THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1909. OUR RAILWAYS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3143, 22 March 1909, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1909. OUR RAILWAYS.

It is an unfortunate phase of our political life that there should be so much pettiness in it. No doubt in the course of time the parish pump type of politician will disappear, and an enlightened democracy will heave a sigh of relief when it realises that he has gone, never to return, but as matters stand at present we must bear with him, and earnestly hope that he will become rapidly less. It is, moreover, a numerous type in our Parliament, and there are members on both sides of the House, who suffer exceedingly from the complaint of parochialism, while even the opposing leaders are not altogether free from the defect. Our politicians wrangle away, each filled with the desire to belittle the other in the eyes of the public, and the country meanwhile patiently waits for the policy of vigorous development, concerning which we hear so much and see so little. It is, also, to be deplored that journalism in some quarters is conducted very much on the same lines, for judging by certain leading articles, which we have noticed recently, and which appear to be as inexhaustible in number as they are puerile in substance, the railways of the Dominion are not being properly managed, and that, consequently, the loss to th° people is untold thousands of pounds. Unquestionably, the criticism is based upon a certain amount of truth, but the Government's chief sin in connection with the railways is not one of commission, but of omission, viz., failure to construct main and branch lines at a rate commensurate with the growth of this young and vigorous country. We are, of course, aware that the construction of railways is not a matter that has to do with the Railways Department, the Public Works Department undertakes the construction of railways, and when the lines are handed over to the Railways Department as they are completed, a broad view of the question should be taken. Both the Public Works and the Railways Department are portions of the State, and under the control of the Government, and, therefore, the Government can hardly be charged with a failure of duty in one respect without the other coming under notice, and the shortcomings to which reference has been made is a vast deal more serious than anything that the Government has done or has not done in connection with our railways. Moreover, in discussing the management of the raiiweys the fact that they are State owned should never be lost sight of. Provided that they are efficiently managed, that is to say, provided there is a complete absence of waste a"d extravagance, and that the maximum number of passengers, and quantities of goods, are carried at a minimum of cost, there cannot be any loss to the country, and if the system of the past discloses a loss so far as the Department is concerned, the extent that it may be desirable to remedy such a state of affairs is ascertainable fairly easily. The watchdogs of the people's liberty are certainly in the right in keeping the closest eye upon railway management, and in commenting candidly and fearlessly upon matters that are worthy of attention, but we should never lose sight of the fact for a single moment that the railways belong to the people, that it is in the hands of the people to develop those railways, that the rapid progress and general prosperity of the country depends upon their development, and that provided they are efficiently managed it is not essential to the welfare of the country that they should pay'iu'the ordinary sense

of the term for tne indirect benefits which tha Government, or the people, derive from the railways are really enormous.