THE Pukekohe and Waiuku Times PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1917 THE TRUSTEE BOARDS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 260, 20 March 1917, Page 2

THE Pukekohe and Waiuku Times PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS.

TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1917 THE TRUSTEE BOARDS.

' We nothing extenuate, nor let down auaht in malice."

Tiie establishment by the Government of a National Efficiency Board to control atid direct the potential energies of the country into the channels in which they will be most effective in aiding to secure a victorious consummation of the war is a wise, if somewhat belated, effoit to marshal, the industrial forces of the Dominion into one no-related organ • methods toward a single end. That ization, working by carefully directed there is an enormous amount of vital energy either still latent or fruitlessly dissipated by overlapping and lack of methodical guidance that is capable of being utilised if properly (supervised must be patent to the most casual observer and if the Efficiency Board can succeed in converting even a small per centage of this waste into terms of economical production of necessities it will justify its existence.

One of the first acts of the new Board has been to make arrangements for the carrying on of the farms of men serving at the front under tho supervision of Trustees nominated by the Efficiency Board and appointed by the Government. Now that the names of the trustees for seventeen districts in this province have been gazetted it is easy for the public to see how wise a discrimination has been exercised in their selection. It is evident that no little care has been exercised in picking out men not only of unblemished character but of sound practical experience, who may be relied upon to carry out their duties not only impartially but with precision and the efficiency that can only come from ripened knowledge. In the Franklin County the Board has been particularly fortunate in its selection of Trustees. The names of Mr Joseph Flanagan, Chairman of tho County Council, Mr Batty and Mr Robert Lyons will inspire confidence not only iu public opinion but in the minds of the men whose military duties render it necessary for them to leave their farms to the caro of tho Trustees.

Now that the appointments have been made it is to bo hoped that tho Trustees will bo allowod to pursue ♦ heir important avocations with the least possible hampering from either

Government or Efficiency Board. The very nature of the task before the Trustees and the total absence of similar previous experiments to act as precedents seem to make the Training of cast-iron regulations to suit the case an impossibility, and if the red-tape methods so dear to the heart of all Government Departments are attempted to be introduced here disaster must speedily follow. First-class men have been selected and they should be allowed to carry out the unfettered impulses of their own knowledge and experience.