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CUPID'S GARDEN.

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.~

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RAILWAY MANAGEMENT. Mr. Thomas Wrigley has just issued a pamphlet in reply t-> objections against a plan for the government and working of a railway," originally brought forward by him. Mr. Wrigley states that his design was first shadowed forth in a letter which appeared in the Times of Feb. 23, 1S5-3, and in August last he sketched it to a meeting of proprietors of the London and North Western Railway. It was afterwards still further brought before pub!ic notice, and many communications were made to the author on the subject. Shareholders in existing companies are, Mr. Wrigley states, "unani- mous in their approval of the plan," although some suggest various alterations in the details. The "objections" co:i.e from what Mr. Wrigley terms the "official" body of proprietors of railway property, and these he combats successfully, we think, in the present pamphlet. Mr. Wrigley's plan for the Government and Working of a Railway" may thus be described in brief outline To place the entire estate of the Company, under a Board of Trustees, who shall hold not less than jESOOO of paid-up stock, and yet in the character of landlord to the property, undertaking the general supervision of the concern. The revenue account is proposed to be placed under the management of a Board of Directors, who shall hold not less than £1000 of paid-up stock, and to act with regard to property in the capacity of Tenants," and have the appointment of servants, the arrangement of traffic charges, &c., in their own hands. The advantages of the scheme are thus set forth By placing the estate of the Company under the care of a Board of Truces, whose duty would be simply con- servative, an effective separation of capital from revenue would be secured, and a stop be put to that ceaseless ex- penditure on capital account, of which shareholders so justly complain and by confiding the working of the railway to a Board of Directors, who being relieved from the responsibilities attaching to the estate, would be then enabled to devote their undivided efforts to developing the facilities of the railway, and to an economical working of the traffic, a better result might be expected. The capital aud revenue being thus managed by dis- tinct bodies, there would then be no possibility of that confusion in the acconnts which renders them unintelli- gible to any but the highly initiated and by the sepa- ration of interests thus established, there would no longer exist the temptation to save revenue at the expense of capital, or to project, new schemes with the view of cover- ing up the deficiencies of management. The dividend derived from such a system ef working would unquestionably be honestly earned, and would present a true standard of the value of the property. The responsibilities of each of the governing bodies would be thus distinctly ma ked, admitting of no mystery or evasion, and the questions or the consideration of the shareholders would be propor ionately simplified. This plan, in its present form, is put forth with the view of affording to lailway shareholders an opportunity of considering its merits, and as a means to those who choose to make an effort of saving their property from ruin." In defending his views, Mr. Wrigley shows that while railway enterprise and improvements have been constant and progressive, railway management has not advanced in the slightest degree. He observes As railways have extended, their governments have been established on the old plan-we have had a succession of castings from the old pattern -copies from a bad original. Jealous to a degree of anything like an intrusion of new ideas from without, railway management has been remaikable for nothing so much for its dogged inertia. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be,' has been the motto of the manager's office and thus we find the system of to-day almost identical with that wbi h obta.ne i a quarter of a centuty ago. Instead of applying the nihs and principles which have been found successful in private enterprise, railway managers haye persisted in treating a railway as a >peciulile, an ex- ception to all such rule instead of relying upon an ener- getic development of the facilities within their reach, accompanied by a rigid economy in the management, as the power wherewith to defend themselvesagainst unexceptional competition, they have chosen to rely upon diplomacy, protection, treaties of amity they have been leasing and buying and making new lines to guard some vulnerable point, and on tho laith of the permanency and success of this policy of protection, they have adopted a scale of expenditure altogether out of harmony with the principles which govern successful enterprise. They have been aim- ing at territorial acquisition, and aping territorial government, ami hence we have routine and red tare, and the natural result of such a course of proceeding failure. "The charge which I have brought against railway directors and managers is Lot against their honour, their integrity, or their good intentions; but it is simply that they are attempting, or rather pretending to do, that which is physic.dy impossible. There are certain condi- tions necessary to a successful result, whether applied to a railway or to any otLer branch of industry." Among other things, Mr. Wrigley insists strongly on paid servants by the company transacting the business If there be one thiug more than another in connection with railway management, upon which I have arrived at a settled conclusion in my own mind, it is this :—that a railway, to be successfully managed, must be manned from top to bottom by paid servants of the company. Call them by whatever name you like, I say that all the ar- rangements necessary to the effective conduct of the traffic -both with regard to the running of trains and the staff of subordinates io be employed, and the mode of conduct- ing the traffic generally-should be under the government of paid officers, who will devote their who.e time, study, and attention to the duties of management so that, irrespective of what the directors may do or leave undone, the business of the company may be always efficiently performed. With regard to rates and fares, I look upon the accidental majority of an unpaid committee, to be the worst of all possible contrivances to airive at the exact point which will tlevelope the largest traffic, and make the best return to the company. That all these matters, upon which the real success of the undertaking depends, can only be determined by a continued study of the ne- cessities and requirements of particular districts; that they are not susceptible of being brought under any general rule or abstract theory, and that they can only be properly and wisely determined, by those who have a complete knowledge of all the circumstances affecting each parti- cular case and, therefore, wherever the anthority be vested to determine these vital questions, whether he be called director, manager, or by any other name, nothing less than an entire devotion of all his energies to the con- sideration of these questions can suffice and, having thus studied the case, be ought to have an opportunity of testing the correctness of his conclusions, and be judged as to his fitness for the duties by the results." Such is an outline of Mr. Wrigley's views, and we recommend his pamphlet to the notice of such of our readers as are interested in railway management.

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