The Railways Mr. Baldwin next insists that rating relief is
as desirable for prosperous industries as for depressed industries. The emphasis is very welcome, as the Opposition tried hard to confuse this issue. One might have thought that they had a positive dread of a pros- perous industry becoming more prosperous. Yet what could be better for the country than that a thriving industry should be able to enlarge its enterprises and offer many More openings to well-paid labour? Referring to the depressed basic industries—mainly the coal and iron and steel group—Mr. Baldwin points out that these are strictly dependent upon the efficiency of the railways. There is the heart of the trouble. The heaviest traffic can be carried only on the steel track. It is to this point especially, he says, that help must be directed if unemployment is to be swiftly reduced to normal. The idea of railway reform has been greatly advanced by the 'advocacy of-Lord BeaverbroOk, who has made a special study of railway defects. The expenditure on road work is also to be increased, but Mr. Baldwin is right, we are sure, in giving preference to the railways.
