The Dominion. FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 1909. THE RAILWAY WORKSHOPS INQUIRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 454, 12 March 1909, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 1909. THE RAILWAY WORKSHOPS INQUIRY.

An amazing development is reported in connection with the Addington Workshops Inquiry. The General Manager, whose memorandum to the Chief Mechanical Engineer contained the allegations to investigate which the Commission was appointed, has withdrawn his ■ charges altogether, and expressed, in quite unqualified terms, his conviction that there is no cause for complaint of any kind 1 There are some people, no doubt, who may imagine that Me. llonayne's volte face obviates the necessity for further inquiry, but a precisely opposite view should bo taken. Not only docs Mr. Ronayne's withdrawal of his charges against the co.iduct of the workshops leave unaffected the necessity for inquiry ; it actually heightens it, for, whatever conclusion it may draw as to the reasons for Mr. Ronayne's change of front, the public will feel that there is a great deal that requires explanation in the methods of the Department. Mr. Uonayme's famous memorandum reads as follows: I have had a long interview with an expert engineer, who has paid several visits to tho Addington shops. Ho was astounded at the slow method and leisurely work of tho men generally, but more especially those in tho boiler shop. Five- minutes per rivet for tho new riveter is a case in point. The men in the smiths' shop wcro also doing a "Government stroke." There appeared to bo an utter disregard of the foreman's presence in any of tho shops, the men being allowed to talk, loaf, and do a very indifferent day's work. It is absolutely necessary that this state of indifferonco be brought to a close, and a fair day's work must bo insisted upon. It will bo futile for tho Locomotive Engineer and liis staff to say that tho charges are groundless. Tho fact remains that work at Addington costs more to produce than it does at l'ctono or Hillside. Take Uio cost of "A" compounds built at Addington as compared with those built by J'rico Bros The latter can build cheaper, and yet tbeir shops nro »ot nearly so well equipped n» Addington. shops. You will ploaso takn such

notion as will bring this discreditable stale. of affairs to an unci. Mr. Ronayne, in the above memorandum, appears to have given a fair version of the Hon. J. E. Jenkinson's strictures on the methods of the workmen in the shops, but that is a minor point. What is to be noted are the facts (l) that the General Manager stated definitely that it would be futile for his officers to deny the charges made; (2) that he staled as a "fact" that the work at Adclington cost more than at Petone or Hillside; and (3) that the , cost of "A" compounds built at Addington was greater, although made;under better conditions, than at Price , Buos. , shopsThe Manager has accepted as valid the reports which he declared would be futile. He has also exonerated the Addington shops from the charges which he conveyed in his statements respecting the cost of work. Whatever foundation ho may have had for his general criticisms, he could only have founded his allegations respecting the, excessive cost of the work at Addington on figures in his possession as manager. He could not have founded these allegations on anything else. Yet the actual figures which thus convinced him of certain "facts"— we use his own word—fail to convince him of those "facts" any longer. Mr. Rostayne may be left to explain how it comes about that recants the statements which he made'as matters of plain fact, and not as mere opinions of an outside engineer. What the public is interested in is the revelation which it has received in the matter of the llaihvay Department's methods. The public, in making its clioico between the Manager's memorandum and .his retraction of it, will have little hesitation in concluding that the retraction is of very little value. With the reasons for the retraction they are not greatly concerned. If it is established that the waste and extravagance which the Manager discovered by going into the figures arc not traceable to bad methods in the shops, the only conclusion must be that they arc traceable to bad methods at headquarters. They must have their origin somewhere. And appearances indicate that there is afoot something like an attempt to prevent the inquiry being extended into the methods of the Department so far as they affect the workshops. When, in reply to a telegram from Mr. T. E. Taylor urging that "the General Manager's methods of control and administrative ability should also be inquired into," the Minister replied with nothing more direct than that the order of reference would be "wide enough to make the fullest inquiry into the system adopted," we noted that the Minister appeared to be "hedging," and anxious to restrict the discoveries of the Commission. The latest developments go far towards justifying this view.

Nothing that the Minister or any of the Departmental officials can do now will quieten the public's demand for a full investigation of the railways system. Nothing could more notably assist the movemont for a Royal Commission of unlimited scope than the puzzling surrender of Mk. Koxayne. The public has a very natural distrust of anything savouring of secret arrangements in the Departments of State, and it is matter for surprise that Mr. Millae is not aware of this fact, or that, being aware of it, he trusts the, power of the Government to smother the public's interest in a Department that is suspect. Nothing but full investigation -will convince the public that there is r.o cause for complaint in the management of the Addington Workshops nor anything undesirable in the administration of the Railway Department as a whole. No doubt Mr. Millar cannot act independently of the necessities of his party, but he will be wise if he sets himself to convince his colleagues that nothing short of a Royal Commission will satisfy the people. He has "wobbled" a good deal since his first announcement that he contemplated a ; policy of reform, and he cannot expect the public to be satisfied with the turn that affairs have taken in connection with the Addington Workshops Inquiry. Reform cannot be expected from a Minister who, whatever his personal inclinations may be, is yet obviously hampered by the needs of his party. The Addington shops arc only a small part of the railways system, and the mystery surrounding recent events connected with them will only increase the public's desire for a general opening up of the whole railways administration to the light of day. That one of the most happily-situated railway systems in the world should not only fail to relieve the burden of taxation, but should actually be an extra burden on the taxpayer to the extent of hundreds of thousands of pounds every year, is a condition that the public can no longer endure with any patience. And only in a Royal Commission is there any promise of relief.