RAILWAY BOARD

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 12015, 18 December 1924, Page 5

RAILWAY BOARD

ANOTHER APPOINTMENT MR JAMES MASON, FORMERLY ASSISTANT MANAGER. MINISTER’S STATEMENT. I The Hon. J. O. Coates, Minister for Railways, made a further statement last night with regard to the reorganisation of the Railway Department. “The formation of a board of mam agement has already been announced,’ said Mr Coates, “but that will not result in any departure from the principle contained in the Government Railways Act which places the con tool of the railways and the department entirely in the hands of the Minister. In the meantime the hoard’s powers will he similar to those held by the General Manager and his assistants, hut the results aimed at are decentralisation and delegation of responsibilities and duties. Briefly the management of the department is now vested in a hoard of three members instead of being entirely in the hands of one general manager. The whole of the correspondence dealing with the details of the department's activities in the various disttricts will be dealt with by other controlling officers. THE NEW CHOICE.

“Mir James Mason, who has held the position of First Assistant General Manager since January last, has now been selected tn fill one of the two remaining positions on the board- No definite decision has yet been arrived at with regard! to the third position,, but arrangements have been made to carry on temporarily by the appointment of an acting member. “It has also been decided as part of, the general decentralisation scheme to appoint two general superintendents, one for the North Island, and one for the South Island responsible directly to the board for operation," commercial matters, and maintenance within eacn island. Officers to fill these positions will he selected in the course of a few days. „ “My object in giving effect to these changes now is to enable the complete reorganisation to foe working smoothly and oe brought into operation as from the commencement of the financial year on April Ist next. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION. “So far as the report of the commission is concerned, although I have had definite proposals in regard to many of the recommendations for some time, I do not propose to make a full statement of the policy with regard to any of the matters de*l» wisfl until such time as the complete report is released for publication.” MR MASON’S CAREER. Mr Mason was born and educated in Auckland. He joined the railway service in 1889 as a cadet. He has been through practically all the ramifications of the business on the traffic side, and has bad experience of the Work in some of the other branches. He was in the distriot trafilo manager’s offioe in Auckland, where he filled various senior positions. During the war he was with Hie Defence Department, where he occupied Qre position of assistant director of recruiting. After the war he resumed duty with the Railway Department, anil was located at the head office in Wellington where he was engaged in various duties foi a few months before taking up the work of representative for the department before the Railway Board of Appeal. In 1922, when the department appointed two commercial agents, he received the appointment of North Island agent. He was appointed First Assistant General Manager at the beginning of this year.