The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1918. RAILWAY MISMANAGEMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 February 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1918. RAILWAY MISMANAGEMENT.

The recent announcement that Cabinet has decided there shall be a resumption of a modified form of suburban train services has drawn attention to railway administration generally. It goes very much against the grain to criticise the Government's policy in any of the departments of the State's activities during this time of war stress, but the time has certainly arrived when the railway policy should 'be overhauled, not so much to induce further facilities being granted to the long-suffering public, but f. om the economical point of view, otherwise the mismanagement which is now so apparent may result in serious financial loss. If the railways were in the hands of companies whose business it was to earn dividends, they would cater for the public on at least sane commercial principles. Why, therefore, should the State carry out an exactly opposite policy? That is what the people of tlie Dominion want to know. That the fostering of a fitting ecunomy is an obvious duty we all know, but by curtailing railway facilities and compelling the would-be passengers to spend far more than the railway fares by having to resort to motor car transit is encouraging extravagance and hot economy. Ostensibly the restrictive | policy was due to shortage of men in consequence of the railway workers being required to do their share in the war, so tJhat it was a question of adjusting the train service to the number of men available. If, however, we note what was done ill the Motherland, where the call for men for war services—military and industrial—has been far more serious than in New Zealand, it will be apparent there was no hesitation in finding suitable substitutes for railway work, and the same methods could be and should have been adopted 'by the 'Dominion Government. The services of women could have been enlisted. superannuated men could have been recalled; men not physically fit for the great strain in the fighting line could have been selected for railway work; and even returned soldiers could have contributed a quota to help in maintaining the train service so that the travelling public might be catered for on business lines and the public revenue increased. Xone of these methods seem to have appealed to the railway department or Cabinet. Instead, there has been a masterly policy of inactivity; fares have been raised and facilities curtailed; receipts have fallen and expenditure lias risen, while the discontent of the publie is strongly in evidence. The latest railway returns emphasise the unsoundness of the policy pursued. According to the statement of the Minister of Finance as to the railway returns to December 31 last the decrease in revenue from that source waa £302,127 while the increased expenditure amounted to £38,785, so that the total falling off amounts to nearly £341,000, despite the increased fares and charges. It is not as if this decrease was represent- , savin « B whi °h the people could lend to the Gowwaiat for war >w

poses. Without doubt the greater part of this money has been spent in other directions, including the higher cost of living. It may certainly he assumed Unit (.lie high scale of fares affected the holiday traffic, and that if concessions had 'been granted the revenue would have greatly benefited The people ace directly interested in the rail#iys and expect them to he run on satisfactory lines There is absolutely no excuse for the mismanagement that has brought about these unsatisfactory and disappointing results. Apparently the Government or the department will not be bothered in finding suitable men and women to carry on the full service that is required, although the example of what was done in England is staring them in the face. They take a stolid stand under the banner of "No labor available" and no arguments or pleas have any effect. It is not, however, the want of labor that is the deterrent, but the want of effort to organise and the adoption of a dog-in-the-manger policy instead of one of intelligently directed enterprise. An illustration of this was recently afforded in connection with the refusal of the department to allow the Manawatu County Council to run its tram service over a short section of railway line from Himitangi to Foxton, in or<l?r to carry passengers to and from the Foxton / races, whereby both the Council and the department lost revenue. In notifying the decision to resume the suburban service the Government would have 'been better advised to have given no reason,'but 'here, again, the tendency to take the wrong course is evident. The question of available man power had really nothing to do with the reversal of policy, which was due to the pressure of public opinion, and it is quite clear there has existed no valid reason why the restricted service should have been enforced. It is humiliating to have to confess that the railway department has shown such a lack of ability to cope with current conditions and that instead of serving the public it is inflicting unnecessary inconveniences on the community, besides suffering an appreciable loss of revenue, but what can be expected when the manager is devoting his time to defence matters? The position appears to call for effective treatment before matters go from bad to worse.