STRATFORD.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 October 1920, Page 6

STRATFORD.

TARANAKI DAILY NEWS. STIUTFOBD AGENCY. Adrertisoments and items of news for publication should be left at tile office of the local representative, \V. J. Wilson, next Union Bank. NEW RAILWAY TIME-TABLE. REPLY TO MR. McDONALD. "One of the New Plymouth delegates" writes to the editor a$ follows: I notice that Mr. McDonald, at the last meeting of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce, criticised, somewhat adversely, the proposals made to improve the railway services. He suggested that the mail train should start earlier so as to reach Wellington earlier. Ho should know, because he was present at the conference of the New Plymouth delegates with the Stratford council of the Chamber of Commerce, that this is impossible if we are to have an earlier train to call at every station and gather the passengers for the -mail train. That train,' under the proposed time-table, would leave New Plymouth at 7 a.m., and it is not reasonable to expect the train to start at an earlier hour. The starling of the mail train is governed entirely by the time it takes for the eariier gathering train to reach Hawera. This 7 a.m. train would reach Hawera at 10.25, whilst the mail train would arrive ten minutes later. The only way to arrange for an earlier start with the mail train would be to speed up the first train. After going into the matter and discussing the technical features with men who understand the work, the Taranaki Chamber's committee decided it was useless to ask ■ for such a speeding-up. _ Then Mr. McDonald says that "Stratford may find that owing to the alteration in the crossing of trains in the new time-table'she will be cut out." I am glad to see that the others present dissented from what was an obviously wrong idea. The new time-table will be more to the advantage of Stratford than any other part of Taranaki. The first southern train will arrive in Stratford 25 minutes earlier than now, permitting, a traveller to do business in Stratford and return south by the mail train leaving Stratford at 10.0; or, if \wU going north, to transact his business in any of the northern towns, returning by the 12.50 train from New Plymouth. This ■':■ impossible at present. Again, a man may leave Stratford in the afternoon at 3.8. transact business at Hawera, and return home either by the mail train leaving Hawera at "1.8 or by the 5.20 slower train. Or it will lie possible for a man from the country districts north of Stratford to reach the latter town by the 7 a.m. train from New Plymouth, do business in Stratford, and catch the mail train for Wellington at 10.0 a.m. Are not these considerable advantages, denied as they are under the present very un-

•T.ti-i'jctory and inconvenient service? The more the proposed time-table is studied, the iripre, I feel sure, it will commend itself to the Stratford people. Rut is the local view the proper one to take in connection with the proposal; 'Sin.uld not the general welfare of the province and the country be the desideratum? -Mr. McDonald, I was sorrv to see, did himself and the town lie represents little credit Il# said: "It appears to me that New Plymouth iis obtaining the benefits at both ends." My reply to this unneighborly and unjust ttatement is that New "Plymouth will benefit from the altered time-table in like measure with the other towns of the province. If there were not going to be any benefit what would be the purpose of making any alterations? Stratford for some time has been pleading, and rightly so, for more unity and co-operation amongst the Taranaki districts, with such success that it has succeeded in forming a Progressive Association for furthering the big things in the province. Surely we want unity and co-operation just'as much in railway time-table matters as we do in regard to the prosecution of the StratfordMain Trunk line. A sentiment such as that expressed by Mr. McDonald is the very one all of us who havo the interests of this splendid province of ours at heart want to extirpate, for too long lias this petty jealousy and narrowness of vision kept the' province back. The gratifying feature is that Mr. McDonald appears to be the only member of the Chamber who has raised objection to what is manifestly a very great improvement in the province's irailway services. He really lias no excuse for his unreasonable opposition for fie was there at the meeting w hen all' the details were threshed out and all the •questions raised were answered.

What better present can you give yourself or your friend than a Fountain Pen? Now that you can obtain a reliable Fountain Pen for a very small sum, is it wise to be without one? We have a large variety of self-filling pens, stylos, and safety pens, including the well-known makes of Scheaffers and John Whitworth, at prices ranging from 10s to 2 guineas. Tell us what style of r.ib you like. H. J. Hopkius, Stationer, Stratford.

McAllister, photographer, Stratford, has the best equipped studio in Taranaki, a capable staff and years of experience. Besides this the prices are the lowest in the Dominion for the same class of work. Make an appointment without delay.