Dear Sir,

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 47, 12 February 1943, Page 4

Dear Sir,

Letters to the Editor must be. " clearly written on one side of the paper only and where a nom-de-plume is used the name of' the writer must be included for v reference purposes. The Editor reserves the nghi to abridge, amend or withhold any letter or letters. . AIRPORT PROPOSAL - • Sir, —The attention of my Council lias been ilrawn to a paragraph in your leader under the heading 'Whakatane, a Future Airport' in your issue of 19th January, viz: •'lt. is hardly to the. .credit of the Chamber of Commerce that the proposal, a filer an hour's talk, was merely nodded at with a sort of languid approval. What was wanted was action; the calling together of all local bodies interested and the ■ vigour of persistency Avhich achieves its objective in spite of the great- x est obstacles.' At, a general meeting of the Chamber held on I.lth February, 1941, the matter was first discussed by the Chamber and the following resolution was passed : 'That a letter be sent to the Borough and County Councils inform-" ing that the Chamber of Commerce, supports their endeavours to establish an aerodrome at Whakatane, and that consideration of the matter should be renewed at the end of the present Avar/ The proposer of this resolution . was Mr C. Kingsley-Smitli, and the seconder Mr E. R. Dillicar. In view of the authorship of this resolution, Mr Editor, my Council is of the' opinion that the paragraph in your newspaper referred to above is not a fair comment on the position. The Chamber has kept in close touch with the position with a view to implementing the resolution passed, but i>t considered that no amount of persistency and action would get lis-an aerodrome during the present war. This is confirmed by a letter to the Borough Council from the Minister of Defence dated 10th October, 1941, which states, inter alia: 'In reply to the Borough Council's request ithat early steps be taken", to provide an aerodrome I have, to point out that, under' present circumstances, it is not the policy to give consideration to the construction of aerodromes which are not" deemed necessary for defence pur- "V | poses. As it is not considered necessary for defence purposes to have on aerodrome situated near Whakjatanc, I regret I am unable to' giya 5 s favourable consideration to yoijr „ Council's representations.' You may rest assured, however, Mr Editor, that the 'languid approval' referred to in your leader. will not be evident when the time monies to further our claim for an aerodrome ah Whakatane. ' Thank you for your space, SirYours etc.. , C. W. GOOD, Secretary, Whakatane. Chamber of Commerce. (While admitting that the above case presented by the secretary Qf the Chamber, looks black both from a. civic and personal angle, we Avould insist that the conditions which obtained two: years ago, of which Mr Goods speaks, should not be allowed to take a permanent hold - , ( of our imagination or circumscribe our activities. Events haA T e moved apace and we must not allow ourselves to be. governed by the same limited and; depressed outlook ►. which obtained Avhen this Empire stood alone in the face of the vietorious armies of dictatorship ana slavery. To-day with vidtory in. the offing Ave are considering ways'and means of rehabilitation. Does -not the Chamber think it Avould be fol- - ly to tie itself to. a policy framed tAvo years ago and aAvait slavishly for* the signing of the armistice.The writer, if he Avas responsible for chaining the. Chamber down to v inactivity in the face of opportunity will Avillingly give notice of mtition for rescinding the offending motion. Surely the AA r ar has demonstrated over and over again the fact that policy is governed by the , circumstances, which arise at a cer- ■> tain time. We AA r onder how the Russians AA r ould have feared had ithey £ proceeded unwaA r eringly from their Avar policy of two years ago. No, the. need for action is now, and we again appeal to the Chamber to j make a move for the calling of local bodies together and getting something done before the present Jgs interest sinks once again into ob- jjj livion and goes the way of mosfci of: Whakatane's fondest dreams. Ed.) r (Continued in previous column) r