NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20902, 18 June 1931, Page 10

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

RAILWAY GAINS AND LOSSES,

"The construction of a railway does not stand condemned simply because there is no prospect of its returning full interest on the capital cost," says Dr. E. P. Neale in an article on the railway situation in New Zealand, contributed to the Economic Record. "The deficit (where small) may in some cases be less than the gain to the community generally in cheapened production (through ability to obtain requirements or to dispose of products more cheaply) or in saving of time to travellers. The trouble is that those directly served by the line reap almost all the advantage, and the general public pays through the Consolidated Fund a subsidy to make good the railway deficits. It is because of this special benefit in favour of a few that there is so much pressure from local and sectional interests for construction of railways destined to be a burden (in the accountancy sense) on the general taxpayer. It seems logical that in the cases of new developmental lines some sort of betterment tax on those specially benefiting should be devised to meet such cases, of an amount calculated to yield a sum not far below the money value of the advantages expected to accrue. Then railway construction projects would bo viewed more nationally and more rationally; and the evil of political pressure from special local interests would be removed."

ENGLAND'S DESTINY,

An English translation has been published of a book by Dr. Herman Kantorowicz, professor of law at the University of Kiel, whose purpose is to prove to his countrymen that Britain never aimed directly, or indirectly, at the encirclement of Germany. At the close of the book he surveys tho position of the British Empire and the manifold possibilities of developments, political and economic, adverse to its security. "Should these dangers be realised, tho course of the history of England would lead her. not to culminate in a second Roman Empire, but to decline into a second Holland," ho declares. "Many dangers will turn out to be imaginary, others may take a surprising turn toward the good; yet others, again, now unsuspected, may appear above the horizon; to-day it is less possible than ever before to foretell the future, exactly and in detail. The general trend of tho stream of history can bo discerned; it must remain obscure to a human observer for bow long it will maintain its tenor. Thus thero still remains the hope for humanity, and the task for England, that her future may prove worthy of her past.".

THE BRITISH CHARACTER. "A remarkable illustration is furnished by the ancient national game of golf," says Dr. Kantorowicz, in an analysis of the British character. "According to tho usual way of scoring tho winner is the player who takes the least number of strokes, including airshols, or, rather, tho ono who claims to have taken the least number of strokes; for golf differs from every other gamo in that tho players do not check ono another, and, except in official championship matches, are not controlled by any umpiro. Thus the gamo of golf presupposes absolute reliance upon tho veracity of tho opponent and upon his indifference to tho temptations arising from the passion of the game; in other words, it is based upon the 'gentlemanideal.' Altogether this gamo has all tho Anglo-Saxon characteristics. It requires endurance, patience, strength and skill. . . . It is the purest kind of competitive sport, because tho aim is not to overcome, but simply to excel the opponent; each player plays for himself and his aim is not to impede or to outmanoeuvre his adversary, or in fact to take any notice of him whatever."

THE FUTURE OF COAL GAS. Tho opportunities awaiting tho gas industry wero emphasised fty Sir Francis Goodenough, executive chairman of tho British Commercial Gas Association, in a paper contributed to a conference at Galashiels. 110 said their youthful rivals, electricity and oil, were each making a bid for their field of servico. The gas industry rather welcomed competition, so long as it was fair. Tho extension of electricity, either in tho home or in industry, need not and should not necessarily mean a diminution in the use of gas. At the present time only one-sixth of tho coal used annually in Great Britain went through gas or eloctricty works, or was otherwise "treated" to ronder it smokeless. The rest was used "raw," creating smoke and dirt and destroying life and property. While there might bo somo transference of gas business to electricity or of electric business to gas, the still unconverted five-sixths of coal-users Were thoso to ( whom both industries should address themselves, each in the sphere of heat, light, or power best suited to them and economically useful to tho public. Tho incroaso of 27 per cent, between 1920 and 1930 in the national consumption of gas and other statistics proved,'that gas was forging ahead in spite of competition. The day of the usefulness of gas in both home and industry was in fact only beginning. Their responsible men must not be satisfied until no smoke-creating fuel was used, whether in the home or in industry in any city, town, or village in the land.