WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 April 1917, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Railway Services Easter Traffic (Our Special Correspondent.) Wellington, April II Holiday-makers are returning to town with anything but flatteiiog accounts of the Railway Repartmeut t arrangements for the Easter traffic It would seem from some of their stories that the management had deliberately prov.ded the worst possible service this year in order that tbe public might be the more readily reconciled to the withdrawal of suburban services ■ and the discontinuance of holiday fare?. In many cases the ordinary traffic was suspended tc make room for excursion trains which ran to the wrong places or at the wrong times and were only half filled. In other cases the excursion trains simply ran in competition with the ordinary trains and merely doubled the cost of carrying an indefinite number of people to a certain number of plaoes. The time-tablas inaistad upon lose delays at soma stations, without any regard to their importance, and upon running through others without any stop at all.

Probably the official explanation of all this, if the facts were admitted, would be that tbe railway staff had been depleted by the demands of the war, but as a matter of fact many fewer hands would have been required for an efficient holiday ssrvicß than for the vary inefficient one that was provided.

MEN AND PRODUCE. The iterated and reiterated insistence of the Minister of Defence upon the supply of men being of more consequence than the production of foodstuffs at the present stage, of the war, is being discussed with some warmth in the rural districts. There is no suggestion from sane people anywhere, of course, that the strength of tbe Reinforcements being sent to the front should be lessened. On this pbiDt the farmers to a man are with Sir James Allen.

But they argus that the production Of food and clothiDg for ourselves and for the Mother Country and her Allies should be made an essential industry and that a sufficient number of men should be exempted from military service to keep it running at its fullest capacity. This, they protest, is not a plea on their behalf. Thoy would, be ready to submit to any reasonable scheme of organisation which asked from them no greater sacrifices than were demanded from the rest of the. community, A farmer should not be excused from military service because he was a farmer, nor a farm worker because he had been employed about a farm ; but because he was the person oest qualified to give the country the particular service it required at home. the democratic farmer The farmers who are propounding these very admirable sentiments claim to b 8 much more democratic than the Ministers who are administering the Military Service Act or the irresponsible Socialists who are denouncing that measure. The fault they fiod with conscription is not that it compels men to serve whether they like it or not, but that it does not sufficiently discs iminate in regard to the services they shall render.

It iries to manufacture soldiers out . or men who era utterly unfitted for a mill!ary career, but who would make excellent farm workers or stockman or dairy-bands. “What we want in times like these,” to quote the words of a Manawatu farmer, who has two sons at the front, “ia every man in his right place, doing the job for which he is best fitted and doing it with all his might.” Perhaps in due course the Efficiency Board may lead tfce country eoma way towards this V9ry desirable goal, but it would be too much to expect a Gova’ument dependent for its very existence upon the goodwill of so many diverse elements to make such an heroic venture in national organisation on itß own initiative.

TAXATION, The Acting Minister of Finance has made it quite clear that the overflowing Treasury is not goiDg. to saye the country from further taxation, and hia candour has encouraged many speculations as to the direction in which Sir Joseph Ward will look for his additional revenue. That there will be no increase in Customs duties on what are populatly regarded as the necessaries of life may be taken for granted in view of the present high cost of living, but it is pretty certain there will be another turn cf the screw in connection with both the income tax and the land tax. It is being urged in some qaarter a that the exemption should be lowered in both cases, and though this would produce a comparatively small amount there is a growing feeling in favour of .getting at the unmarried men withont dependents who are earning £2OO or £3OO a year. The feature of the Budget, however, is likely to be a very substantial increase in the taxation upon large incomes and large estates. The Minister will require to get at least £750,000 a year to meet the charges . on the new war debt and there is little doubt the great bulk of this sum will be obtained from those fortura'e people who can spare a few pouncs a i week without any personal inconvenience.