Address of the Chairman of the Railway Board to Society of Engineers

Mr. F. J. Jones, who, besides being Chairman of the Railway Board is also President of the Society of Civil Engineers, made a notable contribution to the fund of thought on the vexed labour question in his Presidential Address at Dunedin.

“One of the greatest disturbing factors in the life of the world to-day,” he said, “is the eternal conflict between labour and capital. The loss of efficiency from strikes, lock-outs, and differences in view point between employers and employees is so staggering as to be almost incalculable.

“The question is one of particular interest to engineers because it is in the industrial life of the nation that their interests lie and the great advances in processes, manufactures, and in the means of transportation are largely due to the activities of the profession. The blame for the regrettable state of affairs that arises when labour troubles culminate in a crisis is cast on either side according to whether one belongs to the class of employers or employees, but a calm analysis of the position leads to the inevitable judgment that neither side is in the right.

“It is worth while considering whether engineers may not be able to throw some light on the situation by applying to the problem the same logical reasoning that they use when investigating the fundamental facts that govern their designs. The definition of the work of an engineer is given by the parent Society as being ‘the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man.’ All engineering science is based on natural laws. It is the business of the engineer when dealing with the great forces of nature to study the particular problem he has in hand, with a view to finding out what is the governing law and to define it by means of a mathematical formula. This may be termed the diagnosis. As in medicine, if the position can be accurately diagnosed the remedy is, to the man trained in the science of his profession, comparatively speaking, easy of application. The diagnosis involves the correct measurement of all the forces and variables that affect the matter bringing them to a resultant. As an example take the law governing the flow of water in rivers or open channels. An empirical formula such as Kutters is deduced, which endeavours to take into consideration and affix probable values to all the known variables such as slope, depth, area, roughness, etc. Any such empirical formula arrived at is not correct, but it may be a very fair approximation. We can be sure of one thing: that there is an exact law governing the flow of water could we ‘observingly distil it out.’ The point I wish to make is that all these natural forces—whether it be the flow of water, the weight of an engine on a bridge, the action of the tides, the voltage of an electric current, or the speed of a bullet—obey some definite law which can be expressed mathematically in terms of absolute correctness subject only to our limited knowledge.

“Of all the natural laws the one that appeals to me as being of primary importance is that known as Newton's Third Law of Motion. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. This law might well be termed the first law of nature, its application is so universal. We, as engineers, know the law as expressed in terms of physical science. In terms of moral science the same law was enunciated by St. Paul when he stated ‘Whatsoever a man soweth so shall he also reap.’

“Applying our engineering methods to the problem, we know there is no escaping the law; to get results we must work in conformity with it; and the law connotes that the first essential in dealing with our fellow men is clear abstract justice. When strikes and labour troubles occur, the fact itself is prima facie evidence of unjust dealings. The law that action and reaction are equal and opposite is unfailing. Take the case of Britain to-day with its doles and grants to industries—the quack nostrums of so-called expediency. Clearly the reaction from such specious methods will be proportionate to the amount of expediency used which does not conform to the law. Let me make myself perfectly clear. I am not preaching a sermon, but merely stating indubitable facts. The moral being that, if we keep constantly at the back of our mind the fundamental fact that action and reaction are equal and opposite, and endeavour to act in accordance with it, we will gradually clear up the labour situation by advancing from the abstract to the concrete in the way that all branches of science have advanced.

“The particular application of these remarks to the railway service is more in the nature of what is proposed than what has been accomplished. To get good service the human element must be watched and fostered and given every opportunity to assert its individuality on lines consistent with the well being of the whole service. With this end in view a system of training of staff is in hand and progress in the service will be in accordance with the merits of the case. For special ability, scholarships will be given to enable intensified training to be under taken in subjects germane to railway work. A Magazine to be devoted to the interests of the staff is well under way. This will be issued free to the staff and will cover all variety of interests, not only those appertaining to the service itself, but also to cultural training, musical and page 43 dramatic societies, sports, etc., with which members are concerned. The subject of discipline has also been considered in an endeavour to take a broader view than has been the case in the past. Many errors of judgment are made in the stress of a busy day even by the most competent man; it is intended that these men should be looked upon with leniency, the final object being to punish the guilty mind only…….

