Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20. 1909. THE STATE RAILWAYS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7726, 20 February 1909, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20. 1909. THE STATE RAILWAYS.

Duiung an interview which he granted yesterday to one oi our reporters, the Ekm J. A. Millar, the new Minister of Railways, made .some exceptionally interesting statements. Indeed, what he said was more than interesting, for lie showed that ho is bent on combining judgment with ener~" m his efforts and achievements as Minister of Railways. Mr Millar'6 whole outlook appears to be characterised by clearness mid judgment. This is seen very specially m connection with his references to a prospective loan for improvements designed to increase the safety and efficiency of the railways. It seems, fte. snys," hardly fair to saddle the present users of the railways with the whole burden entailed by the necessary expenditure, and to leave, free of cost, fully equipped lines to future generations. Accordingly, as a certain amount of borrowed money will be absolutely necessary,not for the maintenance of the permanent way, which should be maintained entirely out of revenue, but for the purpose of new equipments, these, to Mr Millar's mind, constitute a fair charge against the future. This good sense and sound logic are exhibited by Mr Millar m other connections. For instance, he says that Ins policy will be to give the greatest facilities possible to the travelling nublic, without impairing the railway revenue, which cannot be further reduced at present, owing to the very large concessions which have already ben granted to users. In fact, no more concessions are to be made, and "one must wait and see what revenue comes from the new lines opened, before ho can consider any further reductions," judicially observes Mr Millar, who discloses what his real ambition is when he says: "I want to see if I cannot make the railways earn their own interest. They have not done so m the past, 3 per cent having been the maximum. 1 wisli to do this, too, without, lif possible, increasng the charges, | and I think that this is quite [ possible. One reason for this is i the opening of the North Island Main i Trunk line between Aucklandand Wellington, which means that through traffic between these cities will probably be carried on with a considerable saving m working expenses, owing to our ability to now work the rolling stock to the fullest advantage." Indeed, m what he says and m what he implies, Mr Millar shows that hi; mind is concentrating itself on what is practically a new policy with respect to the railways of the dominion. There is nothing new m resolving to borrow for improvements from which the future is likely to reap even more benefit than the present i there uj nothing new m determining to promote the safety or increase the efficiency oj the railways iii the interest of the public; but it is a new thing for a Minister of Railways m New Zealand to declare that his policy is essentially opposed to concessions m fares and freights, and that—consistently with theiY safety and efficiency—the railways wiil !)o administrated with a steady determination "to WjvUp .them pay—in addition to all other incidental charges—interest on the cost of their construction. Formerly, it used to be argued, m connection with the "ailways, that Is was "the tfiit-J' (>f tllC State to foster the industries ol! thy country, cheapen the cost of transport, and by so doing assist m finding profitable employment for the people and remunerative markets for the fruits of their labour." These, m fact, are words which were used by the present Premier, Sir Joseph Ward himself, when ho was Minister of Railways: and the concessions which were made during eleven years of his administration to the users of the railways, and to the railway employees, amounted m monetary value to over one 'million pounds sterling, However, those days have passed away; new conditions exist or are | coming into existence; and perhaps Mr Millar's new railway policy is the very policy that is needed by the country m connection with the new order of tilings. Anyway, it is reassuring to know that the Minister is a man of excellent sense; that lie is indnstrious- | ly studying the requirements of the public service, and the railways m their relation thereto; that he- will do nothing on a large scale without the counsel and co-operation of ills colleagues; and that, should his policy require reconsideration, lie will reconsider it with the judgment of a "statesman, not the petulance of a theorist.