OPENING UP THE BACK BLOCKS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15175, 14 December 1912, Page 4

OPENING UP THE BACK BLOCKS.

—• 'V/f LIGHT RAILWAYS. % ■■ V A PRACTICAL SCHEME ■ Pbtsident Rooskvelt, in summing- up tit . 3 report of thy United States Gauntry Life. , I Commission, stated that the three great and immediate needs of country life were v(1) cooperation, (2) improved education, (3) i better means of communication. The first two of tbe»e remedies hay© already received considerable attention ia': ; "S New Zealand; but no one will deny flu*"-:v£|f there is urgent need to do more to provjd# our country settlers with better eorntnuEJca- i-ll tion, including more railways, better roads, ? I and improved rural mail and telephone ser- M vices. _ ■ : The Belgian*; state that their special :; s|j transit facilities have retarded the cepopu- ':4 lation of the country districts and the ecugestion of the towns, and that the exceed- ' ingly low rentals in Belgium (where work- I men's cottages can be got for 2s 6d to 5» itflj per week!, have been brought about by :!;;i their light railways and their cheap workmen's fares, which enable more than half : I of the working men to live in the rural N districts. ' ; ••. . y '\ Mr. Seebohm Rowntree, in his recent wore ii on Belgium, states that "she has covered $ her surface with a. system of light railways that is more complete than that oil an* other country in the world, and it raajr § safely be said that •without it the zoocesj * •i• she has achieved in agriculture would have . 1 been impossible;" and he adds: "No •' q country will fully develop the resources of '.jfj tho soil unless it can provide an adequate -•'s£ supply of light railways for its local I! transit." " \ \s The Belgians attribute the extraordinary \i development of their light- railway system to the fact that in 1335 the Stat-? granted ;'«§ the sole right to construct and control light 5? railways to a Royal Council, knowa it > if i The National Society of Local Railways." , The director-general and three of the mam- :* Va bers of this council are appointed by the , i %'j Kins, and two are elected bv the share- ,;' y holders of the different lines. There is also 'feu a supervising committee, elected by the ''f shareholders, to safeguard their interests.. 1 All proposals to provide light railways must f£\ bo submitted to this body by ■ the., Cent- •■'"g munal Council of the district through which " J it is to run, together with an uoderiaHog to meet the expenses of the prcUcoirutry }%"' survey and inquiry, as il> its cost, the prob- : j> j able amount of traffic, the effect of its con- f . struction on the State railway system and i v? upon the question of national defease. If the result of this inquiry is wtisuaoty, / I i and the plans are approved by the State r (and out of applications up to ISO 3. for- the :'/W building of 3859 miles, onlv 240 miles were refused), the National Society pmc<!eds to v'i' organ a limited liabilty company to raise the necessary capital to construct and eqoip ' a! it. The State, the provinces, and the am.- -m mune through which the _ line passes talc« ■ "M up nearly all the shares in tliis company. .H The State generally takes half the shares, ~ : J the Provincial Government one-fourth or 1 .U one-third, and tho remainder are itken by . 1 m the commune or by private individuals. ' ' U financial Methods. ( ' ' ! The payments for these shares are spread i! over'a perod of 90 years, the public autaori' » • ;i| ties onlv paying to the National Society of , -} "Local Railways 3£ per cent, on th-pir va!«a ;' jil annually, which covers interest and i-Jwri/K $ cent, sinking fund. And at the end of th<t i | 90 years they become the ptopertv of this .i ; , ;| State and the "public bodies without any .*<[ l { further outlay. _ _ i' ,' It may be asked, if the public autboritics ■ ' ' buy their shares on this deferred ; system, ~l ■ how is the necessary capital obtained to , j meet immediate requirements. - The fact a that as the State guarantee# 05 per cent,'s'",||? on the capital subscribed and the security' 5?,; of the principal, the National Society cask issue State-guaranteed debentures for the, required amount, bearing interest at 3 pit ■ cent., which are- redeemed as .'the rinkinr f[|g fund accumulates. Of course, the price of j, p these debentures varies with the state of W the money market; but the Natioßal./pfc Society has built up a reserve fund out of .itiffi which losses due to tho issue of; debenture® issued below par are met out of the profits of those sold above par, so that up to the |!.||p present the shareholders haxe not been ;iß> called upon to guarantee more than 3i per ;;|Mj cent., though in 1909 the shareholders rof new lines were a,lied upon to pay a 100^ what histher rate. As soon as the capital is 1J % obtained the National Society preparers-:,\ ' ! 