A CONVERT TO COMMON-SENSE.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13881, 4 November 1910, Page 6

A CONVERT TO COMMON-SENSE.

Tho Tasnianian Gorernmentj it is announced, lias decided to appoint a Commissioner of Railways instead of a general manager, in order to do away with tho possibility of political influence. The Railway Management Bill, -,vhich was to provide for this change, was announced in the Tasmanian Parliament a week or two ago, and has < apparently been nassed. It was obviously necessary that something' ■hould be done to improve the position • >f tho Tasmanian railways. Their rarning powers are the lowest of any j raihvaj-s in Australasia. The porcent- j

ago of net earnings to capital invented was, in 1901. only 2.09, and it has not since reached thai figure, ha\ ing varied ii. '.1:0 .siiccecdiiiu years from 1.7-1 to ] .90. Wo have not yrt seen this year's return, but there is no reason to believe that v shewed any improvement. Tho gloss receipts, on a capital expenditure of over our mi'lions. were only £280,000 tor the year in June. l£XiO, and oniy £76,000 remained aftor working expires had been deducted. J Tho interest would come to al least as much ivj.*in. i"ii<* Tasmaniun railway?, on thii showing, arc nraoi:Vally bankrupt, and would Ik , qiute so if it tvtro not j that the Government makes m> tho don't it. Whether the- many subject;; of complaint ayainsi the management of the railways which were discussed during tho recent Budget debate aro all due to the baneful effects of political influence- is not clear, but from whatever cause th'e troubles arise, the railways could hardly be in a worse hole than they are in, and the new Commissioner will have his work cut out for him in attempting to manage them with less expenditure and efficiency. Tasmania's action leaves New Zealand the only country in Australasia in which the direct control of railways is retained by the State. In all the States in Australia Commissioner control is the rule, and tho people are not rot eryins out for Ministerial control; Tasmania has joined the majority in the hope that the change may result in her railways being pulled out of the mud. Only New Zealand, whoso return of net earnings compares very poorly with the average Australian figures, sticks to the bad old way. Yet even here one hopes that the logic of facts will in time convince the country that wo should be consulting our own interests if we placed tho railways under Commissioners, for the samo good reason that has led Tasmania, to adopt that course.