EXPORT ASSEMBLY SHED.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 72, 8 March 1930, Page 7

EXPORT ASSEMBLY SHED.

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —As a fruitgrower I very much regret all this bother over the erection of the building to be used for assembling and grading fruit for export. It is necessary to have a place of this sort on a railway siding, and it is nonsense for people to expect a show building erected upon leased land, by the promoters of an industry struggling to get properlyestablished. The sites available for this purpose, thanks to the way the town was laid out, are very few, and everyone will be needed in the time to come, and if not used for fruit a few months in the year, will certainly be used for something else, likely all the year round. Until the times do alter and for so long as we have to export the products of our land to keep things going, no obstacle of any sort should be placed in the way of men doing this. The burden now carried by the primary producers is heavy and increasing—it should be made lighter. The day is coming when the man on the land will not be able to make a living and when outside loans will cease. What then?

Many people appear to have a way of looking at a question from a wrong viewpoint. The railway is there to carry our goods; we must have access to it. Nothing must be allowed to block this—not even schools. We must have proper facilities for gteting our products away; we all live by this and not by our schools. This is becoming a topsy-turvy civilisation. 1 can see nothing wrong about the erection of this building. Everything required appears to have boon done properly and according to law, in a perfectly straightforward way. I would like to say here that I consider the fruitgrower* of Hawke's Bay are very fortunate in having such good men at the head of affairs looking after their interests. Also the officers of the Federation and the Department are all good and capable men, and I am well assured they do their very best for the industry and deserve our help and sympathy. They give their time without stint, neglect at times their own affairs and too often it is poor consolation for them to get, instead of thanks, abuse in return. The fruitgrowers of New Zealand, when compared say with the fruitgrowers of Tasmania—the men who really pioneered the industry—are in much the better position. The fruitgrowers of Tasmania have to pay 6d a case booking fee on all the fruit exported. This is got by agents of the brokers who sell the fruit, and I saw that at times it came to over £70,000 a year, ami their other charges are higher than ours. I consider we get onr fruit sold on the London and Continental market for an average of J/- a ease less than do the Tasmanian, and we receive 2/- a ease more for it. Last year a serious blunder was made over fruit held in cool store, but that is not likely to happen again. With reference to the salaries paid, it is far better to pay a good man a good salary, than to have a man at a low salary; that does us more harm than good. Now fruitgrowers, really it is not playing the game to publish such letters as I have seen during the past few days without signing them. J had meant to ignore them, only I find some of the public getting a wrong view of things. With reference to shifting the building, let me ask, are the people who want this building removed, ready to pay the cost of procuring another suitable site and removing the building thereto? If not, that ends it. We fruitgrowers have done no wrong and have no money to play ducks and drakes with. Motor traffic is increasing everywhere. Personally, J am inclined to the opinion that mankind would have been better iixixl to-day if the internal combustion engine had never been invented. Still here it is, and 1 expect it will remain. That being the case, motor traffic will continue io increase everywhere and, in my opinion, the wise thing would lie to keep the schools well away from it. I understand a new school is to be built for Hastings. Well, see it is built well away from the busy parts of the town, because judging by the past, the population of Hastings and district will increase enormously in the near future and the traffic on and about the railway will be in proportion. A double track will be needed. During the time I have been here the population of Hastings has increased fivefold. The wise thing is to get the schools out of the busy parts. — Yours faithfully, JOHN RICH. Havelock 1 North, 7/3/30.