Nothing up my Sleeve
Page 40
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By Janus
SOMETHING out of the ordinary might be expected when the Ivory Tower sturnlions the.Press to hear a proclamation and to fire questions at a strong team chosen from among its top brass and flanked by representatives of such powerful organizations as the Federation of British Industries, the Association of British Chambers of Commerce and the National Farmers' Union. The statement recently made in such circumstances hardly fulfils its high promise:
It has a suspicious resemblance to the bright patter of the magician who rubs in the fact that there is nothing up his sleeve in order to distract attention from the real business going on under the table. Another familiar ruse is to invite on to the Stage one or two members of the audience. The F.B.I. and the rest were no doubt innocent accomplices, unaware of the actual mechanics of the trick.
There is nothing brilliant or novel in the so-called " master-plan " of the British Transport Commission for coping with the problem of moving goods traffic during the coming winter. The Commission has adopted the expedient, dear to the heart of the bureaucrat, of setting up a committee. In fact, it has set up 51 committees. There is one in each railway district, made up of the district commercial superintendent, the district manager of the Road Haulage Executive, and representatives, to taste, of the F.B.I. and its companions The committees are intended to help the Commission out of its difficulties in two ways. They can suggest changes in the organization or work of the Commission, and they can persuade customers to be more co-operative and less exacting. Such questions as the re-rputeing of railway traffic, diversions to road and reductions in the number of wagons required to move a given quantity of traffic come within the terms of reference of the. committees. It seems unlikely that anybody, except the Commission's own representatives, will be in a position to solve problems of this sort.
Unloading at Week-ends
The main function of the representatives of trade and industry, and of agriculture, will be to keep members of their organizations informed of what is happening and to enlist their help in dealing with any difficulties The committees may have to ask the customers of the Commission to put themselves to some trouble by. for example, arranging for the unloading of trucks at week-ends. The method is sound, for the customers are more likely to put themselves out for their own organization than for the Commission.
It should not be forgotten that any abrogation of the divine right of the customer is a retrograde step. In the days before the benevolent despotism of the Ivory Tower, the trader' was allowed to get away with a good deal more than some people possibly think was good for him. He called the tune to which the wretched providers of transport danced. He is now being asked, or may be asked at times, for the general good, to subordinate his own interests to those of the Commission. This may be justified in the circumstances, but it is something he has not had to do before. The climax of the trick comes at this point. Just when the statement to the Press might be expected to modulate into a slightly deferential plea to the trader to a6 help the Commission, it abruptly switches to a brilliant exposition of all the wonderful things the Commission is planning to help the trader. Examined singly, there is nothing startling in the measures proposed. Taken together, they help to build up the illusion that a step back is really a step forward.
The summer passenger timetable has been cut to make additional train crews available. There is a promise of extensive "planned" diversions of goods traffic, the choice of words prompting the vertiginous thought that diversions on the railways normally happen without being Planned at all. There is to be more week-end 'working. 2 Staff will be transferred, . and additional railway hostel accommodation is being arranged in a nuniber of towns. The transfer of 50 heavy freight engines from the. North to the Midlands will, it is kindly explained, enable 'heavier trains to be worked." '
Another Shot in the Arm
The 'prowess of the R.H.E. is not altogether ignored. "Full advantage will be taken of the great flexibility of road haulage operation." The old crocks bequeathed by the acquired undertakings will be given another shot in the arm to keep them going a little longer. Special road services will be set up within a 40-mile radius of London and Birmingham. Where necessary, the Executive will sub-contract traffic to independent hauliers if they have vehicles available."
All the trader has to do, apparently, is to hand mer his traffic He is like the shipwrecked mariner who consigns his bottled message to the sea arid hopes for the best. Not every trader may see the problem exactly in that light. According to the Commission's statement, the aim of the master plan is to enable the maximum effective use of the combined resources of British transport to be made." The trader may well note that the large number of vehicles operated by hauliers under free enterprise have a minor role in the scheme. While they are restricted to a radius of 25 miles, their "maximum effective use" cannot be reached: The trader would prefer to keep control of his traffic until the last possible moment He would appreciate a warning that his local goods station is becoming congested. He would appreciate still more the opportunity to send his goOds by some other means. The Commission, if it really wanted to arrange the effective deployment of the whole of the country's transport, could easily make it known that any haulier applying during the corning winter would be granted a permit.
Sorcerer's Apprentice
Any solution along these lines of the winter transport problem is deliberately muffled by the latest pronouncement from the Ivory Tower. Mr. F. A. Pope, the member of the Commission who presided at the Press conference, played the part of the sorcerer's apprentice with some deftness. He has set the stage as the Commission would wish it. The lights' have been .dimmed Thy kind permission of the British Electricity Authority). Suitable members of the audience have been invited to help the conjuror -create a friendly atmosphere. Who knows? If another member of the Magic Circle conspire to charm away bad weather, the trick may yet succeed!