PLEA FOR A PROPAGANDA FUND AT THE R.H.A. CONFERENCE
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THE conference of the Road Haulage Association, which followed the annual luncheon held in London, last week, was opened by a paper on "The Haulage Industry in Parliament," by Mr. T. Ormiston, C.B.E., M.P.
The speaker explained Parliamentary procedure, and he referred at some length to the methods adopted by the railway companies during the passing of the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933. The activities in Parliament of the road-transport industry were negligible compared with those of the railway companies, he said, and the propaganda was not comparable.
Mr. Ormiston said that great difficulties face any industry which endeavours to have removed or modified
any additional duty imposed upon it in the Budget. He instanced the successful fight put up by the brewers and the cinema industry, and he said that both these campaigns have been conducted at considerable expense.
The speaker put forward a strong plea that the road-transport industry should organize a substantial propaganda fund.
Mr. H. Norman Letts opened the session on the second day with a paper dealing with rates. This problem is so vast, he said, that it demands the cooperation of every operator. Stabilization of rates Is essential in Mr. Letts's view, and it is desirable that this matter should be settled within the industry and not controlled by an outside authority.
Local determination of rates for different areas lhould first be decided upon, and, finally, there must be coordination by a national committee.
On Thursday afternoon, the final discussion of the conference was on the subject of wages. Mr. H. J. Lloyd spoke on this question. A NEW RANGE OF THORNYCROFTS.
John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., has introduced a new range of fourwheeled goods chassis of 2+-3+-ton gross-load capacity, which are known as the Dandy class. Following closely the design of the company's successful Handy 2-ton models, the new chassis incorporate stronger axles and springs to take care of the increased load. Any reasonable type of commercial bodywork can be supplied with the new chassis without the unladen weight exceeding 2i tons, thereby obtaining the benefits of a £30 annual tax and a legal speed of 30 m.p.h.
The power unit employed is the Thornycroft four-cylindered petrol engine of 31-in, bore and 5-in, stroke, which develops up to 50 b.h.p. at maximum r.p.m.The tyre equipment consists of 32-in. by 6-in, pneumatics, ins being used on the rear wheels. The unladen weight of the standard normal-control model is 35+ cwt.
The list prices of the Dandy chassis, with full equipment, range from £335 for the normal-control model to £350 for the forward-control vehicle. There are three distinct chassis types in the Dandy class, each being available with standard and alternative axle ratios.
Vacuum Oil Irish Company Formed.
On May 30, Mr. F. E. Powell, junr., director of the Vacuum Oil Co., Ltd., presided at a luncheon in Dublin and officially announced the formation of the Vacuum Oil Co. (Ireland), Ltd. Mr. C. G. Reeves has been appointed director and manager of the new company, and he will be supported by Mr. W. A. Devin, also a director.
Another R.H.A. Meeting for Drivers.
The series of mass meetings of drivers organized by the Road Haulage Association will be continued on June 17, when the Metropolitan Regional Area will hold a meeting at Hammersmith Town Hall, at 8 p.m. . The chairman will be Major the Hon. Eric Long, T,D,, JP., and the speakers will include Mr. Norman Letts and Mr. F. G. Witcher. We offer our congratulations to Mr. J. H. Stirk, Traffic Commissioner for the East Midland Area, who has been presented with the King's Jubilee Medal.
Mr. W. Reavell, a past-president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, has been elected chairman of the British Standards Institution for the ensuing year, The Secretary of State for Scotland has appointed Mr. Peter Comrie, M.N., B.Sc., LL.D., as a member of the Scottish Inter-departmental Committee on Road Safety among Schoolchildren, in succession to Mr. William Taylor, O.B.E.
• We learn that Mr. R. Wood Whittle has, by arrangement, resigned from the position of general manager of Foden's, Ltd., of Sandbach, and managership has now been vested in Mr. William Foden, who some time ago returned to England from Australia ;
he is a son of the late Mr. Edwin Foden, founder of the company.
Mr. Wood Whittle joined Foden's, Ltd., in December, 1932.
At a meeting of Edinburgh Public Utilities Committee, on May 31, Mr. Robert McLeod, transport manager, reported that, subject to the approval of the town council, he had appointed Mr. Eric R. L. Fitzpayne, his deputy.
The list of honours conferred by His Majesty the King on the occasion of his birthday and in commemoration of the completion of the 25th year of his reign, includes the names of several notabilities in the transport world, the chief being that of the Minister of Transport, Mr. L. Hore-Belisha, who becomes a Privy Councillor.
Sir Henry Jackson, M.A., MB., M.P., receives a baronetcy for services in connection with transport questions. Amongst the civil awards, an O.B.E. is conferred upon Mr. E. B. Hart, of the Ministry of Transport. Major-General the Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes, P.C., G.C.S.I., G.B.E., K.C.B., C.M.G., has been appointed a director of the Associated Equipment Co., Ltd. Sir Frederick Sykes, who, upon the expiry of his term of office, recently relinquished the governorship of Bombay, to which he was appointed in 1928, is a son-in-law of the late Rt. Hon, A. Bonar Law.
After a distinguished career in the Army, he was, in 1912, appointed commander of the Military wing of the Royal Flying Corps. In 1918 he was chief of the Air Staff, and was nominated to be chief of the British Air Section of the Peace Conference in Paris. This association with aviation was maintained by his appointment as Controller-General of Civil Aviation
from 1919-1922. He represented the Hallam division of Sheffield in Parliament from 1922-1928.
Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton, C.B., F.R.S., M.I.C.E.,M.I.E.E., may well be termed the grand old man of the electrical and automobile industries, for he attained his 90th birthday on May 31. He was horn at Sion Hill, near Thirsk, York.shire, and saw action in the Crimea as a cadet in the Royal Navy, later being gazetted
to the Rifle Brigade and serving in India. He then became superintendent of the Government steam train (which attained a speed of over 80 m.p.h.) and did much valuable pioneer work on road traction, including the development of rubber tyres.
In 1878 he commenced business as a manufacturing electrical engineer at Chelmsford.
During the South African war he commanded the Electrical Engineers Volunteers. His steam tractors did much useful work in South Africa, whilst in 1915 he was applying his experience to the design of Tanks. He founded and became first President of the institution of Automobile Engineers.