BROKEN RAILWAY GAUGES.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 March 1920, Page 4

BROKEN RAILWAY GAUGES.

HOW THE CURSE' COMES HOME TO ROOST. SYDNEY, March 12. The curse of Australia, all through history, has been the narrow-visioned politician; and the curse of that variety of politicians who operated several generations ago roosted very heavily upon the Commonwealth during the past month. The shipping strike threw the whole 'burden of Australian transport upon the railways, and the railways, owing to the broken gauges, could not get anywhere near coping with the demand.

Inter-State commerce was, t a very large extent paralysed, out Australia is accustomed to that sort of nig, and little was said. Yet ordinary ronnne;cial traffic might have gone on as usual if there had been no break in gauge, if there had been no break in gauge. It was in the transport of essentials that tbe pinch wag felt. Victoria and South Australia are wholly dependent on New South Wales for poal; NonSouth Wales and Queensland, at present depend absolutely on Victoria and South Australia for wheat. When tile shipping hold-up ended at the end of February, the position in each of the four States was becoming desperate--in South Australia and Victoria because of the lack of coal, and in the two northern States because flour was almost a minus quantity. New- South Wales at great expense got enough w-heat across from Victoria to carry on, but the pressure of bringing 1000 tons a day to the border unloading it into other trucks, and distributing it, put such a strain upon the rolling Stoek of both States that all other railway goods traffic had to suffer. If Queensland had had to get wheat similarly, from Victoria, it won d have had to be unloaded and reloaded at the Victorian border, and unloaded and reloaded at the Now South Wales I order, '('he cost was prohibitive—so Queensland starved, so far as wheaten bread w<is concerned. All the North Queensland towns were put on to bread rations, under the supervision of i'le police, about tbe middle of February, r.nd that system is still operating. Tie ship? rre moving again, but the necenwy fit nr has not yet reached the north. Had there been no stiff-necked, parish-pump politicians in the different States generations ago to build different gauge rail-w-ays, wheat would have been taken easily from Victoria to Queeasiaml, and coal u-ould have gone across fi >n New South Wales to South Australia. And ovei-y thinking Australian asks himself to-day: If this is the position as a result of a mere strike, what would it be like in the event of war stopping our shipping, and demanding the rapid concentration of our military strength?