The Dominion THURSDAY, JULY 3, 1919. A UNITED DEMAND

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 239, 3 July 1919, Page 4

The Dominion THURSDAY, JULY 3, 1919. A UNITED DEMAND

Results of distinctly practical value were reached by the conference of city and provincial local body representatives which was brought to a conclusion yesterday. The outcome of the conference, which was called together at tho instance of the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce, may be summed up as a united and forcible demand for the speedy and radical improvement of railway and other communications, which in their existing state are handicapping development of the city and province. Tho unanimity which marled the proceedings of the conference is not often attained in gatherings of the kind, but on this occasion it was attained easily, in the first place because there is an overwhelming case to be made out for the •improvements demanded, and secondly because thp representatives assembled showed a common-sense determination to concentrate upon essentials, and to avoid .anything in the nature of side-tracking. Sound judgment was_ shown in the initial decision that it must be left to experts to select tho railway routes which will afford adequate means of communication bet.vecn Wellington and the country to the north. Far 100 much time and energy has been wasted in the past in a "battle of the routes," and the only material result has been to provide successive Governments with excuses for inaction and delay. It is an undisputed fact that the present railway over the Rimutakas is a hopeless clog on progress, and as to a vital section of the other main line it may suffice to quote the opinion expressed only a month ago By the late General Manager of Railways, Me. Hiley: "Take the Wellington - Johnrv.tnvillc - Paekakariki line as an example: That lino should never be allowed to remain as part of the main line with its present grades." It is of vital concern to the whole province, and not least to Wellington city, that these conditions should he remedied. Precisely what route the deviated railways may follow—provided always provision is made for the unimpeded flow of the greatest possible volume of traffic—is relatively a matter of indifference. ' In fastening upon these simple essentials, the conference obviously has cleared .the way for a popular demand which the Government will be unable, with any show of justice or reason, or with safety, to neglect or evade.

If the whole case for immediately undertaking these railway deviations rested upon the necessity of providing such transport facilities as are consistent with a period of progress ?':d development, it would still be overwhelmingly strong. But the actual position is that in their existing state the main railways out of Wellington not only impose an intolerable check on development, but involve an enormous waste of money year by year. The construction of the Rimutaka line was a blunder which has been, and will be, paid for year by year and day by day until it is rectified by the construction of a new railway along Ihc best available route. Much the same is true of the Paekaknriki section. The difference, in tho position now reached, is only one of degree. At the conference' on Tues•day, Mr. C. M. Li;ke quoted a report to the effect thai, transport services which cost ;£f>2oo on the line over the Ifimutakas could be. performed on a. pronerly located line »t a cost of £820. It is, as he observed suicidal to go on wasting substance in this way when a deviated railway would not only pay interest on its cost, but effect a very groat saving in addition. Obviously no pica of want of funds is tenable as en excuso_ for delaying such a work. The Rimutaka deviation is as necessary for the sake of economy as in the 'interests of progress and effiand the same consideration is little less weighty as it applies to th* Paekakariki deviation. Something will no doubt be made of the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient body of labour to press forward with tho deviation works, but

it will be the business of the city end district local bodies to probe any such excuse to tho bottom, and' reject it unless it is demonstrably unassailable. All other forms of development are contingent upon adequate and efficient transport facilities, and no other part of New Zealand has better cause than Wellington province to take to heart the emphatic warning, given by Mil. Hiley just before his departure, that unless a great programme of improvements i 3 rapidly carried nut the railways trill retard progress rather than aid it.

Carefully avoiding the obvious error of advancing inexpert opinions in regard to the selection of routes, tho conference made a suggestion which commends itself as wise and reasonable in recommending the Government to set up a board consisting of engineering and commercial experts to determine 1 lie best routes, and to ensure that their proposals are carried into effect. Had it been dealing at largo, with the question of railway construction in the Dominion, the conference presumably would have amplified its proposal and recommended the constitution of a national non-political board of experts to control and direct the expenditure of public money on development work. The total failure under existing conditions to achieve comprehensive control of such undertakings and prosecuto them from Ihe national standpoint, and with an eye to national interests, is the most glaring defect of our public works system as it stands. The most hopeful remedy undoubtedly is to freely delegate authority to a hoard of technical experts which •■voulcl be able to ignore parochial and vote-catching considerations, and to concentrate undividedly upon obtaining the best results for the country as a whole. Alike in petty undertakings and in those of larger scope, tho course of the Public Works Department is determined largely by the necessity of balancing one set of parochial considerations against another, usually with an eye to political effect. The results of this travesty on rational methods appear in many parts of the Dominion in half-made roads and unfiniyhcel fragments of railway; they apuear must conspicuous- '->' of all in the long-continued neglect of a vitally important and urgently needed iniTirovemcnt like the Kimutaka deviation. Tn proposing the creation of a hoard "of engineering and commercial experts," the conference overlooked one very important factor. The Railway's Department, which has to operate the railways when they are built, obviously ought to be represented on a board of this character, or on' a board dealing at largo with railway construction if such a body in duo time is set up.