For years the governor of Western Australia in his palace at Perth could communicate with the rest of the Commonwealth only by ship or telegraph. Now the Transcontinental Railway connects his capital with the mainland.
Despite the expense in handling, Australia still ships the bulk of her wheat in bags and on flat cars. Because of the dry climate, it is safe from rain but much is destroyed by rats.
In each state the lines are operated by one or more commissioners appointed by the cabinet. The Minister for Railways directs legislation and answers questions in the state Parliament; but otherwise the commissioners have a free hand. Federal lines are managed by a railway commissioner for the Commonwealth.
In Sydney I asked a member of the New South Wales railroad commission whether he thought government control of the railroads was a good thing. He replied:
“There is no doubt of it. The results have been so good that we are convinced that such management is for the best interests of the people. We are giving a better service at less cost than private roads could do.”
“But how about the political end of the machine?” I asked. “Do not the politicians try to manage the commissioners and control the vote of your employees?”
“No,” was the reply. “Our laws provide that we shall be absolutely free. The government does not dictate to the chief commissioner and his three assistants. We have our own staff of officials, whom we appoint, and no promotion can be made without our consent. We have about forty thousand employees in this state alone and we are careful to do them justice. We hold a court every other Wednesday, to which our men can appeal if they have grievances. There are many such appeals and about one third of them are settled in favour of the men.”
“How about wages and hours of work?”