"MUST BE MONOPOLY"

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 124, 28 May 1930, Page 16

"MUST BE MONOPOLY"

VICTORIAN RAILWAYS

MOTOR COMPETITION

The Government and the .people of I Victoria must awaken to the fact that the transport services of tho State must be a monopoly—under complete regulation, said Mr. H. W. Clapp, chairman of the Victorian Eailway Commissioners, in a recent speech (states the Melbourne "Age"). That was the tendency the world over. Victoria had about 56,000,000 acres to be served by transport, and a study of tho map would show that about 21,000,000 acreswere more than eight miles from a railway. Tho railways were carrying more than 8,000,000 tons of goods and live stock, and about 150,000,000 passengers each year. Twenty years ago they carried only 4,500,000 tons and 85,000,000 passengers annually. One of the. most notable improvements had been the electrification of ho metropolitan lines, and it could bo said to-day that, with its trams and railways, Melbourne was served more completely and satisfactorily than any other city of its size in the world. Those who conducted tho railways, M •. Clapp continued, considered that in performing their services they were doing something more than the mere carrying of goods and passengers. They were endeavouring to help in the development of the State, endeavouring to help the producers to improve their products and increase their markets. It was not the policy of the people or Government to have their railways making money in a commercial sense, but he thought it was their policy to have tho railways making both ends meet. AT LOW BATES. \ In order to enable the primary pro ducers to sell their products on overseas markets it was necessary to carry their products by rail to the seaboard at specially low rates. The rate for fertilisers was i& per ton per mile, and the rate for wheat was 7-sths of a penny per ton per mile. Last year the freight concessions on what would be considered normal rates ou primary produce amounted to £335,000. In the metropolitan area concessions were given in the form of cheap weekly tickets to enable workmen to live cuteido the congested suburbs close round the city, with the result that Melbourne now had not anything like the congestion, which existed in most other cities Recently a new form of transport — the road motor vehicle —had sprung into being. It had been thought that the Kaihvay Commissioners had been very vindictive towards motor transport. He had'nothing to say against the motor-car,' which was one of the1 wonders of the age, and had brought comfort and happiness to many people, and extended the vision and range of knowledge in a way never dreamt* of before; but the operation of motortrucks in competition with tho railways was another matter. £1,000,000 DEFICIT. This year, the railways were faced with a deficit of £1,000,000. In opera t ing tho railways the Commissioners had to observe Arbitration Court awards and certain standards of wages, and tho people of the State had to pay interest on £74,000,000 worth of bonds outstanding against their railways. In addition, about £1,000,000 a /ear had to be paid from railway revenue for repairs and maintenance of the railways. On the other hand, tho mail owning and operating a motor vehicle in opposition to the railways liad a road given to him to operate on; he paid for

less than a quarter of the damage he did to the roads, he bad no conditions of working hours or wages to observe, becauso this class of business was largely conducted by family groups, which were a law unto themselves. The motor-truck people did not carry superphosphates or wheat, or any of the othor bulky commodities which the railways carried at low rates for the producers. They skimmed the cream from the business, and ran only to towns which they thought would pay.

The Railway Commissioners said that was not competition in any sense. If the motor-truck men had to pay their proper share of tho interest for the use j of the roads and observed the laws of ] the land in regard to wages aru! working conditions, there would not be anything to say about them, because they would not be in the hunt at all. WHAT WAS LEFT. Primary production made up 70 per cent, of the total tonnage transported on the railways, so there remained only 30 per cent, on which the railways had to make" up the loss on subsidised transport. And it was that 30 per cent, which the motor people were trying to take. That was duplication of transport. The people did not seem to realise that it was going on. They could have it if they liked, but they would have to pay for it and the bill would be very heavy. Mr. Clapp added that the Victorian railways, fortunately, had no vested interests against them. In New South Wales, where road competition had been allowed to grow, the railways now had vested interests of £2,000,000 in | competition with them. It was a desperate situation when it reached that stage, but fortunately the railways of Victoria were not in that position, having met the situation early and received support from the Governments. The time was coming when some of the small branch 'railways in -Victoria would have to be abandoned in favour of motor transport. .The Railway Commissioners were not against motor transport. They wanted it co-ordinated with railway transport.