DE LUXE?

NZ Truth, Issue 1199, 22 November 1928, Page 6

DE LUXE?

Travelling On \ Railways ROADJ3ETTER . New Zealand's new . General Manager, of Railways, H. H. Sterling, is, so we understand, above all party politics, and if anything can burnish up the horse of the iron road and clean up his stables this fact should at least help. UOWBVER, the position has to be faced that quite half of the population display a preference to travel more speedily and- at least as cleanly, by road m service cars, and as the tariffs is often cheaper, and rarely more expensive, such a preference cannot be wondered at. There is • strong reason to believe that there is a move on foot to place legislation on the statute book which will help to bolster up the Government railways at the expense of private enterprise, and such action will be taken under a pretence of protecting the private individual against rash business speculation, and the. consequent loss of his capital. ' Accepting this as the basis for legislative attack, it can be asked why the State persists m carrying on an enterprise run on money drained from the long-suffering taxpayers who ._ pay through the nose, and obtain mediocre service for their cash, and all too often the minimum of consequence, or comfort.'. . ■ ... In this regard it is pertinent to ask why more is not done to bring the rolling stock up to date, and to ensure " that the maximum of cleanliness and comfort is given to those who prefer to patronize the railways, or perforce have no option ... Only the blind or imbecile can fail to have observed the disgustingly drab, or even dirty, state of ninety per cent, of the so-called railway stations, and the entire lack of creature comfort provided for those who are compelled to make use of them. Most. of the stations give the impression that they are purely temporary fixtures, and that paint op scrubbing brushes are foreign to . them, while such a word as comfort has never been thought of m connection with them. . As far as sanitary conditions and arrangements are concerned they are a scandal to any civilized community, . and the impression that they must leave' m the minds of persons from overseas, more particularly ' tourists, doea not redound to the credit of this much-boosted Dominion. If attention to such matters depends upon the money-earning capacity of the railways, or is due to their lack of money-earning, then the tariff should be raised to meet such exigencies, leaving it to be* seen whether the public will still pay or travel by other means. Should the public refuse to pay the consequent cost of travel, that is at a cost comparative to the necessities and comforts which civilization demands, it would be conclusively proved that at least, so far as passenger -transport is concerned, the railways are not able to meet competition, and that as they have, been running on a deficit for years past, the public being bled to keep them going, they should either be scrapped, declared bankrupt, or sold to private enterprise, the highest bidder .being the lucky winner. That year after year they should be run at a> heav3' loss, and that the poor lamb-like taxpayer should be bled to make good the endless deficit is beyond all reason. Either N.Z.s iron way should, be scrapped or brought up to date, and those who are unfortunate enough to use it given -value for their money.