THE RAILWAYS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 24, 23 October 1907, Page 5

THE RAILWAYS.

;♦'' ~ ADMINISTRATION ANALYSED. ' HISKS AND, : SAFEGUARDS, : ' THE STANDARD OF EFFICIENCY. A COMPLIMENT TO, THE MINISTER. , ■. (Specially; Written for "The •Dominion.") ;' v . ' ; .--- -.■ '■■■■~■ ; nC-,'' . ,-..'..' :.'..;:,. '■:.-, I ■ It nowi becomes; necessary to. comment.'on'■■ othen.equipmorit thatierepresented' by inter-S locking and safety'appliances, on.-which ' a i huge sum has been expended.' Interlockingof statipn yards saves Inbpur, and is thus-i----desirable, at' large dopots wherev manyr volnclos are practically: in constant move- '-> ment; but cost of .instajlaupn is highland' maintenance is also' oxp'eris'jvo, am] convenience of- working has,, in this way, been secured at .some places at too great an outJay. ■ ■ ■•',. ~/ .;.;;,,;,;!;;.. " : " . ..Safety Appliances. ■ - /• ■ ■ ■ ■'■■■- j • Exception cannot reasonably .be taken to installation, on railways having'a largo business, of block 'appliances : 'antt' 'automatic brakes, buf.it must be borne in mind that .both of them depend for effective application on human agency, , science., and ingenuity not yet having succeeded,'iu. dispensing with the . porsonal equation.'; It has becn ; noticed that employment of safety/.appliances:'that ■ are largely automatic jn ■.action, has not eliminated accidents by'reason.:that their utilisation has a tendency to lessen personal caro and resourcefulness—a'fact : brought'home to us by tho comparatively. recent accident near Uanksido, 'in''" Canterbury,; and "the morerecent and serious oiio (attended with- loss %i :% , lifojon tho Auckland-Rotorua railway. Both .accidents resulted in .great destruction'.'of i rolling. stook, and were 'thus costly;"ai.J 'al- !'. though found to hayb ; been due' to failure's' 7 by.trainmen—and thero is ho • doubt.',' they ' were ■immediately. , duo to that cause—it r is -■ quite clear there .were' contributing' tor' which- tho Administration- isIhe lesson taught by those accidents is ithat-*-the chief share of responsibility for tho' safety,, of i tho. travelling public ,must;.not..ds. trainmen, hut must, bp cxerpised.,>, with mucii watchfulness. 07 tivo officers also. "Unless that bo done our"'' safety appliances wiil continue ...to; fail, to afford tin security they 'are intended .to.' give, '. . and; miich graver* accidents 'may. occur than'. , those,hitherto experienced; . '-. ","\ :/' ."'C'V It' must;bo stated as,' regards', the triick.'-'ctc-ck that,,witlrth'e exception .of. soieo' altiav* atipn required in. the .case'.of tliosq?'proyided ' for 1 carrying sheep,' 'in order to' expedite lb'ad-V; ing nntl unloading' ahd niiiiiraise bruising those'opera tipnsj. thbre/is nuthihgVof. better'' design, for the work to bo,doiic, on .any rail-'.' : way system in the world; 'Tuo same.is true, ; also, of sonic of the more' recent.department- ' ■.ally-constructed auditions to '.the' locomotive.". power.'" '■ '. -■ • .'"- '■ ' ■■- '■ ''.■ •' ■' ■'■-■! ■-■ .•Efficiency; -■■'■ ■-■-■. '•;■ ■' ' " : •' -.' ;, It,is true, of every business that the inort I ', ■efficiently it can.be.cohducted tho cheaper, it:, ought to bo able to cater ■for'vits.patronSvV. Two 'priniu ossontials_fdr satisfactory' opera-: tion or our railways' , are: that equipment' must,:. be - proportionate .to requirci'netits and 'that-', the capacity of the at-a'ft as a whole must-be ..' Rood, and that' interdependence of the chief divisions of traffic—mechanical and maintenance of track and structure—must be. kept ■well balanced and in harmony with > caoh -~ other.v ■ Unless that be, done there , mil be ; efficiency/*-,The writer lias already ■:> .established over-equipment,-..- which ~ indicates ----n. .Tveaknesß—a weakness that'will.-bo oropha-w .sisod;hereafter in dealing- w.ith.-ithcierrjtjcs.t,,-, ,-p£r|prmed,!by the jrajlways and ,t]jeir finailcial,.-,j results: ■ It has been'asserted recently,-vrith'v a good, doal of insistence, by. tlio. press of tho : country; anil iri Parliament, that discontent. .. is rife in the. railway..service, and that tho ;i stalf:. is.'losin'g elliciericy .by 'resignations., ro- ■'. . suiting from, oxistenco of disabilities of i &■ -,- character not .obtaining, in pthef branches of ■ 'State ..employ. Tho illiiiistcr docs not see ■■; any danger in capable'young . employ; but his ; light-hcart.odness .in : that; r particular is mischievous, because, tliorc. are ;; various, features of • tho. service which \ strongly 'indicate that it.cannot afford to loso (iinpl.oyccs pnssesiiilig -'marked' capacity.'; ;If the railways.belonged to a , private company;'•• with Sir Joseph Ward as managing director, .his. anxicty ; . for. results, .nf.a kinci , t-6 assure permanency of.bis positioiV,, wculd naturally make him; alive to retaining .'those.