General Outlook.

“Efficient transportation is so closely allied to the general welfare of the public that it may be taken as an axiom that it must be organised and carried out on scientifically co-ordinated lines. For close on 100 years the leading means of transportation has been the railway; its growth has been tremendous and for land travel it gradually supplanted all other means. The advent of the internal combustion engine and its use in motor vehicles, has of late years, brought a very strong competitor into the field, and to-day all railways throughout the world are feeling the pressure from the competition of the motor bus and, in a lesser degree, from the motor lorry. As in all new departures in methods it will take some little time to place where the line of demarcation lies between the motor bus and the railway carriage. Where a motor bus enjoys the use of a well surfaced road built and maintained at the expense of the general public without paying an adequate share of the necessary costs, it naturally is able to offer attractions in the way of service and fares not open to its competitors. This, however, is a passing phase; countries throughout the world are investigating the subject with the object of fixing the taxation on a satisfactory basis. With this fixed, and proper costing systems in use to enable the cost of the services to be properly allocated, it will no doubt be found that the motor bus has a limited field in which it can outclass its competitor in the railway ……..

“It must be recognised that both forms of transportation are indispensable and it will be a gain to all when it is recognised where the field of the motor bus begins and ends. The right to carry passengers entails corresponding obligations to the public, and in undertaking the transport of passengers one of the most important obligations is that of providing and maintaining a regular and reliable service. At present many motor bus services, while doing harm to the railways, are being run at a loss. On the other hand when it is clear that a certain zone can be more cheaply operated by motor buses than railways, then the opportunity of taking off the train services should be seized by the Railway Administration with the consequent saving in operating costs. Where the traffic is insufficient for both services people cannot expect full operation at a loss. It must also be clearly recognised that motor bus services have their limitations. For bulk transportation such as is obtained on suburban services in the mornings and evenings the railway is likely to easily hold its own. For the in-between services it may pay the railways better to replace the steam railroad services with buses on the road, both on account of the cheaper operating costs and of the greater mobility of the buses. Experiments in this direction are already being made……..

“In Great Britain, the United States, Australia and other countries railway administrators are fully alive to the fact that it is necessary to co-ordinate the motor services with the railway services rather than to enter into a war of systems which would only be disastrous to both. As previously stated the governing factor in gaining the traffic will be the comparative cost per ton mile of the competing services. Without going into the matter in meticulous detail these costs must include: interest on the capital cost; provision for depreciation and renewals, and the operating cost. The charges per ton mile will then be fixed at a rate sufficient to bring in a revenue to cover all charges …… the difference between profit and loss on a railway is in the obtaining of the last small percentage of revenue which must be coaxed and encouraged and which is easily affected by the lack of conveniences and facilities …… Engineers are more or less familiar with the great advantages of a good costing system in which all work carried out is reduced to, and recorded under, unit costs. The same method is applied to the general working of our railways, and accounts are now kept under a large series of job numbers to enable costs to be analysed…….. The configuration of the country is such that much of it consists of heavy grades and sharp curves……… On good and well maintained straight tracks a speed of 55 miles per hour can be run with perfect comfort, and on curves a speed of eleven times the square root of the radius in chains where the curve is sufficiently canted will give very smooth running.

“The function of a railway is:—

1.	To build up the wealth of the community which it serves;
2.	To pay its way as a business enterprise.

“Generally it may be said that if the construction of a railway is financially justified it must largely benefit the community as a whole. On the other hand there may be sufficient justification in the benefit derived by the community to warrant its construction although the line does not pay its way. In such a case the loss made is a justifiable charge against the community benefited. Logically, if a railway is to be run as a business enterprise, provision should be made for such losses to be recouped to the railway accounts.

“Efficiency must be the criterion, and if the system is run as a business proposition what I might term the mechanical efficiency of the machine as a whole will be enormously greater than if run on the basis of providing free transport. In the latter case all incentive to good work is lost, little progress will be made, and the service will be run at excessive cost. Other things being equal the true measure of efficiency is the balance sheet.”