FALSE ECONOMY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 191, 26 July 1940, Page 4

FALSE ECONOMY

WARM endorsement of the County Council's protest to the Minister controlling the allocation of rural roading grants will be forthcoming from all who are conversant with the wonderful growth and expansion of the Rangitaiki Plains. The Public Works statement, recently released indicates a 50 per cent cut on the usual grants for roads and bridges in the Whakatane County alone. This represents a sum approximating £2,000., and from a constructive point of view is likely to have very serious repercussions. Everyone' will agree that cuts were to be expected in view of the war situation but to halve the figure usually made available in a district which is developing faster than most,, is bound to have a very detrimental effect. The appeal for production increases, will suffer directly, if new and greater areas are left with poor road facilities. It is a false economy at any time to neglect the transport system, even in countries which are developed to an intensified point, but where the area concerned is barely half cultivated, and where new efforts are being made to respond to the appeal for greater production, then it is doubly so. For years the Rangitaiki Plains have suffered from poor roads. Their remarkable development has at long last drawn the official attention to their vast potentialities. Already well-laid sealed roads have been making their way towards the various centres which have steadily grown up under the spell of the pastures which have sprung from swamp. Many miles of main highway have been constructed during the past eighteen months and the whole plan fqr first class road services has been put into operation with a view to bringng this district up to the level of development enjoyed by the Waikato and Thames ■ Valley areas. Roadmaking in a district such as ours is fundamental to progress and it seems a pity when a decent standard was about to be reached, that the sudden withholding of subsides should serve to jeopardise production and stifle the spread of settlement. Mention was made of the programme of bridge construction which the Council had in mind throughout the County, and which if neglected would liead to a very serious state of affairs. Strong, safe bridges are imperative and must be included as absolute essentials in all classes of roading programmes. They are,, in effect, more necessary than the actual roadways themselves,, from a safety point of view. It is to be urgently hoped then, that- the representations of the Council will meet with some success in view of the nature of the district, and also the calls which are at present being made upon it by the Government in the interests of greater production.