-. of his staff ivho promised.careers of distinguished usefulness. In- his position as Minis-, tor for"Railways-'his obligations to the'eowntry/are' akin.: to those of -a ; rllahp.ging■ of.a.'cbmpany,-and, ihatvlycing- koy.it is-'mani-.C festlv his:duty ! 'to 'h'av'o the railways 'operated'--,'in tiitf manner that will beat s<;rvo the in- " teres.ts, of- tho'country. If he thinks he can ' achieve -'vrh'a't'-is' needed' by^i-etainiii,™''chiefly',' - those" rdcruit.s , .drawn , - from ; the, : ranks, of-..'-humble mediocrity ho is deceiving, 'himself ■■s:' and Tnislea:liiig |th'p. public. There , are many capable officers-still; ; m .the service,: but.their ■ ranks oro- : steadily 'thinning,; Hnd they ■ aror; not now, apparently,, nuinoricftlly sufficient ]■■ to exercise'the requisite-leavening effect, nor,; ': to constitute '■ a • teaching, '.staff ,mth . enough i virility for the considerable raw element that a is being introduced. The , .service is suffering' ■through : promotion being governed ; by length of "service,. irrespective. , , of'; qualification by.., training/ and' it is plain that there'nuist a. return:to.tlie-system of selection "accoriling.;.'; to kiibWled'co. and merit—the., only..'.^system.. \ that "lnisincsa , principles", could approve."' Tho iMinister and the" General Manager •have-both- beon abroad;in- recent;timcsj v ai(d -each of thohv has'announced;' in effect,' 1 that; , :'- - '' in tiio" ; wide field o( tlio'hvorld they trayerseclj v they were unable-to discernanything'.iir raij--' , way practice that they cite. It may savour of heresy to suggest it, but .if.' , the' complacency :withi' -n'Jtich "those assurances'were given was not assumed the■pcrcoptivo;faculties of their'authors,- when iD ! ': quest of knowledge,-.'must.- have.:, been'-' .-ib/ - . 1 normally dull, andiiot, in a condition to war* v rant them in arriving- at conclusions justifying comparative . statements 'of, features .of ,an'y: railway.systems.'.-.%.,...-..' : " '.■■-■, , 'Railway"bharges;.'.-' ,'.:.'; ,-" ; ,V.', V,•■'<. ■We are, periodically ;told by the Minister-i ■that our tarilT:,of charges is distinguished for.>: its .That is true of our ordinary;:, passenwr faros, and of some of the special rates, 'for which the.Minister,..it,is ; under--stood,-"is> entitled ..t0..a1l the ~ credit. . Tho,f difference in . cost .between .hauling ~ light \ trains" and- full trainsis-small; but the .. ence, of .revenuo-is considerable. . It is ' a ," : source!of.anxiety, that is 'world-wide, to rail-';., way- managers to obtain paying loads, '.whe'h .secured by.' , modilica.tion of . charges,',: which still afford a satisfactory ' financial re- "'j suit, if is felt that .an important triumph iias • boon achieved.; Hats off'to Sir JoscphAVard.. 'in this direction 1 As regards our ' goods': - rates, they have, not been modified from tinid :, to time iiv sympathy with altered trade con-'..' ditions as is tho practice oir well-cohd'.ietcd .: railways. 'It is true that concessions havb' ■"'■ been m.-ido, but of a haphazard and nonniatorial'character, and, as; a. wholnjv they afford a pronouuced ; illnstriition of disregard ■'. t>\ the principles of proportion. They, aro higher in many respects than those in force on any other largo system of , railways, that , ■■ of Western Australia exoopted (which is out- .'.. side the palo of liberal railway administra- ■. tion and does not prctbiid. otherwise),- and • higher than is justified by the terms of tha Ministerial policy quoted in No. I; of this series of papers.. A very objectionablo ■ and nou-progressivo fcaturo in - . • 'connection with our freight charges exists iri an - an- ; parent- prejudice against fostering new business. ■Enterprise is stayed by 1 refusals to concede rates which nn industry couldfnfford, ■•' r and , which would not bo lower than minima : already-in foreo in'favour ofother con modi- .- ties. There would not bo gnod grounds fop '■ complaint if refusals in rnch ■ cases were prompted by ; desiro" to 'prot-wt business njready remuneratively handicapped. : Dtj4 when a deaf oar is turned to requirements ' ■which, would establish- now .and , > desirable tKiffic, oho'caii rnly regard it as testimony,' •: otherwise confirmed, of the Administration being out-of-date,'and'unaware, and carelessj of conditions by which it ought to be io;fluenced. ; . . '■• -' .•,- ;