The Daily News. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1920. THE STRATFORD-OKAHUKURA RAILWAY.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 February 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1920. THE STRATFORD-OKAHU-KURA RAILWAY.

The great importance to Taranaki, and especially to the settlers to be served by the Stratford Main Trunk line, fully justified the action taken by the public meeting at Stratford on Monday night. The "go slow" policy that has characterised the construction of this line has frequently been the subject of discussion and criticism, yet all efforts towards securing an acceleration of the pace have been futile. The advent of the war is partly responsible for so little progress having been ( made during the last five years, and now the trouble appears to be lack of labor. There is ample labor of the right sort available, and this aspect of the question was dealt with, by the chairman of the Stratford Railway League (Mr. W. P. Kirltwood), who emphasised the fact that while laborers could earn fifteen or sixteen shillings a day elsewhere, it would be impossible to induce them to take up railway work at twelve shillings a day. Sir ¥m. Praser's argument that to pay laborers on public works the highest wages ruling would be competing with private enterprise, is not worthy of a moment's consideration. National interests must take precedence over all others, and the progress of settlement being dependent on the pushing forward of transport facilities, has the first claim, especially in view of the urgency of increasing the production of the country. Undoubtedly, the governing factor is finance and not the scarcity of labor. This was exemplified by Mr. Kirkwood when he stated that the line from the Stratford end had reached a point where very heavy expenditure had to be faced in the construction of the next seven miles, possibly amounting to £400,000, yet last year's vote only amounted to half that amount, and possibly the actual expenditure might fall short of the authorised sum. Mr. R. Masters, M.P., quoted figures showing that the number of men employed on the Stratford line was the lowest of a]l the railways under construction in the Dominion—l 29 against 552 on the north of Auckland work. What makes the matter worse is that instead of increasing the number employed on this line the department allowed the number to drop from 169 in September to 150 in October, and since then to 129. It does not follow that men have been discharged, and it is very probable they have left to obtain better pay and conditions elsewhere. Obviously the present policy of the Department in regard to labor is directed more to decreasing expenditure than to pushing forward railway works of vital importance, not only to the district, but to the welfare of the country. It was quite a right move to proceed with the work of construction from both terminals, but Mr. Abrahams drew attention to what appears to be pressure on the part of Auckland to speed up the eastern end of the work in order that trade may be diverted to the northern port instead of coming to New Plymouth. In support of his contention he stated that the east end was now at Matiere, only ten miles from Ohura. He also showed that last year there were probably 10,000 fat sheep and 2000 head of cattle exported from the Ohura, and argued that if the line was forced through from the other end it would mean that all the stock would go to Auckland, though Ohura was eighty miles closer to New Plymouth than to Auckland. The . question of rivalry, however, ought not to enter into such a matter as railway construction, Find it is worthy of note that the Stratford Railway League has never made any objection to the expedition Avith which the work was being carried out at the other end, where 76 men are employed as against 54 at the Stratford end. The force of public opinion is a factor that cannot be ignored, and if Auckland is taking united action, so must Taranaki. The main essential is that the work is pressed forward vigorously from I both ends and completed at the earliest possible date —in five years according to Mr. McVilly—and not spread over the next twenty years at the present rate of progress. The possibilities of production and output in the Ohura are so great that it justifies the whole of Taranaki taking concerted action in pressing the claim for the early completion of the line. It is not only because of the output of produce, but also on account of obtaining supplies of timber, coal and other aids to industry. The resolution passed by the meeting, urging the Government to push on with the railway with the least possible delay, was one to which no exception can be taken by the Government. The mere passing of resolutions will not be likely to have much effect unless the force of public opinion

drives the request home, keeps it continually before the Minister, and insists on all the members for the province pressing the claim in Parliament and on the Government on every occasion that can be utilised for the purpose. There must be 110 apathy in Taranaki over this matter, which is of vital importance to its progress and prosperity. Apart from this the plight of the settlers who have been waiting for transport facilities for so long should suffice to move the Government, to display something like creditable activity. There should be no difficulty now in procuring the necessary labor and material if the right means are adopted, and it is to be hoped that in the choice of a Minister for Public Works, the Premier will be guided by the urgent need for a really progressive man to fill the position—one who will infuse vitality into the department and its methods. Never was there a time such as the present when a hustling policy can alone meet the requirements of the country.