MORE WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 50, 1 March 1937, Page 10

MORE WORK

(By "The Post's" Special Reporter.)

LABOUR IDEALS

MINISTER'S PLEA

THE RAILWAY SERVICE

"More work—not less," is . the. slogan that the Minister of, Railways (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) gave the railwaymen of Palmerston North at a social function that had been arranged in his honour on Saturday night. The Minister said that he wished, to make the Railways Department second to none in efficiency, and at the same time preserve a spirit of good will and co-operation among all members of the service. "I have ideals and ambitions in regard to this great national transport system, the railway service," said the Minister. "I want to' see the service efficient, of course. I have met the General Manager, the Assistant General Manager, the district managers, and various other officers, and I have put it to them that there is no reason why this railways system of ours should not become one of the most efficient transport systems in the world. Why should we have any inferior complexes of any kind? We have in" this country a population whose mental capacity, character, and general calibre are untarnished by sentimental slush and humbug and the equal of those of any other peoples. We have a compact country, full self-governing powers, a good climate, a magnificent soil, and a host of assets which none can surpass. If we have ideals we can attain a standard of life equal, and perhaps superior, to any other on the face of the earth. There is no limit to the resources we have got. These are the ideals I conveyed to the officers of the Department, and they took up the challenge. They have undertaken to work for the realisation of those ideals."

Mr. Sullivan said that it' was of the utmost importance that ,they should attain a high ' standard of ' efficiency, but at the same time he wished to '•humanise the.human relations within the service." In a great system like the- railways it was impossible for the Minister, the General Manager, and the Assistant General Manager to examine or investigate every detail of the service. Some confidence had to be imposed on the judgment of those underneath. What. he had asked all those with authority to do was to remember their responsibilities. They had been directed not to colour their judgments with prejudices, but to carry out their responsibilities to their fellows in a spirit of truth and justice. DISCIPLINE ESSENTIAL. In the Department discipline was absolutely essential, and not less work, but more work was required by the Labour Government if the Labour Party's ideals for raising- the standard of life of not only the railwaymen but all members of the community were to be achieved. . The standard of life was based on the productivity ,of the country and every increase in the quantity, of products and services raised the general welfare of the people. He wanted throughout the service ■ a spirit of good will and co-operation and a desire to serve the common good. The Minister said that in the past there had been an unnecessary duplication of. transport services in the Dominion and the position had become uneconomic to the point of stupidity. That state of affairs was coming to an end. The railways were playing their part 'in the attainment of co-ordination among the various systems. They had purchased a number of bus services and would do all that was possible to co-operate with any services run by private" enterprise. It was only common sense that all forms of transport—rail, road, sea, and a ; r —should be organised into one complete whole. The Minister said that the Government had been subjected to a great deal of criticism, and were being told that they had lost a lot of their friends, but everywhere the Ministers went they were warmly received, and the triumphant tour of the Prime Minister through the South Island had shown high regard of the people for the ideals of the Government. A number of drastic things had been done, but they were satisfied that they had been done for the public good. The Government had set out to raise the standard of living and since it had taken office there had been an allround improvement in general economic activity. The returns supplied by the Government Statistician's office, which was composed of men interested only in facts and figures, showed that building permits had increased, more factories were working, larger numbers of people were being employed, the values of primary and secondary products had improved, and the amount of mone> in circulation was unprecedented. It did not matter what national.activities one examined, one found most gratifying results. The official figures he had had placed before him had been truly remarkable, and it was no exaggeration to say that New Zealand" today was the most prosperous country in' the world. NOT FINISHED YET. The Government had not finished yet, continued the Minister. It had a great deal more to do. It hoped next session to put on the Statute Book legislation providing for national superannuation and national health insurance. ; The preparation of these schemes was already under way, and there was no doubt that, despite difficulties, they could further increase the prosperity and welfare of the whole of the people. The ambition of years would come to pass as long as they had the courage to do the things it was necessary to 'do.