"DOESN'T HOLD WATER"

OTTAWA — An MP who
has spent most of his life as
a railroader has taken issue
with the CPR’s claim that
passenger traffic is in a hope-
less decline.

Norman Fawcett, a CNR
conductor who is the New
Democratic Party’s freshman
MP for Nickel Belt, told the
Commons Transport Commit-
tee that in his experience
more and more people are
travelling by rail.

Mr. Fawcett, a member of
the committee which is study-
ing CPR passenger policies,
made his point in questioning
union representatives who
turned up as witnesses after
officials of the CPR had pre-
sented their arguments about
passenger trend.

NO ROOM

“T worked most of last sum-
mer ‘on a passenger run and
the trains were overloaded,”
he said. “There were often
people aboard that we didn’t
really have room for, sitting
in lounges or dining cars be-
cause there were no seats
anywhere else.”

He noted a recent report
by CNR President Donald
Gordon on the success of the
Montreal-Toronto service.
CNR trains were carrying 20
percent more passengers than
were handled by both the
CNR and CPR on the old
pool train arrangement.

“The CPR’s argument that
passenger traffic is falling off
just doesn’t hold water,” Mr.
Fawcett told the committee.
_ “The traffic is there if they’re
willing to handle it.”

FIGURES

Some of the CPR’s cost fig-
ures that were used in argu-
ing for abandonment of the
Dominion transcontinental
train came under criticism in

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THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

a brief from the Canadian
Railway Labor Executive As-
sociation.

Maurice Wright, counsel
for the 14-union group, urged
the committee to make a spe-
cial study of the figures. He
said the CPR’s claim that the
Dominion lost $9,600,000 in
1964 would not likely stand
up under close scrutiny.

NO LOSS

Back in 1960 the CPR had
told the MacPherson Royal
Commission on Transporta-
that it lost $17,000,000 .on
grain traffic in 1958. But
when the commission checked
the cost data, it came up with
a finding that the railway ac-
tually turned a $500,000 profit
of grain operations in that
year.

Mr. Wright said the rail-
way formula for allotting
“variable costs’ between
freight and passenger trains
is a “statistical fantasia.” The

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so-called passenger deficits
were based on misleading
data.

The Ottawa lawyer also
suggested that the CPR’s
drive to get out of the pas-
senger business is a breach
of its contract of 1880 under
which it pledged to forever
efficiently operate the rail-
way. It should be taken to
court and ordered to honour
that contract.

——SeEEeE EEE)

GOOD REASON

A very small boy arrived
home from his first day at
school. “I’m not going back
tomorrow,” he said dejected-
ly. “And why not?” asked
his mother. “Well,” he re-
plied, “I can’t read, can’t
write, and they won’t let me
talk — so what’s the use?”

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