Control of the Railways

Southland Times, Issue 22817, 17 February 1936, Page 6

Control of the Railways

The first hint of public protest against the arbitrary sacking of the Railways Board has come from Auckland where the president of the Chamber of Commerce (Mr Gainor Jackson) has warned the Labour Government of the dangers of a return to political control of the railways. As Mr Jackson pointed out the board has greatly extended the services given by the Railways Department and at the same time has improved its finances. Under the old system of ministerial control, to which Mr Sullivan wishes to return, the policy of the department was dictated largely by political expediency; and, as was only to be expected, its finances were in a hopeless mess. It is to be remembered that the railways are a direct charge on the taxpayer; and the less efficiently they are run the greater the burden he has to bear. The present board, whatever its shortcomings, has put the service on a businesslike footing, and has administered and disciplined it better than ever before. The board has won the confidence of business men as well as the gratitude of the general taxpayer; and both these sections of the community should show the Government, plainly and immediately, that they will not tolerate political interference in what is primarily a business undertaking.