RAILWAY FIGURES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 March 1939, Page 6

RAILWAY FIGURES

MR HAMILTON’S CRITICISM. REPLY BY MINISTER. (By Telegraph— Trees Association.) AUCKLAND, March 26. “Nobody should be more aware than Mr Hamilton of the futility of endeavouring to fool the people of New Zealand for all or even some of the time. He and the party he leads received a salutary lesson in this regard at the elections held in November, 1935, and that lesson was repeated with emphasis at the recent general elections toward the end of last year,” said the Minister of Railways, Mr Sullivan, in replying to the statement made at Rotorua by the Leader of the Opposition to the effect that the railways were not paying working expenses. “Such a statement can only be attributed to unthinkable ignorance such as one would scarcely expect from a man occupying Mr Hamilton’s position, or it may be merely another phase of the old game of attempting to fool the people,” the Minister said. “The position is that the official figures quoted by me, and to which Mr Hamilton referred, are in no way contradicted by him, but he endeavours to bolster up his contention that the railways are not paying working expenses by comparing a full year’s working on the one hand with only portion of a year on the other hand, omitting, of course, three oi' four months of the year during which the department's traffic is the busiest and the larger proportion of its net revenue is accumulated.

“For the information of the general public and to indicate the effect of the months omitted from Mr Hamilton’s comparison,” said Mr Sullivan, “I would point out that the percentage ci working expenses to revenue from April 1, 1938, to January 7, 1939, was 99.21. and not 103.5, as mentioned by Mr Hamilton, while the latest figures available to me from April 1, 1938, to March 4, 1939. show the percentage of working expenses as 94.70 of revenue. I confidently anticipate that the accounts for the year ended March 31 will show working expenses at about 92.5 per cent of gross revenue, giving a net revenue of approximately £700,000

“Mr Hamilton states that for the year prior to the increase of fares and freights on December 11 last it cost the Railways Department £IOG to earn every £lOO. Official figures show that for the year prior to December 11, 1938. working expenses were 95.54 per cent of revenue. Mr Hamilton quotes the figures for 1935 and 1936 for comparison with those of the current year, but he omits to state that by means of wages and salary cuts during the two vears referred to an amount exceeding £833.000 was filched from the employees of the department to swell the net revenue and. to make an improved -.hewing in the returns. "Even when dealing with minor matmrs in the latter portion of his speech Mr Hamilton was apparently unable to confine himself to facts. When he referred to increases of up to 50 per rent in minor charges, which,” said Mr Sullivan "have not been made, and alm when he states an increase has been made in the charge for sandwiches at railway refreshment rooms, which is also contrary to fact, he is possibly blaming the present Government for an increase in the price of sandwiches was imposed under the previous Government and subsequently removed.