I.R.T.E. An Assured Success
Page 18
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SOME of those road transport engineers in our industry, and others who display interest in the development of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers, may have thought its progress somewhat slow. It must be remembered, however, that the meeting at which the proposition was put before the industry was held only in April last year. Meetings could not, of course, be arranged until there were sufficient members in the various classes. Sub-committees were appointed by the Council to deal with the selection of members, finance, etc., and the many hundreds of applications involved much time. Every form had to be scrutinized, checked, and the applicant placed in his appropriate category; objections had to be considered by the committee, and, finally, the names had to be submitted to the full Council.
Meanwhile, there was voluminous correspondence on other matters. Inquiries were received not only from all over Britain, but from many other parts of the world. Suggestion's for the part that the Institute might play came from many quarters, and doubts expressed by manufacturers and others as to the way in which the Institute might affect their interests had to be dispelled. Office accommodation and staff had to be found —no light task in these difficult times—but the Institute was fortunate in both respects, and its offices in Bridge Street, Westminster, facing the Houses of Parliament, could not be better situated.
At last came the first lecture-meeting, held at the Royal , Society of Arts in London, on October 18, and attended by some 200 members, many of whom had travelled long distances. The lecturer, a well-known personality on the manufacturing side of the industry, gave an admirable paper, which resulted in an enthusiastic discussion in which so many members wished to participate that the meeting could have been kept open much longer had time allowed.
At the next meeting, this month, a well-known engineer who has recently made extensive investigations in America and Germany will address the members in London. It is hoped, however, to be able to arrange meetings in other large centres. It is also not intended that lectures should all be from outside the membership, for many of those in the Institute have valuable contributions to 'make.