LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 548, 13 July 1920, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

"INCUBUS OF ROAD BOARDS."

Sir,—l read with very considerable interest and approval your able leading article under the above heading. From long experience I have come to the conclusion that road boards are a howling and costly farce, for which we ratepayers have to pay very heavily every year. The Manukau County Council loses £I6OO annually in Government subsidies on account of the existence of road boards in the county. Administration, which is of the most feeble and futile order, costs £IBO a year per board. We have not sufficient funds to make a decent job of any one road; engineering advice and supervision has to be secured from outside and paid for at substantial rates, because we cannot atford to employ an engineer on a road board staff. It costs us 3s 6d per yard for the crushing of metal, and anything from 10s to £1 for cartage, whereas the council possesses its own crushing plant and motor lorries. Our "plant", (save the name) consists of wheelbarrows, drays, and shovels, and therefore we get the minimum of work from the maximum of expense. Can you wonder, sir, that I regard the road board methods as but one removal from the cave dwelling era when the most advanced implement consisted of a rock lashed to a pole. RATEPAYER. East Tamaki, 10th July, 1»20.