RAILWAYS AND RACE?.

Hokitika Guardian, 5 October 1917, Page 1

RAILWAYS AND RACE?.

IN7Z. Times. |

Those who braved the.storni <>l transit to visit the Guild Maori Racing ( luh's meeting will not forget their experiences for some time. As has been said to the point of exhaustion the Railway Department absolutely Haunted the public by preventing any trains stop]ting at or near, Otaki, a circumstance that was highly appreciated by the ordinary settlers of the townships on the line. The member for the district was present at the meeting, hut he did not appear to be by any means perturbed by tbe attitude of the Kaijuay Department segregating his district from the outer world. In I act, from recollection, it could he said that lie -beamed all day.

It was expected that something would he said about that matter in Par liament. hut so lay the silence of the tomb has reigned. There are many tilings today that must necessarily be left alone: there are others that need a

spur, or perhaps .two spurs and a whip, and this question of the railways and racing is one of them. It is delightful of the Minister for Railways or the General Manager of the Railwaws to pop up and say “we have not got the facilities.” Everyone knows that the facilities are there. The

men are there, the carriages are there, tin* engines arc there. But what of the coal: Of course the department is conserving its supply of coal; hut why should those who wish to travel to Alanakau, Otaki, or To I-loro suffer any more than the inhabitants of Otautau, or Bninnerton ? If a sepcinl train can be run from Auckland to Pukokohe for a banquet to the Premier, why cannot Bill Smith have his ride to Otaki. On Monday the road from AVellington was absohitaely smothered with motors. There - were motor bikes, bikes, with side ears, two seniors, three seniors, small motors, large motors, and everything up to the huge affair resembling a tank', Wjhicli rumbles along on solid tyres, to the consternation of everyone on the road. X<> one who has not been over tin* Paekakariki hill can imagine going up behind one of those tanks; and no one who went over the hill on -Monday will look forward to a similar experience on account of the weather conditions which prevailed. It was all right going but tile home trip was one to lie remembered. From the time Paekakariki was left a dense log was encountered and little could be seen "a few feet ahead. On such a dangerous hill as that there was miii'li risk and it was really a marvellous thing that no accidents’of nil exex treniely serious nature were recorded. Indeed, from the allties performsd by

some of the cars it would not have been surprising if half a. dozen or more had gone over the bill (not by the

road.) An instance of tbe anomalous manner in which tbe service is run can be gained from the fact that the early train from Palmerston, which stopped at Otaki, had some dozen extra carriages attached to it, purely for .the race people. The railway authorities at Pal merston did not advertise Liu* fact, blit sought publicity through the news columns of the press. However there is no need to labour the matter. I’he fact remains that hundreds of lives were endangered through the action of tin l Railway Department in cutting Otaki out from the mail trains; hundreds of pounds were lost to the Railway Department on that account; and hundreds of pounds were secured by Air. Taxi-Private Enterprise.