The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-11-26

be required to look into the local cir
cumstances in each case the Minister
declared that he was not prepared to
delegate to anyone the actual power
to forbid a firm to take on further
orders. He will exercise that power
himself. Power is also to be exercised
over the setting up of new undertak
ings which are not likely to be effec-
tive units of production. An amend
ment has been made TO the revelenI
Order requiring firm TO obtain
license for any manufacturing under
taking it proposes to bring into exist
ence or when the nature of its activi-
ties are to be changed. This restriction
applies to firms of every size. and is
the major process of reallocating pro-
ductive resources.
Passenger Transport Services
Industry is therefore entering upon
an important phase Of naturalization,
under the stress of war conditions.
There have been some inevitable anom-
allies created by the rapid improvisa-
ton in the earlier stages of war or
ganiZatiOn, involving the transfer Of
labor from one place to another to
meet urgent needs. The Select Com
mittee on National Expenditure in a
recent report on passenger transport
services, put its finger upon one such
anomaly-that arising from unneces-
sary cross travelling between one town
and another
A good deal of this cross travelling
takes place among large and close
groups of industrial towns. An example
is around Birmingham, where it is
said that hundred of workers living
(say) in Wolverhampton, have to
travel every morning to work in Bir-
mingham, whilst at the same time
similar numbers are travelling from
homes in Birmingham to work in
Wolverhampton. The Select Committee
has recommended test census of fac
| tory workers in such areas with a
view of ascertaining how much such
cross travelling goes on and whether
the workers concerned are sufficiently
interchangeable to make it practicable
to rationaliZe the position.
Staggered Working Hours
In it's report the Committee directs
attention to the staggering of working
hours in factories in the same area
and also of different shops in the same
factory. This is one of the best ways
of mitigating transport difficulties,
arising out of the existing shortage of
buses. TO develop systems of stagger-
| ing, and to deal with transport com
plants generally local Transport Con
sultative Committees have been set up
in some seventy areas. They have been
a great success, and the Committee
recommends that they be set up in all
industrial areas.
Such committees consist of repre-
sentatives of the Supply Departments,
| the factory managementS and workers
and also the managements and work
Undertakings. The work they are do
| ing is essential to the organization OF
| workers to and from their places of
efficient transport for thousands of
| work.
Even a small adjustment of work
ing hours, the Committee points out
can work wonders. Difference of Il
quarter of an hour, one way or the
other, in releasing the personnel of 4
| factory from work may mean that Il
bus can do two useful journeys in
| stead of one.
| No alteration in factory hours, the
Committee recommend, hOu Il be
made, except in cases of emergency,
without considering the transport
problems involved. These problems, OF
course, will be very much in the fore
front of discussion when the plans of
the Minister of Production for the re-
ALLEGATION of production resources are
being carried out