RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 272, 20 April 1914, Page 4

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

In the light of the recent statement made by the General Manager of Railways, Mr. Hiley, it would .-.ceil) that the Government has set him a task which will bring a storm about his ears. Under the old regime which terminated or. Mr. Ililoy taking up the reins, tilings had got into a deplorable rut, and it is not surprising that tho device of importdng a manager was resorted to. What was wanted was a steady man of up-to-date methods who would improve the facilities for travellers and the consignors of freight, and by the best and most economical means run file railways for tho good of all, but above every consideration the essentials were quicker transit, and cheaper fares and freights. The people, theoretically, own the railways, and are actually responsible for tho capital involved in their construction. It is- only natural, therefore, that so long as the railways are made to pay expenses and interest on capital, that is all they are expected to do. Our system of Government demands that the people relegate their power to a few men who constitute the Ministry, and Who do pretty much as they please while in power. Their word is law. Up t# the present the new broom does not appear to have d#ne much sweeping, but the expenses are piling higher and higher. A certain amount of time was necessary to enable the new manager to get a grip of the details of his work, and it nmy be assumed that this important preliminary has been accomplished so that the time for action may justly .be oxpocted to Slave arrived. The wliole of Mr. Hiley's railway career may be 9&id to hare .been apent in assisting his employers to declare dividends—t'he larger tho better, but that is just what I lie is not wanted to do in New Zealand. ' If that is the strongest point which overshadows all othor essentials such as the J people of the Dominion are looking for, > and if lie has mo faculty for improving ' the service, and giving the public the > full benefit of its railway system, but only a thumb screw for levelling up the tariff, let him, in the words addressed by Carlisle to Voltaire, "Take our thanks then—and himself away." The people of Xew Zealand have no use for a railway manager Whose chief aim is to be an j earner of profits. They rightly demand, and that promptly, a far quicker service than that performed in the past, a reduction ia the expenses instead of 1 an increase, a reduction in fares and J freights in place of a loveiling-up, and I an end made of the mixed goods and | passenger trains which jolt and jar travellers in a barbaric fashion, a ton- J venient week-end service that will en- j able the toilers to recuperate at the » seaside, or visit friends, and other conveniences. The people have the right to the utmost consideration, but they are not anxious for the privilege of making heavier contributions t» the Treasury chest. Does Mr. Hiloy understand Ulie position of affairs in this matter? Either he does not, or he is being'made the of the Government. In j the process of developing the country it i? imperative ttat the railways play an important part, not as profit-earning machines, but as aids to the settlers, and it stands to reason that the tariff shall he at the lowest possible rate By keeping down expenses and simplifying working arrangements fares and freights can l)e eheapened. What is done customarily in other countries matters not one iota. sfew Zealand can well make her own arrangements, and even

it tho people prefer to carry on the railways at a loss no harm would be done. That, 'however, is not necessary. The railways, if managed as they should be, can pay their way and still give satis- ' factory- service to the people. To talk of levelling up the tariff is surely a sign of weakness ttwt «alls for a remedy.