3 APRIL 1920, Page 24

For the first time in its existence the staid Railway

Clearing House has resorted to propaganda. It has issued a neat pamphlet on The New Railway Rates: How they Affect the Cost oj Living. A large number of typical cases aie cited for foodstuffs, raw materials, and manufactured gods, showing in each case the exact cost of the increased rates. The figures unquestionably prove that" the increases in the railway rates do not appreciably affect the customer." since they are in most cases small fractions

of a penny a pound. It will interest the public to learn that the charge for the carriage of fish from Aberdeen to London is a halfpenny a pound, and that the carriage of fish from Fleetwood to London is a third of a penny a pound. Of course these small fractions of a penny multiply themselves as the fish passes from wholesaler to retailer and from retailer to consumer, but it is clear that the increased railway rates cannot be cited to justify any serious rise in the price of food.