S.M.M.T. President's Views on Post-war Planning ,
Page 24
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Mr. A. E. Palmer Phillips Deals With a Number of Matters of Great Importance
_ to Out Industry
GIVING his presidential address last week at the And a.g.m of the S.M.M.T., Mr. A. F. Palmer Phillips, of Vauxhall Motors, Ltd., referred to many points of interest to the. industry.
He said that the practical disappearance of the motor industry from the public eye had created the -impression that it had ceased to function. This was, however, far from being the case, for it has constituted the main basis upon which the production of war munitions has been built. Apart from making vehicles of .greatly varied character and in enormous quantity, it had afforded a foundation for the expansion of aircraft production. The eclipse of the civil outlook of the industry makes it necessary, therefore, to give immediate attention to its requirements as regards the resumption of peace-time activities, One matter of paramount importance to the industry concerns the, disposal of surplus Government stocks. Considerable progress has been made in engendering appreciation of this in Government circles, and. whilst the disposal of such small quantities of these /products as have been available dung the war, to date, have been handled by the original manufacturers, the great problem of post-war disposals still awaits the announcement of a definite policy.
Fortunately, considerable experience is being gained as to the difficulties which will have to be .met.. The matter is one which is bound to have considerable bearing on postwar production if the quantities available be large:
Concerning taxation and its effect on develbpment, Mr. Palmer Phillips pointed out that, whilst the growth of the induatry was continuous until lon, it had been slow compared with the progress made in some other countries. There is no reason, however, why it should not be greatly developed to the national advantage if only the use of motor vehicles be encouraged rather than artificially restricted.
Employment DependenttUpcip Markets
The industry will be called upon to take its share in providing employment for the huge army of men and women returning from the Forces and displaced from war time work. The only chance there is of fulfilling this national duty will arise from 'greatly increased markets. Every effort should, therefore, be made to remove obstacles to the use of motor vehicles, the greatest of which is excessive taxation.
Speaking of roads, he said that. following the dernaild for vehicles comes the insistent call for suitable roads. Although the principle of motorways has been accepted by the Government, it is disappointing to learn that only experimental stretches are to be considered. Experts in daily touch with road usage are satisfied that a comprehensive system of long-distance roads suited to modern traffic is essential,. arid he would take this opportunity of complimenting the county surveyors on their enterprise in providing anoutline of such a system which, he believed, had been substantially adopted by other prominent
technical bodies. He would urge the Government to declare definitely for, a policy of national motorways on lines at least approximate to those suggested. At the same time, it should arrange to tackle the equally serious problem of modifying existing roads to meet the growth of -traffic or changing means fdr transport. They are almost totally unsuitable for the work which they are called upon '-to perform, and, in the opinion of many competent to judge, are the cause of the great majority of road accidents to-day.
As to the financing of such improvements, apart from the fact thak the estimated cost of £100,000,000 would be spread over the years required for their construction, the balance of payments made to the Exchequer by motor users in the last seven recorded years before the war showed a surplus of just that sum over, the total cost of constructing, maintaining, cleaning, sweeping and lighting every road, street and alleyway in .Great Britain during that period. The financing could be done by way of a loan, the services for which could be provided out of a much-reduced motor taxation.
Shorten War to. Peace Change-over Concerning post-war development, the requirements which the manufacturers have stated to the Government in respect of labour for preparing for this are small compared with the importance of having the industrial machine ready to function. It behoves the industry to shorten the inevitable interval between the cancellation or slowing up of Government contracts and the resumption of civilian production. Incidentally, he remarked that there is no adequate substitute for personal initiative in business, and private enterprise is essential. There can be. no better guarantee of efficiency than the realization that profit and loss are carried by the individuals concerned, rather than decanted on to 'the shoulders of the long-suffering taxpayer, in the • shape of a loss. Some measure of State control may be desirable—at least in the period immediately following the termination of hostilities—but a moderate application of national co-ordination is not incompatible with essential private enterprise. The common sense of. the community must see to it that the efficiency and confidence of industry arenot undermined by wildcat schemes of political experimenters: Another problem of vital interest to the menibers of the S.M.M.T., in common with those of most Othe„; • industries, is the difficult financial situation wpich Will arise when plants and buildings have to he replaced and recon-' ditioned for ciVilian production. The uncertainty of the repayments on account of E.P.T., where such are applicable,. and the virtual deprivation of reserves lot depreciation and cash for immediate payments are causing anxiety. A Government statement of policy which would clarify this situation would be welcomed.