The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1920. THE RAILWAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1920. THE RAILWAYS.

As the result of the working, of the railways for the past year was already known, interest in the Minister's statement to the House! on Thursday was confined to the details. As the curtailment of the service during three months of the year naturally had an adverse effect on the earnings, it is satisfac-! Tory to find that notwithstanding this drawback, the gross revenue! was £763,855 more than in the preceding year, though the net profits were £32,637 less. This decrease was due to the larger expenditure, the working cost having risen from £3,300,575 to £4,105,067, an increase of £796,492. As thene was only £160,323 expended on additions to open lines, additional rolling stock, dwellings and general equipment, it is not surprising to find that only four new heavy tank' engines, three bogie cars, and 279 waggons were putinto traffic, and it is probable that part of the cost of these additions was defrayed in the previous year. If this £160,323 is deducted from the total of the working expenses, it will be seen that, it cost £3.148,252 for wages, coal, oil, and other running charges. Large as is this total, it will be higher during the current year in view of the fact that forty engines, sixteen break vans, nine-ty-nine bogie and five hundred and twenty-six four-wheeled waggons are to be provided, besides which wages and material are ever soaring in cost. It is to be noted that as a set-off against the increased capital cost of £736,458 connected with the open lines, thirteen additional miles have been obtained, and that the percentage of profit has fallen from 4.65 to 4.53. One of the main points in the statement which cannot fail to arouse dissatisfaction is that the important essential works, whieh were treated by Mr. Hiley in 1914 as of great urgency, are still in the category of things to be done. In referring to this matter, Mr. Massey 'expressed regret that no material progress had been made, and at the same time admitted that lack of accommodation resulted in congestion of traffic, and was a serious obstacle to successful operations. Manifestly during the six years of inactivity matters have been growing worse year by year, and this fact may have an important bearing on the higher cost of working the railways, while the expense of carrying out Mr. Hiley's scheme will certainly be largely increased. The capital outlay on the railways practically amounts to forty millions stelrling, while working expenses' lasti year : Jfltaliad,

question naturally arises: Are the people of the Dominion getting good value for all this money? Such a costly concern needs a master mind to infuse that enterprise and initiative which will develop the service on commercial lines. That is the weak point at present. It is quite right to have an experienced officer in charge of the running bf the railways, and it is of equal importance that there should be a commercial expert to advise the Minister on matters of policy and development. If it pays—as it does—large industrial firms to have an organiser and controller in order to obtain the best results and the necessary economy, it would certainly pay to adopt the system with regard to the railways.