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Hokitika Guardian, 19 September 1924, Page 2

r.N- the railways repol'L, the hoard's recomnicndat ions imitate pda inly, remarks th(> ‘il.yttclton Times", that- in tin' opinion of the inability of the members the conditions that have been obtaining ii: the servile have been unduly favourable to tlie workers. Inking into consideration the conditions existing in oilier branches of industry, the conditions of railway scrviies ill Australia and the state of the linaii os of the Railway Department in New Zealand. This seems to lie the obvious reasoning of the lioil.l'd. and it agrees quite closely with the o| inion formed by the general public, whose knowledge of the position is limited, of course, to the information contained in the annual rc. ni ts of the Departineift, hut who have lipt failed to mark the inability of the (lovermnent to make the service pay under the old conditions. 'I ho surprising fact about the majority lepert is that the conclusions have been made so emphatic, for we all know that there is a tendency on the part of such tribunals to compromise. Presumably

the heard, in the course of its very lull and patient investigation, found itsell faced with the fact that the service was not paying and set itself courageously to discover the reasons. The tacts in regard to the railway service had to lie faced, and a Government service is not exempt from the troubles that afflict industry in general. The majority report refers, for instance, to the conditions in the iron industry, and the reference is perfectly sound. The employers in that business were carrying on at a loss and they took the only course open to them in putting hands off. The Railway Department might have curtailed its services— it

has already done so to some extent—and dispensed with a thousand employees or more, and possibly, unless cnditions improve, such a step will still he necessary. In the meantime the board proposes that the railway conditions should be hi ought into line with the conditions in other industries, for that is what the recommendations reallv amount to. Incidentally, ihe report is an implied condemnation of the meddling of the politicians with what is ptirelv a business enterprise.

Thf. Gaming Bill boiore tbc House just now does not go as far as the racing and trotting authorities desire. The increase of permits is the main clause of the bill, and this, r.f course, has been demanded over and over again. The increase suggested is reasonable, and ns circumstances have demonstrated, is necessary. Many parts of the Dominion are requiring permits, so that really the proposed contribution is in

■ elation to i romises long overdue in the mutter of fulfilment. The measure 1 ropc.-es some fuither regulation of the totalasntor which will not he objeeted to, for the (loser the scrutiny of the nmnagciuei.t the hotter all round. But this legalised form of hotting has been wonderfully free fiom scandal, or the suggestion of any irregularity—still a tighter rein uid ho all for the hotter, and Government supei vision is lj he welcomed. As to the omissions ■from the hill, they are probably designedly so The permission to te'.ograj h or post money to Clubs for investment is desiiahle, but it will be opposed by vested inteie.sts. if the so-calhd ‘wool kings'* may be so styled. The fraternity exercise a certain influence in the House, as the I‘rime .Minister has indicated. ami it may he more discreet to bring the | rnoosal forward hv way of amendment rather titan as a part of the hill itself. It- will he a useful ami proper amendment to make, and will he very helpful to the national revenue Horn more than one angle. As to the •‘double'* totalisator, which chiefly ulfe;ts metropolitan clubs, that matter is in the same category. for the proposal is one which would he counter to the lucrative business of the fraternity. Belief in regard to taxation foi racing and trotting clubs could not bo expected in the (laming Bill. What there is to be dime in that respect will appear in Mr .Massey’s taxation measures—at lea-1 the i hr', .s will be Imping so. for nn instalment of relief lias been promised definitely bv the .Minister. The Bill will not have a smooth passage even in its contracted form. The extra permits will lie a Imne of contention, and there are likely to he many amendments in regard to the a I location, and generally governing the whale system of rating and trotting. That is what, the man in the stieol hints at, and it would ai.jear that the fraternity loferred to are childly res' nasi hie for the amendments likely l i le hr,night forward. We shall see.