ECONOMICALLY SOUND?

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 130, 6 June 1929, Page 12

ECONOMICALLY SOUND?

■ (By Telegraph.), (Special to "The Evening Post") .. ': ' DUNEDIN, This Day. "That before proceeding with the extension of the South Island Main Trunk railway the Government should satisfy itself that the proposition is economically sound." This remit for the Dominion Conference of the New Zealand Farmers' Union was discussed and carried at a meeting of the Otago Provincial Council. Mr. A. C. Leary, in endorsing the remit, stated that in many quarters there were doubts whether the proposition would pay, and there should certainly be a thorough investigation. Mr. J. Preston said that if the project were put through there would necessarily bo a good deal of capital expenditure. Many lines were not being utilised to economic advantage.. Motors were competing against them, and were beating them "for their passenger traffio. They must compete with tho lorries. This'matter should be gone into, before the question of new lines was considered. Mr. M. A. Kinney considered that it was not always necessary to make a railway line pay, for indirectly it | sometimes paid the country fairly well, j A railway line could be a, big factor in opening up lands, and thoy must never lose sight of that fact. Mr. Barnes (commercial agent for the Eailways Department) said that for the last year the; whole of the railway freight charges were less than £5,000,----000, whereas, if the same quantity of goods had been carried by road the cost would have been £23,000,000. Therefore, although the Department had | lost £1,000,000, it had really saved the people £18,000,000. !' The remit-was carried.