PRODUCTIVE WORKS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 31, 6 February 1932, Page 8

PRODUCTIVE WORKS

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —I see the Mayor is advocating another loan for relief work of £50,000 the burden, of course, to be put upon ratepayers. Now, lam not going to condemn the Mayor, for his intentions nre, lam sure, excellent. What I would like to point out is that evidently we have not yet learned our lesson, which is that every penny at this crisis spent in any other way than in increasing production is worse than wasted. Such enterprises as both the Government and the municipality have of late spent millions upon, as the Auckland Railway Station and goods sheds, the Tawa Flat deviation, the numerous railway construction works just closed down, the Uowen street widening and the Mount Victoria tunnel, will for ever stand forth as an astonishing record of what our leaders are worth in times of crisis. The same moneys which are now only draining the country's resources would, wisely expended iv opening up new areas of production, have gone far in settling the unemployment problem Can our leader, not see that an imminent crisis confronts us, when it is quite possible ISew Zealand will be left to its own re sources, and \v<- shall have to be in every sense of the word selr supporting and to rely on ourselves alone? Of what use, then, will all this street widening roadformation, and costly railway stations and post ofhees be? Why are our flax mills not working? Are we to go on for ever importing jute sacks from India when we have far better material here? Yesterday I read of a quantity of phosphates with sulphur landing from the United States, and that, the cost is raised as the price of sulphur has risen in the States Where is White Tsland? Has it "sunk? Have we no enterprise that we'allow a foreign country to impose its own will upon us in this way, when we have an ample Kupply of a far superior quality of the same at oiir doors? What about our roads? We import bitumen from the States in foreign ships. It pays no duty We have here concrete works that if we used our own material, would make better roads and employ thousands.—l am, etc., . T 'J „:„ V, A -:- A- H- GIBSON. " JNgaio, 3rd February, 1932.