7|! tailed plans for the construction of tiio' l %c (l ' 'i which is let by contract and 1 supervised % i 4 the officers of the society, who fir the position of the stations, stopping places, abj junctions. When it is completed tenders are obtained from some industrial companies to work it. The operating company usually : pays the National Society from 30 to 40 »{\*' per cent, of the gross ' rcefiipts. National Society provides the rolling stock, . while the operating company agrees to nislfs a certan number of trains, at rates approved by the Government, and undertakes keep the plant and haildintra fully icntred. 1 ' ]m , It will be seen that while the en Dual is' | raised at a very low rate, owing to Government guarantee, the public authorities retain absolute control over these light lines, and at the end . of: 1 90 years taqripp| become the absolute owners of: them, by Kb ; paying-..annually to the National ;. : Society about one-quarter to one-half per «2r!yj the capital value of their shares—via.,,'-: difference between the percentage. earn«l ..f':; - and the amount of their guarantee—while ; ; in the meantime they act as feeders of tirt|f||| mainlines. . L _ •' Should any particular line earn more thaiiV'.. - 3i per cent, bonuses are _ given ,to' the manager and the, administrative council, and«*Bs| then one-fourth of the balance is paid into i/f j a reserve fund belonging to the line itself, three-eighths to the shareholders, and threeeighths to a National Reserve Fund, to help '.."Jfe less prosperous lines. . r '/Mp Benefits of Good Transit. ' 1 . Wi '■ ■ : - ■'" ■ ' vr^llsi , As the result of the building of these f rS|l light lines, many outlying districts been opened up; and immense qiiaatioei • of agricultural ' produce, ; timber, ores, read ;#; metal, manures, etc-, are being shipped:i*f| over them, and now find readv .and munerativo markots 1 that could not jhiffi handled profitably before. ■' . -■ '- I '* No country has . such a length of lijfW'pi/ ,- railways per square . mile of territory. • a«l4f®i iao country offers such low fares to city workers to live in tho countir||Sl|?|; Belgium. A workman can travel 25 miW.i'®:, day for six days on the State railways' Is 2Jd a week, less than one-tenth of' * penny per mile; or for one double journey« f p|| 62 miles each way the cost is Is 3d. Conser' :. quentlv, in many industrial centres, nwr« j", / than half the workmen live outside " <-4 towns. It is said that 10,000 workmen come , in to Liege from a distance every week, and 1 , - 1 '; that at least 125,000 Belgian workmen J®*®, . |i theee tickets to go to their work. Tho -' ,f *j average faro per passenger is slightly J^ Tho Antwerp Tram Companv also feu® • < early workmen's tickets for which the tlisxi- . ,ig mum charge is one penny for any distance, ~M while the holder can change cars if JaweS*. h'M sary. ■■ . ; _ These improved transit facilities have re- , ; ]J tarded the concentration of industries ana ■ || population in the cities, provided a healthier : life for the wives and children, lessened, the suffering due to unemployment, and stimu-< lated both industrial and agricultural «®\ 'i'. vclopment generally. • How It Is Done. ' i| | To briefly sum up the position. Belgians claim that there is nothing aMlv gous to their system in any other part ot »S the world. "The National Society of Lk>»s ij,| Railways" enables the Government—•- ... ";' £ 1. To raise the capital required for nirn l railways at specially low rates, without in- p creasing the national debt or relinquishing • ;| the public control. _ . • .'\ '-M 2. It relieves them of tho invidious tasa .J----of deciding which lines are most tßgtfW ' |:s| needed, which routes are the best to take, • . 7 -a and from the detailed management of small local lines; thus minimising ; the.» ovus « ? excessive centralisation, while carrying <W» a consistent national policy, and at thesatna ® time leaving each district to profit oy If? j 1 j4| own enterprise. , , 3. The expert advice and long-extendim experience of the officers of the Initio* lai v Society aio at the disposal of the sinai ■ est :j& districts desiring a line, thus" preventing y'Mfi disastrous mistakes and ensuring economical construction. •. ' . . i r « 4. It enables the stronger lines .to assise v; the struggling ones, until all : a . re seH*> supporting; and as their construction facilitates measures of national defence an • ; j| they carry mails and soldiers free they -® relieved from taxation- . . ■„ . 5. These lines materially help the pioneerjk. vj,® Agricultural and industrial ventures sro , jj||| made profitable that were prorionw? fflMWr, munerative, and the necessaries of life c»:n be put on the market at a lower cost. 1 tW have thus, reduced the cost; of living "M creased tlie standard of comfort s rendevwi labour morp mobile, and so equalised in town and country; retarded the exodus, and improved: ' the health < physique of tho nation; reduced uneiapw* ment and helped to solve the housing j|ffi problem, by acting as a safety ' 4 j® keep down rents, and to prevent the jffl nering of urban building lauds. \)|g