The Daily News. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1921. HARBOR WORKS.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 February 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1921. HARBOR WORKS.

The recent congestion of shipping at the port, and the consequent delay to large vessels trading to New Plymouth, emphasises once more the urgency of speeding up the harbor extension scheme. Necessarily work of this nature takes a long time, even when an ample supply of labor and materials is available, and the best labor-sav-> ing devices are utilised, so that in view of the statement by the engineers that labor shortage has .hampered progress during last year, and that the outlook in this respect indicates little, if any, prospect of more favorable conditions prevailing, the position of affairs is not encouraging. It may be, however, that the question of the conditions and amount of wages offered to the workers are factors in the matter. Increases in wages involving a large total for the year were made, but still the shortage of hands continues, so that it is possible, when the nature of the work is considered, that in order to attract a sufficiency of labor further increases will have to be made, though the engineers consider that to the lack of housing accommodation the labor shortage is largely due. Accommodation was provided for twen--ty-six single men, but in order to retain “a few of the married workers” they were allowed to occupy some of the room occupied by the bachelors, but the engineers stress the point that until more accommodation is available “there will be a continual unrest and shortage of labor.” So far as the Board is concerned, this matter appears to be purely a question of finance, and the members have decided not to provide the cottages required to prevent unrest and shortage of labor. Admittedly the present is not a favorable time for building operations, but neither is it a time for delaying the progress of works essential to the completion of the harbor scheme. From a practical point of view the best interests of the undertaking would appear to justify the erection of cottages for while single men may be here to-day and "gone to-morrow, married men are likely to settle down and be a restraining influence on unrest. If the right steps are taken it is feasible to get cottages erected economically, and as in all probability this provision will have to be made sooner or later,

it ■would seem advisable to face the outlay without further delay, and it should prove a satisfactory investment. The outstanding difficulty that now presents itself is the supply of suitable stone, and

this is a matter, whereon the Board and the engineers may be given considerable anxiety. Apparently only two possible sources are in sight—Paritutu and Mount Egmont, the former being doubtful and the latter a certainty, but, expensive. There exists a strong sentiment in favor of the preservation of Paritutu, and this was rerognised by the Board some time ago, when the work of prospecting for- stone there was stopped in deference to that feeling. According to the engineers, the process of quarrying on the land side of Paritutu would not permanently disfigure the hill to the extent generally supposed, as within a short period of time after the work was finished the growth of vegetation would hide any offensive scar. At the same time, if the stone there should be found suitable, there is no knowing how much would be left of this hill if the exigencies of the Board’s work necessitated more extensive quarrying than is at pre- j sent contemplated, so that the! question is fined down to whether i Paritutu shall be preserved or sacrificed in the interests of the port. Obtaining stone from Mt. Egmont quarry appears to be merely a matter of cost, but if the Wanganui and New Plymouth Harbor Boards combine with/ the loeal bodies in Taranaki some practical scheme might be devised for ob-; taming Egmont stone at prices far less, than those now quoted by the Government. It might even be possible for these bodies to work the quarry on a royalty basis with pre-arranged transport charges. The quarry is national property, and should therefore be utilised for the benefit of those within reach of its product, while the process of cutting out the large blocks should have an appreciable effect in lessening the cost of the smaller metal for road work. Meanwhile it might be deemed advisable for experiments to be ? made in the direction of large hollow blocks of reinforced concrete, filled with sand and used to fill up the space between solid outer blocks, whereby all the small stone and gravel could be utilised. That is, of course, a matter for the engineers to consider: It is satisfactory to find that labor-saving devices are entering largely into the work of construction, and it is to be hoped that progress during the current year will be expedited, and that the Board’s policy will be directed to that end.