STATE RAILWAYS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 232, 1 October 1925, Page 3

STATE RAILWAYS.

RUNNING AT A LOSS. ''?.} " .'_._ l STIMULUS TO INDUSTRY. ... ___] (From Our Own Correspondent.) . » LONDON, August 28. The emergence of nationalisation as a solution acceptable not only to Socialists but, amazingly, to Conservatives faced with the perilous state of our coal mines still engrosses attention. The "Daily Herald" has discovered a supporter of nationalisation of railways in Sir Samuel Instone, chairman of a very enterprising and successful aerial transport company. Imperial Airways, also chairman of several coal and steel and shipping companies. Although lie is a very well grown specimen of the species "Captain of Industry," Sir Samuel, whose former cognomen, Einstein, is a more distinguished one in the world of science than that which he now bears, holds the view that "a nationalised railway system, run deliberately at a loss, with merely nominal freight charges, would repay that loss ten times over by the enormous stimulus it would give to other industries of every description. Unemployment he believes, would he swept away—and with it the dole, which, alone would be enough, to pay the deficit on the railways —a great trade boom would ensue, and the cost of living would fall, whilst wages rose; we should "recapture the coal markets of the world," "every ship at present tied up would be fully occupied." "All this can be done at one stroke by the nationalisation of the raihvaj's. ... I have always been against nationalisation in any form, but I feel .now that we are : up against conditions which this country I has nevr had to face before. My intention .is to make cheap transport do for , Britain to-day what cheap fuel did in .the past generation." | jVIr. Harold Cox, champion par 'excellence of individualism, will have none of it. He says if the whole nation pays to keep up the railways we all pay for transport. He ignores the fact that everyone used that argument against the upkeep of roads. This at least can be said, that if all pay for railway upkeep, it is the key to all industry, and if nationalisation would reduce production costs it would to that extent help us to compete with the foreigner.