B.R.F. Meeting to Evolve war Principles Post
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LAST Wednesday at an informal luncheon held by the British Road Federation to meet Mr. P. J. NoelBaker, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport, and permanent officials of the Ministry, the chairman, Mr. G. N. Wilson. explained that the luncheon and the meeting which followed were being held for two reasons. A number of his colleagues thought that the B.R.F. should make or renew contacts which they knew were of value in avoiding differences of opinion. The second reason was that there is a volume of opinion amongst those interested in the use and .construction of roads that, notwithstanding war priority, unless a certain amount of planning be done, and unless this be in the light of the experiences of the war years, we might find that we had won a war, but were in no condition to provide a satisfactory result in connection with the problems of reorganizing for peace. Principles regarding post-war requirements can be evolved without much time being spent.
The first meeting of the BICE'. Reconstruction Committee was to take place in the afternoon, and he hoped it would evolve a statement of principles which would be of use to the Government as indicating the agreed opinion of the majority of those interests concerned with the use of commercial road transport and of the vast ancillary interests linked up with that, for the membership now stands at 57 national organizations.
He was glad to welcome representatives of those two great bodies covering the field of private mototists, viz., the Royal Automobile Club and the Automobile Association.
He was convinced that, in the long run, a give-and-take policy must prove to be the right one for all classes of road user, also for other forms of transport, which can flourish if they develop in association with the road, but will atrophy if, to secure temporary gain, they attempt to stifle what they regard as competition.
Further details of this function will be given next week.