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MONDAY, DECEMBER 81, 1981 YHE DAILY TI MES - GAZETTE PAGE NINETEEN Canadian National Railways President Is Impresse sion During Past Year Expan By DONALD GORDON, CM.G., LL.D. Chairman and President Canadian National Railways To review the past year is to be essed with the marked wo impr continuous expansion that taken place in every facet of Can- ada's economy. There has been a healthy increase in our popula- tion; our stature as one of the primary food-producing countries in the world remains undiminished and our growth in industrial strength has brought us recogni- tion te t0 a senior mem- ber of the world community. The growth and development achieved during the past year represents the continuation of a trend which be with the onset of the World War and which has proceeded without in- terruption . since. At the same time that mew and important secondary industries have been taking form and thriving in. our healthy economic climate, new Pdiscoveries of natural wealth have been simultaneously ' broadening our hotizons. Improved tech- nologies have given greater scope to the initiative and enterprise of development - minded Canadians and resulted in the opening up of areas whose significance has been known for some time but whose resources were not previously re- garded as economically available. The international situation has played a part in the stimulation of industrial development in this country, giving impetus to the establishment of new sources of strategic materials and influencing the trend of industrial growth. The Canadian National Railways was intimately associated with these activities in 1951. From Newfoundland to British Columbia our engineers and development officers were active, working in close liaison with both Govern- | cables, ® Ll & ed by the Aluminum Company of Canada. These are but two of the major projects with which we, as a railway, have been associated. There have been scores of others, and although many are less spec- tacular, all are making a contribu- tion to Canada's economic future and in most cases to our defence. are essential when valuable new territory is to be up. They are essential, too, if established commerce is to flow in volume with efficiency and at economical rates. In 1951 the Canadian National carried in excess of 90 million tons of freight, 23 million shipments of ex- press and 17 million passengers. Our communications system trans- mitted 14 million telegrams and and we accommodated quarters of a million guests in our hotels. RAILWAYS ESSENTIAL The essentiality of the railways and their ancillary services is not questioned. As a matter of fact, it is taken for granted, and except when a dramatic change occurs-- such as the trend to dieselization-- little public notice is taken of the cumulative effect of improvements that have been made by the rail- ways in their operating tech- niques, equipment and services. Nevertheless, the record has been one of constant progress since the era when the railways made possible a transcontinental economy which could prosper in a land of vast distances. The past year has been no exception, and | the searching out of ways and| méans further to improve our fa-| cilities goes steadily forward. It is to be regretted that it has not | vet been possible to conclude | arrangements with the owners of | the Second Narrows Bridge across | Burrard Inlet which would give | the Canadian National access to| the harbor front of North Vancou-| DONALD GORDON terminals in ada. : . We received 5,205 units of new freight car equipment, and 70 units of new passenger train equipment during the year, and we have more than a thousand units of rolling stock now on order from the builders. Our program ol modernizing passenger cars in our own shops is making good headway. The delivery of new box cars, coupled with an accelerated repair and shopping schedule, has improved the car supply for the movement of the large volumes of freight traffic that has developed, but shortage of steel and other difficulties have unfortunately held deliveries to a slower pace than we would wish. RECORD TONNAGE HANDLED In the record volume of freight tonnage handled last year, the prin- every part of Can- ment and industry, whose com- | ver and thereby help to stimulate (ina) increases were in grain and bined planning indicates that more the industrial growth of that com- | grain products, pulpwood, wood- than $600 millions will be spent in munity to the benefit not only of | 15 ores and concentrates. De- the immediate future on industria] | the community itself but plant and development along our Province generally. lines. INTO NEW AREAS We have begun the construction | was increased by 108 units. These d By | the | nite qifficulties, we did a good | job of meeting the demands of this DIESEL POWER | traffic, and it is gratifying to all Our roster of diesel locomotive Canadian National personnel that our efforts to supply box cars to of a 147-mile rail line from