328 DO THE RAILWAYS HELP THE FARMERS? 



It is true that this bogey of railway rates in 

 reference to agriculture is brought out from 

 time to time in Great Britain itself, and there 

 are individuals here who continue to cherish the 

 delusion that the British farmer's natural enemies 

 are the railways. But the statement of facts I 

 have already presented as to what other countries 

 are doing for the development of their agricul- 

 tural interests shows that the greatest advantages 

 they have gained have been secured from changes 

 of method which are sufficient in themselves to 

 account for their successful competition with 

 the home producer, so that no practicable re- 

 duction merely in the cost of transport would 

 suffice to enable the British farmer to meet 

 Continental competition, without any resort to 

 the Continental systems of production and com- 

 bination. 



All the same, it should serve a useful purpose 

 to inquire whether or not the railways are sin- 

 cere in their contention that the interests of 

 British agriculture are also their own interests, 

 and whether or not they have really made an 

 earnest effort to help the British farmer by such 

 practical means as lay in their power. Some 

 definite facts on these points ought to go far 

 towards dispelling the lingering delusions there- 

 on, and help to clear the way for a wider re- 



