The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1924. PLAIN TALK REQUIRED.

Southland Times, Issue 19170, 14 February 1924, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1924. PLAIN TALK REQUIRED.

To-day deputations from the Chamber of Commerce and the Southland League will wait on the Minister of Railways with reference to various matters of interest to the province; but it is to be hoped that the speakers will not restrict themselves to arguments concerning time-tables, fares and freights. Business men who have to use the railways know only too well that the troubles from which the railways are suffering go much deeper than questions of through expresses and week-end excursions to tourist resorts, which actually" involve symptoms of ills of a more serious nature. These maladies are not of recent origin; they arise from conditions inseparable from Government monopolies and to-day they appear more serious because the railways are now faced with competition, following on the heels of a period of depression. This is a time when the capacity of a Minister of Railways and the departmental chiefs under him must be severely taxed, but if they are content to meet new conditions with worn-out methods they cannot hope to succeed in effecting a cure. Commercial men know only too well that when charges are raised and service is curtailed for the purpose of restoring a credit balance, the management has come to the end of its resource and disaster threatens. Such methods may be used with temporary success in the case of a monopoly, but in the face of competition they are fatal because they invite the competitor to redouble his efforts and thus to capture a bigger slice of the available trade. The Railway Department is opposed by serious competition, and it is no good dismissing it with an airy wave of the hand. A couple of ye are ago the carriage of petrol by motor lorries was taken lightly, but transportation by motor fraction is increasing and even if licenses and other forms of taxation increase the road charges, the motor will still be a

dangerous competitor because those in charge of this method of carriage seek business and endeavour to meet the real needs of their customers. Flexibility is always desirable in business, but unfortunately the Department, shackling itself with regulations and restricting the authority of its local men, who know best the local requirements, it is not able to meet its competitors on even terms. At various times there has been mention of the existence of Commercial Agents, but it is not clear that these officers actually seek business by getting into personal touch with the railways customers. Mr Coates in Dunedin heard of some occurrences which reveal the Department’s lack of flexibility and no Southland business men could provide him with instances of the same thing, but the Minister wants to be told frankly the shortcomings of his Department as a trading concern. He is trying to put it on a commercial basis, but he cannot hope to do that if he is going to adhere to departmental methods, which seem designed to take only the business that is offered to it. No successful firm has ignored the fact that it has to attract business. Even monopolistic interests, though their charges may be excessive, have sought business wherever and however it could be obtained, and if the commercial men who will meet him to-day desire to help the Minister, they will talk plainly on this aspect of the Railway Department’s troubles.