Sher-| have been' placed in service, and meet the critical situation in the ridon, Man., to Lynn Lake where an important property, containing nickel and other strategic metals, is being developed by Sherritt Gordon Mines. Preliminary sur- veys have also started that will -- result in the construction of a 46- mile rail link from Terrace, B.C., to Kitimat where a water power and refinery project, costing at least $500 millions, has been start- we are now awaiting delivery of | 57 additional units for which or-| ders were placed with the manu- facturers during the year. Our| through freight services are now | being operated with diesel power | between Halifax, Montreal, and | Toronto, and between Montreal | and the Lake St. John district, | and diesels are being yged in regu- | lar service on linés and in Prairie Provinces were so well re- ceived by all concerned. Decreases were noted in the movement of an- thracite and bituminous coal, live- stock, crude oil, and automobile bodies and parts. Management is, however, consid- erably concerned because the rev- enues from increased freight traf- fic and higher freight rates are not keeping pace with rapidly mounting operatag costs. The big- gest jump was in our wage bill. We are the largest industrial employer in Canada, and the granting of the 40-hour week with wage increases has created a heavy additional burden of operating expense that is bound to be reflected in our net income account. "We are also the nation's big- gest purchaser of industrial ma- terials, and rising prices hit us hard, For example, lumber costs have climbed 36%, iron and steel almost 10%, ties and rails 5%, and the general index of railway ma- terial prices is up 9%. HIGHWAY CARRIERS Another problem of national in- terest and, indeed, of concern, is that of growing competition from highway carriers. In every part of the country last year the network of highways was improved and ex- tended by Federal and Provincial governments, and the competitive position of motor transport oper- ators accordingly improved. The question of road rail competition is one to which the railways are giving a great deal of time and study. In the Canadian economy there is a place and a need for motor carriers and railways, but there exists an unequal balance of burden and advantages between the two forms of transport. Part of the answer may be found in the exten- sion of railway-owned and oper- ated bus and truck services. New highways routes were established by the Canadian National Railways last year where we found that we could give a better service to cer- tain areas, but there were, and will continue to be, regarded as supple- mentary to our railway operations which, of necessity, are our primary concern. } RATE ADJUSTMENTS Early in the year the report of the Royal Commission on Trans- portation was published. Some of its recommendations have formed the basis of legislation which is now being examined by Parliament, in- cluding' the important principle of freight rate equalization which in- volves primarily a conflict of in- terest between shippers. Implemen- tation of corrective measures recom- mended for adjusting the capital structure of the CNR will do a good deal to dispel the fog of mis- understanding which has surround- fled our financial results and bring into sharper focus the real contri- bution made by the system to the economic life and security of the nation, The report itself is a well organized and informative - docu- ment, providing a sound basis of discussion which will greatly facili- tate Parliamentary consideration of a national transportation policy. Several other matters of interest have a place in this review. These include the progress that has been made on the construction of the Bonaventure freight facilities. in Montreal, which are expected to be completed next year, Alterations and additions to the approaches to Central Station which are now un- derway are also expected to be completed within the next eighteen months, A study of the capacity and de- sign of the classification and stor- | age yards of the system was begun | commercial messages. Major plant during the year. This resulted in additions and betterments now in work being started on an extension |progress will be continued in 1952. of the Turcot yard in Montreal to| We face the new year with hope. provide an increased capacity of | Economically, socially and tech- 2,500 cars. In Toronto and in Ed- monton our freight facilities are being enlarged to take care of the growing volume of traffic through those terminals. The system of centralized traffic control was extended to cover the line from Foleyet to Hornepayne, a distance of 148 miles@®n Northern| Peterboro (CPL -- Word was Ontario. We now have a tofal of received yesterday of the death in 450 miles of track governed by CTC. |Phoenix, Ariz., of Claude Henry | Rogers, 68, senior partner in the THE ROYAL VISIT, | Peterborough Canoe Company and Many distinguished visitors to|a winner of the Military Cross dur- Canada