RAILWAY'S RIVALS.

Auckland Star, Issue 17, 21 January 1932, Page 19

RAILWAY'S RIVALS.

«FIGHT ONLY BEGINNING." _ m STERLING'S STATEMENT. TRIBUTE TO STAI'-F CO-OPERATION. Reference to the Transport. Act and its effect upon the New Zealand rail...v 3 was made recently by the eliairr'.'ui of the Railways Board, Mr. H. 11. Berlin". " Thc li '- llt ' S °"'- V -' USt bC " g,» he said, 'Mint it is beginning " fairer circumstances than hayo ' iihci'to obtained. Everyone will be .11 ■'•- open, and it will be a fairer go than ; have ever had 111 the past. \t thc time Mr. Sterling was spoa.v- ---• ,V at a fathering ot railway officer*, is by personal service that you can •oin the Department and yourselves, ji* declared. "It is by personal service vou are able to weave the bonds.of 1 o*od will between the public as ensdiners and yourselves as those providthe service. It lias been a great "isfaction to me to feel my confidence - --3 iiofc been misplaced. I do not say ••■•■t for the sake of making a speech, ■ut because I have solid facts to back ■;ii inv belief." Mr. Sterling said that he had had to ~-.c sa appeal to every member of ,; r Department to assist, as it fell to Uie Department to effect a drastic cur-t-iilment of costs in order to do som:towards rehabilitating the financial position of the Department and the country. "The response lias been a wonderful' one." he went on. "I feel 1 would not be doing justice to the men of this great service if I did not take this opportunity of saying what our experience has been. Last year our expenditure decreased by £4T6,000, as compared with the previous year. This year our expenditure seems pretty well certain to decrease by over a million pounds. Those are very creditable figures, and I say the result could not have been achieved without the wholehearted co-operation of the staff in the direction, not only of effecting direct economies in connection -with their own work, but in making many valuable suggestions which have been heartily welcomed, and which have been duly acknowledged on every occasion.

"The number of cases which have come jmder my own personal notice of men, some of them in the humblest ranks of thc service, who have written me personal letters with suggestions I have found very helpful indeed, has given me particular encouragement in the belief that raihvaymen are doing their best, and the job will be done ■with credit to themselves and the Department."