71 



trol, enjoy such favourable rates as do the North Ame- 

 ican farmers. 



How efficient the American railways are, under 

 normal conditions, despite all the waste due to the 

 fierce competition natural to the American tempera- 

 ment and mode of business, and incidentally to the na- 

 ture of private concerns, has been demonstrated during 

 the war, when not even by the concentration of all the 

 lines in the hands of the Government, with all the ad- 

 vantages of central control, has centralisation been able 

 to reduce freights, or reduce working expenses, or in- 

 crease carrying capacity, or augment the money earning 

 abilities of the lines. The experience acquired from 

 the experiment of central control under the direction 

 of the Sta'te does not speak in favour of State-owned 

 <or State-controlled railways as against private enter- 

 prise, at least in the United States. 



Before entering on another line of policy in this 

 country in regard to railway undertakings it is essen- 

 tial for our advocates of a change to study the results 

 of similar experiments elsewhere : in any case it is more 

 logical to attempt an improvement on the present me- 

 thods before changing them. 



A glance round the world at the different railway 

 systems, the manner of working them and the results 

 attained, shows that whatever the defects that at pre- 

 sent are making themselves felt in our railway exploi- 

 tation, they are only too common to nearly all rail- 

 ways, and not even the U.S.A. with its remarkable ge- 

 nius for managing its transport system is free from 

 blemish. 



Compared to the U.S.A., for example, England 

 with its private lines exclusively, pays treble the 

 freights; neither do the general rates on the mixed sys- 

 tem of State-owned and private lines of Belgium, nor 

 the heavily subsidised or favour-tariffs of the German 

 State lines, prove as low as they are proclaimed, or in 

 fact equal those of the best administrated American 

 lines. Argentina, which previously followed the U.S.A. 

 in order of basic freight rates, is undoubtedly to-day 

 in an inferior position in regard to transport rates^ 

 more so than ever if we take into account the natur- 

 ally low construction costs, and the favourable running 

 charges here compared to other countries. 



DEARER FREIGHTS. 



It is to be presumed that until other satisfactory 

 -.standards of calculations are reached and a definite 