travelled over our lines dur- {ing the First World War. He was ing the year, some in regular trains born in Peterborough. and others in special chartered ward. Our contribution will be to encourage this progress by Provid- ing the most efficieht and depend- able transportation that lies within our power, PETERBORO MAN DIES nologically Canada is moving for- | BLOOD TRANSFUSION - Toronto (CB) -- Thanks to 118 pints of blood -- a record in transfusions for Chorley Park Military Hospital -- Pte. George Mcintosh of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps is facing another new year. He was brought here from Camp Borden early this math with a large stomach ulcer. NEW HEIR BORN London (CP)--Mrs. Max Aitken, wife of Lord Beaverbrook's heir, gave birth to a son Saturday, it was announced yesterday. The 41- vear-old Aitken, born in Montreal, | married Miss Violet de Trafford, | daughter of Sir Humphrey de | Trafford, in Jamaica last January. MAY DELAY SUBWAY Toronto (CP) -- An uncertain steel supply. may force pos! e- ment oi the opening of Toronto's subway, scheduled for Jan. 1, 1954, W. E. P. Duncan, Toronto Trans- portation Commission operations manager, said yesterday in a state- ment. WEATHER FACTOR Weather and water conditions on Pacific streams have a marked ef- fect on natural propagation of sal- mon. EPIC FLIGHT The first plane crossing of the Atlantic by Alcock and Brown in 1919 took 15 hours and 57 minutes. | trains. We were honoured in hav- ing Her Royal Highness The Prin- cess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in our system during the major portion of their Royal Tour in. Canada, and gratified with the commendation received from the Royal party respecting our ser- vices and facilities. In November we took over the eleetric line of the Quebec Railway, Light and Power Company between Quebec and St. Joachim. This gives us a direct connection with our La Malbaie subdivision and the tour- ist and freight traffic over the line is expected substantially to increase our revenues. A contract for the building of a new car ferry, to be operated across the Cabot Strait by the Canadian National, was awarded during the year by the Department of Trans- port. The ship will be designed to carry automobiles, buses and trucks and general freight between New- foundland and the mainland .and, together with new dock facilities to be installed at North Sydney, N.S. and Port-aux-Basques, Nfld, will provide this important communi- cations link with the most modern mechanized ferry operation known. Work on modernising the New- foundland Hotel at St. John's, and building the extension to the Mac- donald Hotel at Edmonton, is mov- ing ahead. The house count at our year-round hotels is expected to show a slight decrease compared | with the previous year, but revenues will be higher because of increased room and meal rates. We accom- modated a greater number of guests at our summer hotels compared with 1950 but in this phase of our operations, as in all others, higher costs for labor and materials will be reflected. Announcement during the year | that a causeway will be built across | Canso Strait was welcomed by the | company. It will provide for faster | movement of train service between | Cape Breton Island and the main- | land and improve rail transporta- | tion generally. A big diversion of | track from present alignment will | be necessary in order that the rail- | | way may use the causeway but our | plans for this are already well ad- | vanced. | Record levels will be reached in | 1851 in the volume of traffic handl- jd by our telegraphs for private {leased wires, radio programme fa- cilities, stock quotation services and an . A $ To Our : .* PATRONS FRIENDS! At this seasoh | wish to extend my thanks to my many customers for their patronage during the past year. On our part we hope to continue to give you better service'in the year ahead. The Fox welding Equipment and gases take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! FOX Welding Equipment and Gases 64 BOND ST. Ww. Distributor of Can. Liquid Air Products { DIAL 3-7743 PROGRESSING wr It has been our business . . . and pleasure to serve Oshawa ...and Ontario County for more than 30 years in the furnace and heating field. 1 CLEVELAND Toridhaet "OIL BURNER \ In the past year we all have seen many improvements take place in almost every field of construc- tion and industry. We have proudly played our small part in these improvements and hope that in 1952 we will again be given an opportunity to further advance with the ever progressive City of Oshawa. Our past achievements, we are sure, with your help, will only be surpassed by us again in 1952, We thank you sincerely for any assistance you might have given us in our endeavors during the past year. We would like at this time to wish one and all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. On behalf of R. H. Lockwood and Staff. ' Tough and rugged in construction. 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