True Tales Which Point a Moral
Page 35
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Ministry of Food Battle Over Plum Transport. Cabbages By Fed to Pigs. Italian Prisoners Who Travel de Luxe. "Tantalus" r7OLLOWING the article " Transport Difficulties in Fruit r Distribution." published in our issue dated July 23, a most illuminating lettet has been received. It is from a • haulier who, since 1930, has been_engaged oin• the transport of fruit and vegetables, and he gives an account of his recent experienees. For obvious reasons the name of the correspondent is withheld. The details contained in the letter provide ample evidence of the muddle brought about as the' result of road-transport control by a bureaucracy which does not know its own mind. It might be well to allow the haulier to speak for himself regarding this matter, and this is what he says'— Since 1930 we have beenengaged carrying fruit from Evesham to Bristol daily. • Each plum season it has been our practice to hire six'extra lorries. This we do in advance —and pay for—whether we use them or not. We booked up again for this seasons crop, but, to our amazement, we read that plums were to be restricted to 35 miles. We immediately got in touch with the M.O.F in Bristol and in Evesham and explained the 'position to them. Bristol did everything to help us. They explained the position to London and they (London) replied stating that they would look into the matter. M.O.F. Evesham replied asking us to send them an application asking for a permit to carry plums. We. did so'. You will be interested to' .knOw "the reply we had back from Evesham. It is as follows:—' We regret to inform you that your application has been refused on the grounds of saving petrol and that the railway company can carry all the traffic.'. The traffic is now going by rail. The growers have to pack and tin each chip, wasting cardboard and string. Also the plums do not arrive until mid-morning, too late for the market..
" Now for London's reply. They 'phoned us stating that they were granting us permits to carry plums, but only in four lorries, and were notifying Evesham to issue permits. Will Evesham grant them? No! The fruit still has to go by rail. We are under the control of M.O.F. Bristdl and
Evesham. The R.T.O.'has approved our application. " On Monday, May, 10,. M.O.F. Evesham loaded on rail eight truckloads. of cabbages for Bristol which arrived on
Friday, May 14, wasted t.nd sent for pig food. M.O.F. London gave instructions that, in future, cabbages were to be sent by road and not by rail."
Thank you, • Mr. Haulier; for your story, which gives definite proof of the manner in which the food of the people is wasted owing to the penalizing restrictions placed upon road transport. It also proves the point that, for the same reason, plentiful supplies of fruit and vegetables (although they existed) have not been available to the public.
Take the story of the cabbages. At the time when they had to be used for pig food—by being made unfit for human consumption—the retail price was around Sd. per pound, as against Id. to 3d. per pound in pre-war days. Added to this, the supply to the consumer was limited Housewives will remember only too well the rhubarb ramp. The rhubard,was retailed at 10d.. per pound, including tops, and was scarce at that, whereas the growers had heavy. crops. Here, again, the position weS due to road-transport reStrictions. Several other examples of a similar nature could be quoted, all ofwhich serve to illustrate that the Govern ment's policy is having a direct and bad effect upon the food supplies of the people.
Wasting the People's Food
The whole position is ludicrous, and particularly so when it is remembered that the cost of subsidizing the food of the Nation runs into millions of pounds sterling annually. Would it not be far more enonornical to permit seasonal, perishable foodstuffs to be cawieci by road at a considerably reduced .cost, -with the added advantage to the consumer of being able to Purchase really fresh fruit and vegetables at a reasonable price?
Now, let us turn to another story, vastly different in character, but equally remarkable and illuminating. It is
the story of four Italian prisoners of war who—fox mere than -a month—rode to work and hack each day In a chauffeur-driven ear. Here are the details as published in the daily Press:—Every day a car travelled empty to a prison camp 21 miles away, picked up the Italians and travelled back along the same route to a saw-mill. Ala' at the same time lorries'drove along this route carrying a number of prisoners from the camp to farms in the:vicinity. Late in the afternoon the car collected the four prisoners at the saw-mill and returned them to the camp, afterwards proceeding to the garage. The prisoners working on the farms were collected by the lorries and returned to the camp. The journeys covered by the car totalled 84 miles a day—just over 500 miles a week—for which there was a petrol allowance of 25 gallons a week.
Such a 'story, might well be regarded as a fable; nevertheless, it is true, At the present time there is in ptogress a dlipute between the Government Departments concerned • end the owner of the saw-mill as to who is responsible for
• the hire costa of the ear, which amount to £95. The moral, of course, is do not provide a private car for the use of prisoners of war. In comparison, the story of the haulier on the one hand with that of the Italian' prisoners on the other is distinctly farcical. Truly this is a mad wtrld! The haulier was refused, permission to carry the essentials of life—nature's gifts—but 25 gallons of petrol were provided for the conveyance of prisoners of War, otherwise enemies of this country
Private Cars but not Lorries
. Again, every day of the week can be 'seen cars, many in the luxury class, drOpping or picking up one woman at one or other of the West-End shopping establishments,. Such instances are by no . means exceptional, and they are inclined, rather, to knock the bottom out of the argument 'tha't the restriction of road transport is due mainly to the vital need for the conservation of petrol.
It is incidents of this nature which keep alive the resentment of the hauliers and deepen the conviction that they have had anything but a square deal, because the restrictions imposed have not, in truth, been the result of dire necessity.
A further example of the restriction of road transport, as affecting the life of the individual, is that relating to the new utility furniture. Some districts have had to wait months for 'the furniture, and the delays in the deliveries are .due not to belated manufacture but to transport difficulties. Manufacturers have been compelled -to use the railways, to which they are averse on account of the delays „ and. the serious amount of damage incurred. It is reported that consignments of furniture have been totally destroyed during shunting operations, as the special containers required are almost Unobtainable. In spite of this, manu. facturers of furniture still are prohibited from using road transport.
All these anomalies give rise 'to the thought that the powers-that-be cannot have considered the position in all its aspects. In the case of damaged and destroyed furni• ture, have they weighed the -resultant wastage of labour and materials involved,. and this at a time when everyone is Urged, under penalties, to avoid waste of any and every kind?. Yet, by a stroke of the pen, a Government Department can issue an order which produces waste on a large scale. This is quite bad enough where articles such as furniture, etc , are concerned, but when essential foodstuffs are permitted to go bad the matter assumes an even more serious aspect.
Whilst making every allowance for essential economy, in the use of petrol and rubber, the case for the consumer and. the haulier, nevertheless, must be considered Sooner or later there ',will be a day of reckoning, for the pendular ,`•• assuredly, 'will swing back. Then those responsible forothe existing state of affairs—whether within or without che industry—would do well to bear, in mind this truth