POSITION OF THE RAILWAYS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 34, 10 February 1931, Page 8

POSITION OF THE RAILWAYS

(To the Editor.) Sir,— Occasionally trading individuals and companies meet with adversity, in various forms, an outstanding one being competition by rivals who have invaded the field of operations with more modern_' and superior equipment—the output < f science and ingenuity—which enables them .to produce improved quality at lower cost, and in greater variety. Thus loss'of trade, irrespective of 1 the cause, must create concern for capital invested in the business, and in absence of reserved profits accumulated prior to setting in of its decadence, the position must be grave. More.particularly if there are heavy trading liabilities to be, satisfied. ■■■;.■. The position of our railways seems to be that motor vehicles competition has reduced value of the property enormously, and nothing that the most capable management/ can accomplish will restore lost value. That could be done only by: (1) Sweeping motor, vehicles off ,fhe loads, or, as an alternative (2) by compelling them to charge for services not less than, would have to. be paid for complete services of the same kind if performed by the railways; but it would be difficult to ensure observance of such a regulation. The former would stop the privately owned car not only from carving its owner, but would prevent him from giving journeys to friends who might otherwise use the railways. . :- .'■'.. . •■, ■■ ■.• , Highways have been improved at immense cost to help motor, traffic, arid suggestions for scotching it would be opposed to reason, and could not therefore be entertained. The railways administration could, with advantage, give away its non■payable suburban railways passenger traffic and concentrate an encouragement of longer distance traffic. But with an evergrowing number of motor?ears; on the roads railway passenger traffic over intermediate distances may be expected to further decline. .":'■'.' . Truly the railways administration is "up against it," and must daily recognise the force of the axiom that one cannot get out of a thing more than there is, in it. That being the case it would seem to be reasonable for the Hon. the Minister of Railways to have present day reduced value of the property assessed, and then move to have the difference between that value and capital book value written off, say, to debit of bad debts. While such writing off would not, unfortunately, estinguish liability for the sum involved— that is likely to.be with us always—it' would enable the administration to present accounts ou which better popular judgment of the management could be formed. Any profit on working'-under reduced . capital value could be credited to bad debts account, and might, under conditions which are always changing, ultimately materially reduce the debit.—l am, etc., B. DAWSON. 9th. .February,