The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, MAY 31, 1930. A FINANCIAL SUMMARY.

Hokitika Guardian, 31 May 1930, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, MAY 31, 1930. A FINANCIAL SUMMARY.

Ihe financial summary issued by the 1 rime Minister yesterday is arresting because of its serious import, and also lor the very satisfactory reason that e Forbes Ministry is entering on jts duties and its heavy task, with a full sense of the burden of responsibility, i lie drop in primary produce has no doubt had a disconcerting effect on trade generally Apait from (lie loss ol income for the Dominion in the overseas trading, tin* dislocation of trade generally has been considerable, and th,is haw imposed the quiet period which is I'clt so generally. It lias increased unemployment substantially no doulif, and added to the national difficulties. Other factors have/ boon

contributory, also. The situation in Australia has had its reflex in Lhe Dominion. 'l’lie stale of the Grey bar has imposed restrictions in trading here, and were it not for the outlet by the Olira tunnel, the Coast would lie in a very had way indeed at this ,jim tore. But even with all tliii adverse state of affairs, the main cause of the possible deficit for the current year, if the situation is not grappled with, is the loss on the railways. Despite all that lias been done to make the railways pay, they are still falling behind and more seriously as time goes

on. This is ;i symptom which is generally worhl-wiue, so far as llio railways arc concerned. Can nothing ho done io remove lire position;-' As an exchange inis remarked on t-Ue railway problems of the world, so much has uau writLo .l duri.ig recent years concerning tiie position of the railway sen iocs in piaetica.lv every country iii tiie world as a consequence of the coinpeLillun of road transport, that tiicie is.an inclinaiion to adopt almost a fatalistic view of this modern proolem. The recent cable message stating tha t moon- competnion has aileeted the ecoi.omie situation in Germany to siuh an extent that the railways are credited with having lost £20,0b)0,(XX) last year might be received wuJiout comment, lint it is necessary, before tuis ioss can tie legarcted as inevitable, to recall that Germany, if not groaning, is at least grumbling at the heavy commitmeius wmcii she has to meet under the terms of the reparations p.an. It used to he said that a poor apple crop m Normandy meant a. poor champagne year, and it must be remembered that if Germany is econolcally depressed her financial authorities may not be unwilling to hold responsible some necessary undertaking, su b as the railways, in order to save a possibly -embarrassing inquiry by the Allied representatives imo the whole economic system of the country, if the cable message is accepted, however, as stating the bate truth in attributing unsatisfactory economic conditions in Germany to road transport competition with the railways, it is still unnecessary to regard the problem tuns presented as Impossible of solution. The example of Groat Britain may well he cited as nn encouragement to German railway interests to cut then- losses by the process known as rationalisation, and, though the railways in New Zealand are on a different footing for various reasons, it would appear that what is being done at home might repay study as a possible remedy, at least in part, for tiie losses sustained by me Dominion system. The railways in Great Britain have, it is common knowledge, been carrying on under immense difficulties for a number of years, but a survey recently issued by the Ministry of 'Transport suggests that they are recovering from tiie serious depression caused, mainly, by the increase in motor transport The impressive fact stands out that the British railways last year carried forty million more people than in 1928. Compared with 1927 the increase is sixty million people, and tiie total number of passengers was more than 1200 millions. The only conclusion that can be reached is that part of what tiie railways have lost is being regained, and that the. process of recuperation is progressive' The railways have succeeded, also, in showing a slight increase m revenue on the year’s operations, though this, significantly enough, is not due to the additional number of persons who travelled by rail, but to a swelling of goods traffic receipts, for passenger patronage has increased somewhat in proportion as fares have beon reduced. The process of rationalisation does not, however, stop at encouraging people to travel by rail because they can thus travel more cheaply. The new system recently introduced puts the railways Into partnership with established road transport undertakings over the whole of Great Britain, and the result is that tiie transport facilities of the country are greatly increased, and a more happy era for both road and rail services appears to have replaced the bntor rivalry and cut-throat policy of the more strenuously competitive days. The problem in New Zealand is, as has been stated, dissimilar, principally because many of our railway services are of a pioneering nature and the roads so frequently run parallel with the permanent way. In the case of Germany, on the other hand, the problem should be in closer relation,ship with that which is being solved in Great Britain through co-ordination of road and rail systems, and it might yield to similar treatment. The newly appointed *. minister of Railways, Mr Veitch, is going to have a very difficult task to reorganise our railways, even to reduce the annual deficit, let alone wipe it out. But as a practical railwayman lie might he able to find a way out. Let us hope so.