WHAT ENGLAND TEACHES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 40, 10 November 1917, Page 8

WHAT ENGLAND TEACHES

THE FUTILITY OF GRUMBLING,

"The thing that strikes me most forcibly on returning from England," said Mr. Ultan M'Caber' of M'Cabe and Kichardson, "is the amount of grumbling and grousing at the curtailment.of this and that in this country. The people do not appear to realise that at the present time this is the best spot on the face of the earth, and they ought to be very thankful they are here. Take your railways and all this grumbling about the restriction of race-day traffic. It is sibsurd, and I think the railway authorities are doing absolutely the rjght thing under the. circumstances, and would be justified in going further. Take the case of England. There, all the fares havo gone up 50 per cont., and no one is allowed to tako more than 1001b. of personal luggage. I've actually 6een a guard weighing a trunk, and because it weighed 1051b. -he refused to pass it, and the owner had to unpack it, take out abont 101b. weight of stuff, and send it on by parcels post. Wherever a railway service has been found not to be absolutely essential in the general interest of the country, it has been suspended, and in several instances the tracks have been taken up, and' isent over to France for use behind the lines, whero there is now a network of linos representing upwards of KflOO miles of track. "I hanpened to be nt one of the American Club luneheons one day when Lord Northc'iffo introduced to those present a wonderful railway organiser, who had been brought over froyi America to tako over -the management of tho traffic, and he said then That the railway system behind the English and French lines dwarf-, ed every other system in the world, and yet. it was Twinjr all controlled by a few men posted at the important junctions, who .directed the traffic as effectively as the police controlled the street traffic of London. And all tho time additions wero being mado to the track mileage and Tolling stock. Lines had been torn up in Canada and England for use in France, and now America would be helping substantially to extent tho lace-work ot' railways that were suob an important facfor in tho winning of the war. In the lteht of what is going on at Home, and the grumbling one hears here about petty restrictions, it is no enipty phrase when it is said thai New Zealand hardly knows there fi a great war in progress."