Railways a National Industry 441 



return on the subject. Among those for 1910 were the 

 following : 



s. d 



Hospitals, infirmaries and dispensaries . . . 7,832 10 6 



Convalescent homes and nursing associations . . 440 17 o 



Ambulance, medical, surgical aid and truss societies . 308 i o 



Benevolent and friendly societies, orphan asylums, etc. 790 19 o 



Mechanics', seamen's and fishermen's institutes . 1,278 14 o 



Church funds . . . . . . . 1,365 17 8 



Missions ........ 340 6 6 



Schools and technical institutes . . . . 1,137 18 o 



These contributions are made by the railway companies 

 not so much, presumably, from motives of ordinary philan- 

 thropy, but in return, more or less, for benefits derived, or 

 that might be derived, from the institutions in question by 

 members of their staffs. 



Adding these further subsidiary advantages to the educa- 

 tional, social and recreative facilities offered by the institutes, 

 societies and clubs already spoken of, it will be seen that there 

 is more to be taken into account in regard to the railway 

 service in general than the question of wages alone, and 

 especially so when the statements concerning wages are based 

 on " averages." 



Having seen what are the advantages of the railway service, 

 we may pass on to consider some of its possible disadvantages. 



A return issued by the Board of Trade in August, 1911, 

 gives the latest available information as to the once much- 

 discussed question of railway servants' hours of labour. 

 The special interest in this subject lies, of course, in the fact 

 that if men engaged in the movement of trains work excessive 

 hours the risk of accident is increased ; and the Board of 

 Trade are authorised, under the Act of 1889, to call for 

 particulars of the hours of labour of railway servants. 



At one time the returns published were presented in such 

 a way as to make the position appear much worse than really 

 was the case, even after allowing for unavoidable delays from 

 fog, snowstorms, floods, fluctuations in traffic, and breakdowns 

 or other unforeseen mishaps which have been, and must needs 

 be, contributory causes of prolonged hours of duty. Thus, 

 if an engine-driver, having taken a train to some distant 

 station, returned home comfortably seated in a third-class 

 carriage, he counted in the official returns as being on duty, 



