MR MILLAR IN AUSTRALIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 372, 25 April 1910, Page 3

MR MILLAR IN AUSTRALIA.

AX INTERESTING INTERVIEW

Sydney, April 13.

Alter a short week in Queensland, Mr. Millar and party werit tnrough to Melbourne yesterday. Seen at the Hotel Australia, Mr. AUuar said: ''The returns of railway revenue and expenditure for the y*ar to 31st March —earnings about £3,250,000, and working expenses about £2,200,000 —are only approximate so far. The exact iigures will .be available presently. But I can say now that the ratio of working expenses to revenue, which was 72.1t) per cent, in the preceding year, is only something over 87 per cent, this year — a reduction of nearly 15 per cent. 1 certainly think that is a good result for one year's working. "The interest earning on capital invested works out this year at about £3 13s Gd per cent., which is not so far short of the 3% per cent, that the money costs us. "This has been a very good revenue year. Traffic in everything but timber has been heavy, and has been well maintained throughout the year. On the expenditure side we have saved considerably by the opening of the Xorth Island Trunk line, giving us through traffic instead of haulage to dead-ends; ana i>y the use of the Manawatu line to bh«* part of the expensive haulage over the Rimutakas. In addition, a number of unprofitable trains have been knocked off, and there is a good spirit of economy throughout the Department. "We're still about 9'per cent, ahead of the Australian expense rate, and a* to a portion of that I've just been noticing what a tremendous difference the suburban traffic makes in a 600,00U city like Sydney, where the trams are run by the commissioners as a railway service. Fancy the trams carrying 850,000 people in a day—more than the whole population of Sydney! It's a wonderful service,, and the railways couldn't get along without it. But the suburban service and the trams together give a special profit that we don't get in New Zealand.

"By the way, I've noticed that the' New * South Wales Commissioners are getting from the papers here almost as severe criticism as the Minister gets in New- Zealand. Without looking for them, I've seen half a dozen articles in half a dozen important papers, in the few days I've been here, complaining bitterly that the Commissioners don't handle the traffic properly. There are probably good reasons for any deficiencies, but the.,point I'm making is that Commissioners' management has no monopoly of -perfection. And Tve heard the opinion expressed that commissioners are very useful politically, because they act as a buffer to divert criticism from the Minister and the Government. Where there are commissioners a Minister simply lays down a line of policy, and the commissioners take all the burden of worry. I don't think you'd find an Australian Minister of Railways anxious to take the personal responsibility on his own shoulders.

"I've spent a good time with the New South Wales and Queensland Commissioners and their chief officers, getting the ins and outs of their method of management. I've inspected the fine railway workshops in both States, the Sydney tramway power-house, and other plants. In Queensland I paid particular attention to the Renault traction train, the first of its kind in these pars. The train has a motor and three trucks, carrying 15 tons. The point is that the motor is used chiefly used for guidance; the trucks have their own power, so that each gets its own grip of the track, and there is no dead-weight haulage. But they need a made road to travel on, and on some of our wet country tracks the train would be no good. Possibly we can use such a train on some roads in dry weather.

"Another thing that struck me is the use they're making here of mechanical stokers, which enable one man to look after eight boilers. And in other ways I've seen and learned a great deal. Naturally, the railway shops here, full of up-to-date devices, are ahead of Addington; it's just a matter of spending money. But we make most of our own locomotives; and in Queensland, with all their outfit, they keep on importing. And I'm sure our maintenance is a long ■way ahead of theirs: we pay more for it, but we get the value. While we're relaying with 701b rails, in Queensland they're going ahead with 601b. "I've been impressed once more with the size of Australia—a big country in comparison with New Zealand. Even Australians don't quite realise, 1 think, what their country's going to be. It's not a quarter railroaded" yet, but you can travel 2500 miles from Rockhampton to Broken Hill, practically in the same train—a five-day express."