The Daily News. MONDAY, MARCH 15, 1920. STIMULATING PROGRESS.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 March 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, MARCH 15, 1920. STIMULATING PROGRESS.

Human time has been called God's chronometer, with big and little events for its hours and minute and second hands. That mechanism of progress ticked loudly at Wellington on Wednesday, when one of the most important deputations that have ever endeavored to press on Ministers the urgent needs of Taranaki, interviewed the Premier and the Minister for Public Works. This deputation represented both the commercial and dairying interests of the province, men who are fully cognisant of the value of time and the losses incurred by delay. They had a strong case to put before the Ministers, and they evidently did their best towards convincing the representatives of the Government that, the slow progress of the Stratford Okahukura railway construction should give place to a vigorous policy, not only for the benefit of the settlers in the Ohura and the trade of Taranaki, but in the interest of the country generally. In view of the probable inauguration of the manufacture of dried milk and other dairy products which command a high price, and the necessity for obtaining and utilising the large supplies of timber and coal to be opened up by this trunk line, the deputation was able to emphasise very strongly the urgent need for the early completion of the railway. The expansion of the dairy industry in new directions is absolutely dependent on a large and regular supply of coal. Under present circumstances it would be j courting disaster to start a factory capable of dealing with 10,- j 000 gallons of milk, and requiring fourteen tons of coal per day. Yet, as was demonstrated by Mr. A. Morton, there is an immense field of coal in the Ohura waiting use, and though coal can be obtained seven or eight miles beyond Tahora, the present terminus of the line, to tap the main field necessitates some forty-seven miles of construction, and if the rate of progress on this line is not accelerated the resultant loss will be a very serious matter for dairymen and for the, Dominion generally. It is of almost equal importance for the industry to receive at as cheap a rate as possible the necessary timber for butter boxes, cheese crates and factory requirements. „ At present this timber has to be got out by a circuitous and expensive route because the construction work on the railway in question is not being pressed forward. The insistent call is for greater production and economy, yet dilatoriness in making this line is retarding production, causing groat loss and unnecessary, but avoidable waste. We assert unhesitatingly that, from a broad, national point of view, the early completion of the Stratford Trunk line should be considered of such importance as to justify concentration on the work Of the utmost resources that can be pressed into the service. The Premier admits the soundness of the arguments used by the deputation —he could not honestly do otherwise —also that the line would relieve the Main Trunk. Believing that sufficient provision will have to be made next ses-

sion for this work, Mr. Massey has an opportunity for proving that the Government is really in earnest over fostering greater production and avoiding waste. Both these desirable economies can be attained by taking the steps advocated by the deputation. Sir Win. Fraser still clings to the excuse that has become threadbare—shortage of labor. "The labor difficulty," said Mr. Morton, "is not insuperable." The Minister is quite as well aware of this fact as is Mr. Morton, but it is the only excuse he has. to offer, and it emphasises the Minister's lack of initiative and resource in overcoming the difficulty. Shortage of manual labor should impel the Government to obtain the latest and best labor-saving devices. The Minister would naturally expect to be advised by his officers on this phase of the question, but if the portfolio were held by a progressive man of experience in such matters, he would not wait for advice, but give peremptory instructions that would be of infinite profit to the nation. As to his contention that by attracting the labor required on public works by giving the ordinary wage payable by private employers, and thereby send up the rate to £1 per | day, the Minister evidently failed to notice that his argument completely disposed of the excuse that sufficient labor was not available. The work has to be done, and the sooner it is completed the better for the settlers, the industries af-' fected, and the finances of the country, for the line will pay weil, directly and indirectly. In view of the Premier's recognition of the necessity for giving Taranaki railway connection w'th the Ohura coalfields at the earliest possible date, and his expression of opinion that the work was of such importance that it ought to be hastened as much as possible, there would appear to be grounds for hope that a speeding up may take place in the near future, though constant pressure on the Government should be maintained to stimulate progress. The public would certainly welcome a departure from the "go slow" policy of the past, and the new Minister will earn lasting gratitude if he infuses the requisite vigor into the Public Works Department and obtains results that will materially promote the welfare of the Dominion and its people.