RAILWAYS’ RIVALS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 19093, 27 January 1932, Page 4

RAILWAYS’ RIVALS

"FIGHT ONLY BEGINNING." Reference to the Transport Act and its effect upon the New Zealand railways was made recently by the chairman of the Railways Board, Mr H. H. Sterling. "The fight is only just b - gining,” he said, "but it is beginning in fairer circumstances than have hitherto obtained. Everyone will be in the open, and it will be a fairer go than we have ever had in the past.” At the time Mr Sterling was speaking at a gathering of railway officers, "It is by personal service that you can help the Department and yourselves.” he declared. “It is by personal service that you are able to weave the bonds of good will between the public as customers and yourselves as those providing the service. It has been a great satisfaction to me to feel my confidence has not been misplaced. I do not say that for the sake of making a speech, but because I have solid facts to back up my belief." Mr Sterling said that he had had to make an appeal to every member of the Department to assist, as it fell to the Department to effect a drastic curtailment of costs in order to do something towards rehabilitating the financial position of the Department and the country. “The response has been a wonderful one,” he went on. "I feel I would not be doing justice to the men of this great service if I did not take this opportunity of saying what our experience has been. Last year our jxpenditure decreased by £476,000. as compared with the previous year. This year oui expenditure seems pretty well certain to decrease by over a million pounds. Those are very creditabie figures, and I say the result could not have been achieved without the wholehearted co-operation of the staff in the direction, not only of effecting direct economies in connection with their own work, but in making many valuable suggestions which have been heartily welcomed, and which have been duly acknowledged on every occasion. “The number of cases which have come under my own personal notice of men, some of them in the humblest ranks of the service, who have written me personal letters with suggestions I have found very helpful indeed, has given me particular encouragement in the belief that railwaymen are doing their best, and the job will be done with credit to themselves and the Department.”