["The State Steamship Commission", The West Australian, Thursday 14 August 1913, page 6]
THE STATE STEAMSHIP COMMISSION.
The announcement of the Government's decision to revoke the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the management of the State Steamship Service will be received with surprise. The explanation that the resignation of Mr. Sudholz from the position of manager has led to the abandonment of the inquiry will hardly be accepted as satisfactory by the public who are concerned as shareholders in the enterprise. A Royal Commission was not issued for the trial of Mr. Sudholz, even though by virtue of the position he held, his administration would naturally be a matter for searching investigation. The "Government Gazette" of May 23 last stated that a Commission would be a pointed to inquire into and report upon the allegations of mismanagement contained in the report of an interview with Mr. J. J. Holmes published in the "West Australian" on May 6; the management generally of the State Steamship Service, and to report in writing to the Governor. The charges made by Mr. Holmes were clearly not intended to be the sole subject of examination. In fact they were the culmination of a number of more or less serious allegations as to the mismanagement of this State trading enterprise, and it was expected that the entire matter would be sifted to the bottom. But barely the surface of the subject has been penetrated. The inquiry has proved a farce, with the curtain rung down abruptly in the middle of the first act. Mr. Holmes, in a statement published in another column, complains that even his charges against the management, not the manager, had not been heard when the Commission adjourned indefinitely, owing to the regrettable illness of Mr. Sudholz. The relegation of the manager to a less responsible position in the Steamship Service is surely not a sufficient reason for the absolute termination of the inquiry after a few sittings mainly de voted to cross-firing between Mr. Holmes and the chief official. And the public, apparently, are even to be denied any knowledge of the conclusions formed by the Commissioners on what evidence was taken. There are numerous matters on which the public looked for enlightenment from the Royal Commission. Is the relinquishment of the helm by Mr. Sudholz to be taken as an admission of inefficiency in the past management of the State Steamship Service? Even were this to be implied or definitely understood the position would remain highly unsatisfactory. The citizen-shareholders in this trading venture are not so much interested in the question of an individual failure to make a success of the enterprise, as they are concerned with the underlying causes. Mr. Sudholz unquestionably had a hard row to hoe--or a difficult barque to steer. Considerable sympathy will be felt for him. The faults and deficiencies of the Service may not have been due to his lack of managerial ability but to circumstances beyond his control. This is the matter of vital moment the Commission was expected to probe. What is past is irrevocable; but a large amount of public money having been sunk in the establishinent of a State mercantile marine the taxpayer is entitled to the fullest information as to the achievements and prospects of the venture. Only last Thursday the Colonial Secretary speaking in the Legislative Council referred in laudatory terms to Mr. Sudholz. Mr. Drew said that before appointing him "the Government made a thorough investigation and came to the conclusion that there was no better man for the position, in Western Australia at least, whose services could have been secured." Possibly no better man for the position could have been secured for a salary of £480 a year, at which Mr. Sudholz was appointed. Probably a capable successor to the late manager of the Steamship Service will not be attracted by the offer of £600 per annum, the remuneration Mr. Sudholz received after "giving the Government every satisfaction" for a certain period. The financial aspect of the managerial position is a very important one. In his speech last Thursday the Colonial Secretary went to some trouble to prove that the State Service was confronted with many great disadvantages, including the hardy, vigorous and well-established competition of steamship companies. But how far may the fact that private enterprise is vigorous and well-established be attributed to business acumen that will not endanger ships for a ha'porth of tar? A full investiatinon of the State enterprise might have thrown some valuable light on this phase of the matter. The community will be anxious to learn why the inquiry was abandoned and if it is to be absolutely barren of result so far as information for the public is concerned. When questioned last night the Premier said he thought no report would be forwarded to His Excellency. In the Legislative Council on Thursday Mr. Drew stated that the date of the issue of the report was a matter which rested entirely with the Commission itself. Apparently, the Ministerial head of the Department which controls the State Steamship Service, although he must have known at the time that notification of Mr. Sudholz's resignation was to appear in the issue of the "Government Gazette" on the following day, did not understand that the Royal Commission was shortly to be revoked. Mr. Holmes states he has not had an opportunity of completing his evidence and that other witnesses who were anxious to assist in the inquiry, in response to advertisements in the Press, were also baulked by the revocation of the Commission. The negative result of the inquiry must be generally regretted. Not only opponents but supporters of the extension of State enterprise in all directions should deplore the abortive nature of the Royal Commission. The contention that all occasion for examination into the circumstances of the State Steamship Service disappeared with the resignation of Mr. Sudholz from the office of manager will hardly be generally endorsed. The Royal Commission had barely reached the fringe of the field it was expected to cover and minutely examine.
