The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY, FRIDAY. APRIL 21, 1911. LEVIN TO GREATFORD RAILWAY DEVIATION.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 21 April 1911, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY, FRIDAY. APRIL 21, 1911. LEVIN TO GREATFORD RAILWAY DEVIATION.

Mri/iTARY historians have recorded that warfare consists of many months of marching and very few days of actual battle. This terse description of war applies to peaceable campaigns |as well as militant ones. The average civil necessity scarcely ever can be attained by a straight dash upon the objective; there is need for sustained endeavour and renewed applications and a general marshalling of forces and firing anew of old arguments aided by newer ones. This general description of a case is equivalent to that of the specific one presented by the Levin-to-Greatford. railway deviation movement. A good start with the resuscitated movement was mado two weeks ago, and but for tho sudden illness of the mayor of Levin (who also is president of the Chamber of Commerce) having interfered with the next step in the way of progress—the revivification of the Levin Chamber of Commerce—further movements would have been apparent ere row. However, the movement is to be carried a stage onward this evening, when a meeting of citizens favourable to the quickening of the Levin Chamber of Commerce will he held,' in the Rorough Council rooms. We trust that there will be a large and representative gathering of business people of tho town present on this Occasion, for the subject primarily responsible for the meeting is one of very great importance to this town and district, as well as to many others. Palmerston North—through the Manawatii Standard—at present is voicing an assumed belief that to-day's movement is hut a feeble effort to re. suscitate a moribund cause, but The Chronicle is prepared to wager its last pound of printer's ink that the nioTonicnt rrw being renewed n ill be persevered in until success Towards the endeavours of those who have worked and are still working to promote tin's good object. Tt is recognised in Levin and elsewhere that there rriav be eighteen 'oonths or two years'time yet to pass before construction works w : ll be 'tarte-I but the necessity for keeping the wheels of agitation revolving in the meantime is uell-fecogmVed at Levin, Foxton, Greatford, Morton, and half a dozen other places . At this stage it seems to us to be appropriate to give the Manawatu Standard's bucket of cold water one more throw — for we recog- < nisc that cold water cast upon 1 ns hot a placo as Levin is in regard j to this matter will result in greater J steam power being generated to help < forward, tho cause. Our contempor- 1

avy's remarks are as follow:— "Wo referred recently to the fact tliat the meeting of LevinGreat ford mil way supporters at Levin was merely a spasmodic attempt to far to a feeble flame Ihe flying embers of the agitation . Tito little metaphor rather jjot on the nei-ves of ono or two of the devotees of this perennial agitation. Rut we notice now that so ardent a supporter of the movement as the Horowhenua Chronicle is possessed of a terrible fear that the enthusiasm of a week past is flickering out frnee again, and 'the Levin journal is at present engaged in rallying tho lethargio members of the community to n sense of their duty. Hero is its editorial comment on the present position' Not a great while has passed since an enthusiastic meeting of Levin citizens demanded speedy prosecution of the trial survey of the direct railway route, hut at least the time should have been sufficient to permit of the Win Chamber of Commerce (to which body further action was referred) giving some indication of a reawakening. Bo far we have failed to se any such signs, but perhaps there will be a. livelier movement manifest after the holidays. A good lead, given early, may help the deviation movement a long way along tho track of success.'* We are afraid that notwithstanding all the speech-making recently indulged in, there is behind; it all a. fear that the agitation is hopeless, and such ' a fear is acting as a .snuffer to what remains of the 'feeble name'."