for denationalization.
Early Starters
It is unlikely to be the only plan. Various interests within the Commission, and particularly within the R.H.E., are known to be plotting on their own behalf, and they are well placed for their views to be given prominence during at least the early stages of the division into transport units. Many trade associations, especially those with transport committees, may be tempted to produce sketch maps of their own for the edification of the Board.
When the time comes, I can imagine few persons eager to accept a seat on the Disposals Board unless they find some perverse pleasure in being the centre of a storm and the object of dislike. It was amusing to find Mr. Ernest Davies, M.P.,,on the report stage of the Bill, producing an amendment to prohibit the appointment of anybody who has been actively engaged in road transport since immediately before the passing of the Transport Act, 1947. An exception was to be made of the person nominated by the Commission.
Unless the hauliers or trade and industry could bring up to scratch some transport Rip van Winkle who had been fortunate enough to slumber away the years of nationalization, the amendment would have left the Commission's candidate for the Board as the only representative with any knowledge of the subject. The hauliers and the traders would have resented this, as Mr. Davies may have guessed, but he was wrong in thinking that membership of the Board is a rich prize for which every haulier and trader in the country will be angling. Anybody who hankers after a seat on the Board in hopes of glory and honour is in for a shock.
This particularly applies to whoever can be prevailed upon to accept nomination as the representative of hauliers. He must be a man who stands high in the counsels of the industry, but he will find it hard to suppress the feeling that he goes forward as a scapegoat. In these bustling times we no longer have room for the extravagant gestures and rituals of the old classical world. Otherwise one would expect him, chosen for his excellence, to be crowned with garlands and arrayed in purple before issuing forth to take the blame for whatever the hauliers do not find to their liking.