LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1499, 23 July 1912, Page 8

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

TRAMWAYS MANAGEMENT. n '| S !l,7i ll!lV< ' ';"'" fsl ™™\y interested „1S underground' operations that ueeeded the present proposal to raise the tares on the. tramways The management have realised for some time that it was easier lo follow the line of least resistance, and raise revenue rather than lower expenditure. The first feelers were issued as long ago as last council election, when i.t began to be whispered that all was not well with the enterprise. Amusingly enough, the oneineers were nearly hoist with their own petard on that occasion, as the majority of the candidates construed the mutt'erings' to mean that a screw was loose in the manageinent instead of taking the intended position that the fares were too low.' The scheming was hastily dropped, but not before a council was elected pledged to essen expenditure by improving the traffic management. The council had onlv stirrcd m its sleep, however, and the darkness was not disturbed a<-ain until councillor Al'Kenzie was prevailed upon to ask those- carefully-drafted questions on the depreciation fund earnings. The instigators of those questions' had obviously the answers ready, as in a surprisingly short time the rehirr. appeared, elaborating the points suggested in Air. j3l Ivenzio's list and treating them on similar lines. The council was belter trained on this occasion, and bit readilv. Events moved rapidly and more openly and. soon 1 was amused to notice the "hne Italian band" of the management parading itself even in The Dominion eaders. I had been wailing, sir, for vou to redeem a promise made at last (council) election, when you intimated your intention to do for the municipal balancesheet what you had done for the national one, and I was honestly disappointed. It cannot be denied that the trams last year lost about .£4OOO. About ,£I2OO or ,£ISOO of this was due to the strike', and concessions amounted to .£7500. The traffic management is gravely at fault, and the last three months 'found this incompetency accentuated. In comparison with Christchurch for the year 1909-10, the traffic expenditure was noticeably excessive, and it has gone tin increasing far too rjuickly. As the traffic increases the expenditure per car mile should be reduced (allowing of. course for any. riso in wages); the fact that it Iras increased is a serious reflection on the management. The power expenses, especially for. generarSo'n,' reflect 'every credit on the engineers, and wo have every right to be proud of thenr as- 'engineers. ...As traffic exnerts they "miss the bus" and .as-sellable"men will not mind me saying so. Ahv Wilford acting, I, presume, under advice, promised a saving'of «£2OOO yearly. (I. speak from memory) in traffic expenditure wben the loose, screw was tightened. If tightened now we can reasonably expect, a saving of .£3OOO at least. By reducing the concessions from JXm to ,£SOOO annually, we can hope to break more than even, in the future keeping the present charges. It is unjust to-make two sections'of the Newtown'route, as it is easily the most profitable section outside the city one. and if must be quite'the cheapest of all to run per car section. It is also unfair to raise fares on .people who were attracted to suburban homes by the present rates. But, most important it. is certain that if we give the present management ,£IO,OOO more revenue yearly they will be inclined to sit. still and'smile wli3ii what we want it, to got them out to hustle. I deprecate the carrying of the public at_ tire ratepayers' expense, as much as you, sir, buf.'l'fee tbo'"abominatioii of depreciation" in allowing loose ™d incompetent management to waste the people's money.

To consider the balance-sheet. Xo work hits been charged to revenue that should bo charged to capital; on the contrary, •£flo,ooo has been borrowed from the depreciation fund find net revenue account without debiting the concern with 4 per cent interest and 1 per cent sinking fund (this to keep up the depreciation provisions, _ a point missed in the report on Councillor M'lvonzio's questions) thereon. This policy has prevailed for years and the depreciation fund must now be about .£20,000 to the bad. The net revenue account (i.e., profits) stands at .£II.OOO, but should stand at over ,£15,000 (odding amount borrowed for new work and interest). The total loss to date on our tramways is therefore under .£SOOO, so we need not get hysterical. In conclusion allow me to applaud a suggestion put forwnrd ill the ''Evening Post" to the effect that concessions should iu future bo given to everybody who rides mora than one section. Cards could be issued for twelve 2d., 3d., or Id. rides at commutation rates calculated to pivo about ,£SOOO total concessions annually. To my mind it is an eminently sans and practical idea.—l am, etc., TRAMWAY OWNER. P.S.—Can you understand why the appropriation account shows t £l33G written ■off tramway preliminary expenses for 1911-12, while the capital account shows only ,£261? , THE DELAY OF THE S.S. MAORI. , Sir,—Having read your report on the s.s. Maori having to put back to Worser Bay on Wednesday last, it might have caused a slight surprise to your many readers, who know the attainments of this fine vessel. Being a passenger, I think the captain's prudence deserves the highest praise. Had there been n light on Steeple Rock buov we should have got out alright, but owing to tho antiquated methods■ of (ho people in charge, our captain's guiding light at tho point when ho turned Mmnd was four and a half miles astern of him, and • I should say anyone expecting to seo a light that distance off on such a night would be a marvel yet unheard of, 1 wish you to insert this in your valuable columns, to assure j-our readers that it was not tho captain's fault that we did not got out of the harbour on Wednesday evening' last.—l am, etc., . WHALE. THE HIGH COMMISSIONER. Sir,—l think it an insult to the members of tho Reform party for your paper to put forward tho claims (?) of Mr. Thomas Mackenzie fo the High CommisH'onersliip. It is as if no man could be found among the many loyal supporters of the present Government fit to fill the position. If the work and loyalty of twenty years is to be ignored, and the plums of office bestowed on political turncoats, then Mr. Massey and colleagues will soon find themselves back in the cold shade of Opposition.—l am, eto., A WORKER FOR THE REFORM PARTY. [The Dominion - has not advocated tho claims of Mr. T. Mackenzio or anyone else for the High Commissionership. Tho best man available should bo appointed, regardless of his political colour.]