NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 967, 7 November 1910, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

We printed on Friday last a cablo message, upon which we did not think comment was necessary, to the effect that tho Tasmanian Government has decided to appoint a Commissioner to take charge of the State railways (which avo at present, like tho New Zealand railways, under Ministerial control), in order to do away with the possibility of political influence Wc are moved to this reference by the amusing observations of the Lytlcltoii Times, to which, as a valiant defender of Ministerial control of railways, tho decision of Tasmania to got into lino with the rest of Australia, was naturally a heuvy blow. For New Zealand ia -now Uw ouJbcjuart of Australasia hi

which Ministerial control of the railways still obtains. As in New Zealand, Ministerial control has in Tasmania produced a heavy loss every year, whilo tho commissioner-man-aged lines in the other States have shown large profits, which serve to keep taxation down, after paying all expenses and interest on capital. Our Christchurch contemporary wishes its readers to believe that it is to "special circumstances" that Tasmania owes the railway deficits. These "special circumstances" seem to ba the fact that the construction of tho lines was spread over forty years, that there were blunders in construction, and that Tasmania is anyway a bad railway field. All this might be quite true without impugning the wisdom of tho Tasmanian Government's decision to make the best of a bad job by leaving New Zealand in splendid isolation as the solo remaining defender of the system of management that can be guaranteed to produce very Bad results from one of the best railwayrevenue countries in the world. It is not the mediocrity of the Tasmanian revenue, but the waste in expenditure, that has forced the Government to take up the reform that must come in this country. The last year for which we have the complete figures for all the Australian States and New Zealand is 1908-9. The percentage of working expenses to earnings in Tasmania was 72.89. In | Victoria it was 57.67, in New Southj Wales 58.72, in Queensland 58.35, in ! South Australia 57.52, and in West-1 cm Australia 64.56. In New Zealand it was 72.19. It is true that Now Zealand showed a" better result last year, but the figures quoted above contain the whole difference between Ministerial control and nonpolitical management. It is to bo hoped that the public has not overlooked the reply given by Sm Joseph Ward to an inquiry concerning the Municipal Corporations Bill. 'Ho said that he had thought the House did not want it. This is his way of saying that ho disapproved of the action of the Houso in adding to the Bill a new clausoi constraining the Government to conform to the 'local by-laws in respect of sanitation. The Minister in chargo of tho Bill, it will be remembered, i moved to report progress upon this clause being carried. The position' taken up by the Govern-ment-affords another illustration of the extraordinary view which it holds upon the relation of responsibility'to office; When, as has happened more than once, it has brought down what should be considered a policy measure and has seen tho Houso and the public rise up,in pro test, it merely lets tho Bill drop. Sometimes, to bo sure, when parfcj requirements necessitate this course, the Government re-introduces its rejected proposal, and nearly always succeeds in getting it.through by inducing a sufficient number of its "bolters" to stay away on the-second occasion or reverse their votes. It is a curious thing that the Government cannot be got to understand that office cannot without, discredit bo shifted from its proper base of responsibility. It is almost hopeless to expect the present Parliament to give a convincing; practical exhibition of its unwillingness any longer to stultify itself in-order that the Government may be free to continue acting on the doctrine that office and responsibility can be divorced. The Prime Minister has said that he thought tho Houso did not want the Municipal Corporations Bill. But does the Government want it? If it does, and the Houso docs not, the Prime Minister can easily end the disagreement between the House and tho Executive by ceasing to hold office. It is difficult to conceive anything that would induce tho Government to do any such thing. Much more likely is it that at .the end of the session the Prime Minister will try to get the House to delete the excellent clause to which he objects. 1 A short cable messago told us last week that Dr. Starr Jordan, of the Leland Stanford University, attributes to warfare—no doubt he said t not warfare, but preparations for war—tha high cost of living that is vexing all those countries burdened with heavy armaments. It is of courso obvious that the vast amount of labour,' directive skill, capital, inventive genius and material—to say nothing of the food and clothing, etc.—that is sunk in the armies and navies of tho world represents a frightful economic loss. Nor can it_ be doubted that the reigr_ of high prices, which is the reign ot shortening supplies, is maintained in no small degreo by this dreadful necessity of the nations. Dr. Starr Jordan went on to' say—through how long a'train of reasoning the cable gives us not a hint—that "all Governments are now ruled, by capitalists, constituting an unseen Empire." Dr. Starr Jordan is hardly so high an authority upon economic problems as to justify any strong hope that he has given the treat-, rcent which students would like to the big and fascinating problem of the influence of capital on government. The sentence quoted by the 'cable agent would indicate that Dr. Jordan has taken the shallow Radical view. Wc must wait for fuller details, however, on this point. In the meantime it is worth-while giving his statement, as cabled, a slight shake. What is "the unseen Empire of capitalists" ? The Socialist has a muddy idea that "hated capi'tal," or "bloated capital," is some kind of monster. Less extreme Radicals, when thoy try to think the matter out, get so I'aT as the more definite idea that "Capital" is an agglomeration of awful people called "capitalists." Rarely does your Socialist or extreme Radical condescend to do his thinking with a close regard for facts. If he did ho would realise that the "capitalists" _ are simply the people, big and little, who are keeping tho social machinory working by paying wages for work done, and that "the unseen Empire of capital" is merely the force of progress behind society.