RAILWAY FIGURES.

Thames Star, Volume LVII, Issue 14726, 3 August 1921, Page 2

RAILWAY FIGURES.

THE LATEST RETURN.

NOT SO BAD. (From Our Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, August 1. The startling feature of the public accounts for the June quarter, published last week, was the enormous increase they showed in the railway expenditure. It was" set out in plain figures, and without any explanatory comment, that during the three months the expenditure had mounted up to £1,978,600, an increase of no less than £1,047,318 upon the expenditure during the corresponding quarter of last year. It was not until Saturday that the Acting-Min-ister, or the General Manager, or whoever else is responsible for the supply of such information, thought fit to explain that the position was not really so bad as the figures suggested. A large part of the additional expenditure was due to heavy purchases of coal at high prices, which had stocked the Department’s yards as. they had not been stocked for several years previously. This will be a relief to people who worry themselves about such matters, but it still has to be explained how the hoarding of coal affects the accounts between the two islands. It may throw some light upon the poor showing made by the South Island lines since the beginning of the year.