ARTERIAL ROADS.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 August 1919, Page 3

ARTERIAL ROADS.

THEIR VITAL IMPORTANCE, (By J. S.) A conference of representatives of Local Bodies In the Vyellington Provincial District was held in Wellington on Thursday, 31st July. Thirteen local bodies and the Wellington Automobile Association wero represented at the meeting, which was presided over by Mr 1. P. Luke, Mayor of Wellington. The chief point of discussion, says the Dominion, was the method to be adopted to meet the enormous cost of keeping arterial roads In any* sort of order now that they are subject to such heavy'motor vehicle traffic. Mr Luke proposed to place the burden on the various local bodies concerned, but the conference favored throwing the financial responsibility on the Government on the grounds that arterial roads are national highways. In speaking on the subject, Mr Dunbar Sloane, delegate from Johnsonville, supported this view for strategical reasons. Though the war was over and peace had been gained, we should not relax our vigilance, nor permit things to drift back to the conditions obtaining In 1914. In Prance, where he had been privileged to serve, the splendid roads had been Immensely valuable to Britain as well as Prance. The roads there were blocked with stones as In Now Zealand they are with wood. He remembered one such road ten miles of a stretch as straight as an arrow which took two lines of motor traffic in opposite directions with less than a foot of space between them. On that road tractors could haul the heaviest of guns without affecting the road. Without such roads as they found on the west battle front the Allies would have been a great deal more hampered than they were. He therefore wa3 of opinion that from a dfence point of view the arterial roads of tho Dominion should be a national charge. Tills Is an aspect of this very Important question, a question rftfecting every inhabitant of the State that has not hitherto been brought much to the front In the many conferences and discussions that have been held concerning Its solution, although It Is one, which If history was given a more prominent place in our schools' curriculum, shfeuld, and probably would, have occurred to some of our public men as one of the first and strongest arguments in favor of a vigorous roading policy for the whole Dominion.

The Romans, the greatest conquerors of old times, wore fully aware of the value of good roads to consolidate their Empire, and have left traces of the practical application of their faith In the "Roman roads" so well known and still exist* wherever the Eagles of that great civilising power held sway. Amongst the many valuable lessons that our returned soldiers will have learned In the experiences of the war, surely the vital Importance to the whole community, In time of peace or war, or sound and reliable means of communication, will hold a foremost place, and It seems reasonable to hope that their Influence on the conduct of the affairs of the land for which they fought will help to bring ahout the establishment of a strong practical rnadlng policy from ono end of New Zealand to the oilier. , That our people ave capable of thoroughly efficient organisation has been proved over and over again. The only difficulty is to get them worked up-to the sticking point, to realise that the object for which they are asked to organise Is worth while Once that Is done it niav be reckoned on as well on the way to accomplishment. New Zealanders have made a name for attaining their objective every time, and of a certainty the once under consideration looms large 111 its importance. That tliero are difficulties to overcount and obstacles lo' be surmounted goes without saying, but they should bo but spurs to our endeavor, and should call forth the greater effort, the stronger determination to carry out ihis national undertaking.