THE TRAMWAY QUESTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 218, 3 February 1913, Page 8

THE TRAMWAY QUESTION.

THE PRESS CRITICISED. Mr. -las. MeLeod writes as follows: 1 have, in common ' with most local residents, been watching with Home interest the course of events in the evolving of the scheme of municipal traction, and nothing in connection with this now four-year-old proposal is so extraordinary, to my inind, as the attitude of the ii( wspapers towards the shortly to he decided loan proposals. If niv memory serves me aright, the newspapers have with more or less regularity during the pest four years been urging on the ratepayers the advisability of adopting an eieetric tramway system. I have some recollection also of the newspapers having agreed that the only question to be decided was which of three systems of electric tramways would best suit the local conditions and requirements. A good deal of space was devoted liv the News, editorially and per paragraph, to urging the merits of the Edison storage battery cars, as perhaps more up-to-date than the overhead trolley system. The fmotor 'bus could not get a hearing ill comparison. I seem to recollect also that but a few months ago when one or two advocates of the motor 'bus were assiduously championing its claims through the correspondence columns, editorial footnotes and leaders demolishing the 'bus theory were of almost daily occurrence. Having therefore encouraged the election of a Borough Council and a Mayor favorable to tramways, and from time to time called for expedition in the framing of the proposals, having assiduously supported the expenditure of some thousands of pounds on plant and material to increase the power of the electric generating plant to supply motive power for tramways; having, in short, done everything possible to induce the Borough Council to frame definite proposals for the installation of electric tramways, the newspapers suddenly execute a volte face of almost unparalleled audacity. For inconsistency, it would certainly be dillicult to equal the wobbles of the press in its dealings with local politics. To my mind, it needs more than the opinions and selling arguments ot the trade journals, or the opinion of a'.i isolated editor, to convince the average ratepayer that the world-endorsed eieetric tram is to be "scrapped" to make way for the modern life devourer. Despite the opinion of the Hastings editor (who would not be expected, of course, to condemn his town's latest acquisition) I have met several people who most cordially disagree with him. and whose experience was that, so far as comfort and easy running were concerned, the erstwhile New Plymonth-Opunakc motor 'bus was in no way inferior. Mr. Clarke, when recently in Australia investigating ihe tramway proposal', failed to find any evidence of the popularity of the motor bus. and his opinion is borne out- by Mr. Whittle, who, when in Australia recently, was afforded the opportunity of witnessing the marked preference of the public for the tram-car. In fleelong, where modern motor 'buses and overhead tramways are running in competition. his experience, after closely observing the trend of traffic, was that the motor 'bus was patronised by those who could not find accommodation in the crowded cars. It is nothing more nor less than puerile to advance as an argnlm nt again-st the trains that private enterprise will run the municipal trani.i ofl" the roads with its motor 'buses. Private enterprise is too shrewd to invest in 'hazardous competition, when it has the whole field open to it at the moment without competition. Your correspondent. has promulgated the remarkable theory that tramways are synonymous with dirty streets, and that the motor 'bus ensures dustless thoroughfares. This phenomenon would surely be peculiar to New Plymouth, or 1 have entirely misunderstood the purport of the "dustfiend" grievance. r have no desire to enter a newspaper controversv 011 this subject, hut 1 certainly think that vouv theories are being promulgated at a time when they can do nothing but, harm •T.usted." not ••Boosted." will fittingly describe the position of New Plvmouth in a municipal sense, if your ill-timed advice is accepted by the ratepayers I We refer to the above elsewhere]