THE RAILWAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 July 1919, Page 6

THE RAILWAYS.

I A REPLY TO CRITICS. BY THE GENERAL MANAGER. A statement on the coal situation, with special reference to recent criticism of the Department, was made by .Mr McVilly, General Manager of Railways, on Wednesday. The statement follows: "On Thursday iast, July 3, by invitation, I attended a conference of representatives of various local bodies and chambers of commerce, held in Wellington, and placed before them a broad outline of the causes leading up to the inauguration of the curtailed time-table operating from July 2- As representative of responsible local bodies and business establishments, the members of the conference were, on the ground of public interest, fully entitled to the information they were seeking, and I endeavored to place before them, without any reservation, a clear and definite statement of the actual facts of .the case. From the reception given to my remarks it was clear that the conference grasped their significance, and recognised tha.t the curtailment of the train service was inevitable and that it had been postponed as long as was prudent and practicable and was only made operative when the Department was driven by the diminished supply of coal to take the step in the best interests of the public. - FACTS RECAPITULATED. "Prefacing my remarks with a statement regarding the object of the rerestrictions I went on to say that in 1913 the Department had a reserve stock of 80,000 tons of coal built up over a period of years to enable the business of the Dominion to be carried on in emergencies. I explained that the approximate consumption of hard coal per anI num was 250,000 tons, of which, roughly, 45 to 48 per cent, had to be imported overseas from New South Wales, owing to the New Zealand mines not being able to supply all the railway requirements, and went on to show the conference how, year by year, in consequence of inability to obtain supplies, caused Bometimes by reduction of shipping, sometimes by reduction of coal output, the reserve stock had been eaten into, until it had reached a point where the stock was only equal to fourteen days' consumption, while the supplies in sight up to the middle of August, viz., !K)00 tons, were not sufficient to carry the Department over another fortnight. I stressed the point that the management, with a full and keen realisation of its responsibilities to the country in respect to the transportation of its commerce, exhausted every legitimate means within its power to obtain such a supply of coal as was required to maintain the full ordinary services. NO FAULT OF THE MANAGEMENT. "I regret to notice evidence of a disposition to misconstrue this statement into a reflection upon the management of the Department, past and present. My figures showing the position of the coal stocks prior to the war are contrasted with the present position, and the conclusion is drawn that the difference amounts to a charge of ineptitude against the iiterim management of the Department. Nothing could be more unfair. Prior to 1913 the Department's reserve stock was built up under normal conditions Up to that time the Department was a free agent in respect to the Regulation of its coal supplies. The fact that such a stock was accumulated in 1913, under such conditions, was merely an incident of prudent management- But surely it should not be necessary to remind anyone how tundamotally these conditions have changed. Since 1914 the Dominion has been taking its part in the world war. Every industry at Home and abroad has been materially affected. Shipping has been diverted from ordinary peace channels and taken for war purposes. Men in tens of thousands have been withdrawn from industries to serve with the colors. Epidemic sickness has ravaged the country and taken its toll in the ranks of the workers. The output of coal from local mines lias decreased by three-quarters of a million tons per annum. "Finally, on the top of these conditions came the disastrous strike of seamen in Australia, which has suddenly cut the Dominion off from supplies upon which we were dependent even when the output of our own mines was at its normal figure. It appears to be lost sight of that in 1915 the condition of coal supplies became so serious as to necessitate the appointment of a Coal Trade Board, under the direction of the Minister of Munitions. This board assumed full control and allocation of all supplies of coal in\the Dominion and the supplies for the Railway Department, in common with other industries, came automatically under its control. The Railway Department has taken care ,to keep the board fully apprised, week by week, of the state of the Department's stocks and requirements, and has, in addition, by the use of i.ts organisation, and, in fact, by every means in its power, assisted the board to obtain both coal and shipping from outside the Dominion, it did this, moreover, with a full knowledge tha,t supplies so arranged would be subject to the board's allocation, and might be, in fact frequently were, diverted to other industries. It seems clear, from consideration of the foregoing, that the strictures upon the management of the Department for failing to look ahead -were based upon incorrect or incomplete information. This applies equally to the assertion that the management, with the War Regulations behind it, had the power, if it chose to. apply it, to commandeer both vessels' and coal mines in order to obtain supplies. The management had no such power, with or without the War Regulations.

WARNING TO'THE PUBLIC, "The further suggestion that fuller warning should have been given to the public of the curtailment of the train services is also made without due consideration of the circumstances. There were many occasions, since the coalsaving time-table of 1017, when the Department's coal stocks were in a critical condition, but such supplies were in sight at these times as justified expectation of the Department being able to maintain the normal services. On each ol these occasions until the present crisis that expectation was realised. It cannot reasonably be contended that the Department would have been justified on of these occasions in creating a feeling of alarm in the minds of the commercial and general public of the Dominion, by issuing warnings of imminent drastic reductions in the railway 'facilities, whcli were subsequently obviated for the time being. To have adop,t. l#d Um paliay ef wjriag 'welf Would

very soon have brought upon the management the condemnation o£ all classes of the community UNREASONABLE CRITICS. "During the war period all sections of the community appreciated the difficulties with which every business establishment was confronted in regard to maintaining stocks to supply the requirements of customers. liven | to-day ,the considered statement of the head of a business firm, or for that matter the statement of one of his employees ,to the effect that orders for goods desired by his customers had been placed with manufacturers who, however, could not ful~l the order owing to war conditions, shortage of labor, or of shipping, is accepted as a satisfactory explanation of tl.e actual position by customers and shareholders alike. No one thinks, m such eiri'-mstances, of levelling & charge of business ineptitude at the head of the firm.; yet, when the responsible head of tho largest Government commercial undertaking in the Dominion—one New Zealand railways—makes a fully considered statement of the facts, and outlined some of the difficulties that the Railway Department has been contending against during the war period in its efforts to obtain and maintain coal supplies sufficient ,to carry on the essential train services, statements implying ineptitude, want of foresight, and inefficiency of management, are levelled at the retiring General Manager—after he has left the Dominion and cannot reply to the attacks—and at officers who have served under Liberal, Refopn, and National Ministries in turn. As a matter of fact, the maintenance of coal stocks was a constant source of anxiety to Mr' Hiley, and his officers, and it will be seen that the position that has arisen is due entirely to circumstances over which neither the Minister of Railways, the late General Manager, Mr Hiley myself, nor other Departmental officers have uie slightest control. Notwithstanding the fact that the railway coal supply was controlled by the Munitions and Supplies Board, Mr Hiley never, at any time, during the last throe years, relaxed his efforts to obtain coal to maintain train services, and\is the officer who was daily closely associated with him in dealing with difficult problems under trying conditions, I taiie. a full share of the responsibility, and say that it was humanly impossible to do more than has been done to keep tho trains running. A FAIR SHARE. "I wish it ,to be definitely understood that nothing in this statement is intended in any way to reflect or throw discredit upon the efforts of the Coal Trade Board in their allocation of the available supplies of coal. They have doubtless had difficulties of their own to contend with. It will be remembered that, charges were made light up to the date of the curtailed time-table that the Railway Department was obtaining more than i.ts due share of coal, and that the rest of the community was being penalised in consequence. Since the cut time-table was brought in the Department is charged with having culpably neglected to lay in sufficient stocks. Tha foregoing statement should show to any impartial person that there is just as little foundation for the one charge as there is for the other,"