Don't Spare This Tree I MPORTANT matters concerning the present and
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future of road haulage have been discussed at the annual conference of the Road Haulage Association in Blackpool this week. The debate ranged in quality from cogency to incoherence, via apathy, and resolutions may not always have received the fate they deserved. Whether the acceptance or rejection of motions could be held to represent the will of the Association is a moot point, but the treatment accorded to them was at least based on the views of a vocal minority—and those with the gift of rhetoric and the urge to use it normally shape the policy of any trade organization.
• It does not follow, however, that the leaders of thefl Association will act on the resolutions passed. They hold the right of veto, which seems strange—although perhaps necessary—in-an Association that is so steeped in democracy that it is in danger of inhibiting its own natural vitality.
Efforts have been made in the past to simplify administrative processes, but without much success. A resolution to this end was sponsored at the 1956 conference at Bournemouth and was_ defeated. Supporters of streamlining argue that the present system of committees, imposed one on another, and in some cases duplicating work, places too great a burden on honorary officers. They believe that men suitable for high office in the Association may be discouraged from offering their services, by the heavy demands made on their time. These demands, they say, could be reduced if the administrative system were overhauled and simplified. The Commercial Motor supported this argument in 1956 and continues to do so.
.-.Their opponents, many of whom are neither suitable nor willing to take a leading part in affairs, defend the present pattern as a guarantee of democratic control. Their distrust of the idea of placing executive power into fewer hands blinds them to the great waste of time now being caused by duplication of effort and the lack of clear definition of the responsibilities of individual committees.
Speedy action on urgent matters of policy is difficult. There are too many people to be consulted and paid officers are liable to have to divert their attention from their principal work to defend their positions against criticism by those who are not always qualified to give it.
The R.H.A. would be a more effective organization—nationally and locally—if its policy-making and administrative machinery were overhauled and more confidence were placed in the permanent staff. If some of the wood were cut away, it would be possible to see the trees more clearly. A tighter system of organization does not imply dictatorship or the manipulation of the policy and affairs of the R.H.A. for the benefit of certain sections. Who will take the initiative and modify the constitution to bring it more into line with present-day needs?