FARMERS’ TRAINS

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 169, 16 June 1927, Page 2

FARMERS’ TRAINS

TO WINTER SHOW. ONE PROMISED FOR NEXT YEAR. A. AND P. ASSOCIATION ACTIVE. When the decision of the Railway Department was made known that 'it was unable to' run special .farmers’ trains to the Winter Show, considerable disappointment was felt by the Manawatu A. and P. Association, the' feelinc; being accentuated by the fact that the department was running trains of this nature in connection with other sho\Vs. • ’ With Messrs D. Rodie and \\ • Pringle, of the department in town today, the opportunity was taken by the association to make several requests regarding future shows, and the association's general committee, as a body, waited on these gentlomen. . ~ , , “I want to make it clear,' stated Mr J. A. Nash, M.P., in outlining the wishes of the association, .“that, when wo Say we have not received the same consideration as Waikato, we are not wishing to cast any reflection on the department. Ours is the biggest dairy show in the Dominion; and we say that we take precedence of anv other fixture in size and importance. The same tiling applies to the Spring Show, and when we find that Waikato is being advertised in the way it is we think that the time has arrived when we should secure that consideration to which we arc justly entitled. Perhaps we were to blame m leaving matters late; it is not a fair thing to make a late request to you to arrange something which takes months to work up. However, wg ate now asking for farmers’ trains to our show, so that, by the time it next comes round, the department will have had plenty of time to go into tjie matter of arrangements. Tickets could be arranged in the same way as to the Waikato show. We would, besides a train from the A\ aikato, like one direct from Taranaki, as we feel confident that it would receive'good support. “We want to thank you Mr Nash proceeded, “for the concesisons made this year m granting excursion fares from an extended radius, but we want them to be extended still further. We ask you to issue excursion tickets from the South Island. I am now speaking more particularly of the Spring Show, although it applies to both. Every time we have made this request we have been met with the reply that people from the .South Island would take advantage of this and travel only perhaps as far as to Wellington. There is, we maintain, no reason why excursion tickets should not be issued from Dunedin, Ashburton, Timaru and Invercargill and other places and, if the journey were made to end at Palmerston North, there could be no objection by the department. I ask you now, on behalf of the association, to give this matter consideration, and I am sure that you will come to the conclusion that the requests are small indeed.” “I have been particularly impressed with the size of your show,” stated Mr Rodie in reply, “and have been struck with the enthusiasm with which the attendance is viewing the exhibits. I have also been interested in looking over your line buildings and grounds, which are so admirably suited for show purposes, and 1 want to take the opportunity to thank you, on behalf of Mr Pringle and myself, for the hospitality extended to us. I don’t agree with the statement that Manawatu has been neglected; we are always prepared to do our best for everyone.”

Continuing, Mr Rodie paid a tribute to the way in which Mr W. T. Penny, secretary of the association, had always approached the department, saying that Ins methods had always been fair and business-like.

“1 regret very much,” he proceeded, “that the department could not this year run a farmers’ train in connection with your show. The proposal was mooted just too late; it is not a matter that we can fix in a fortnight'but I can say that next yetar a train will be run unless anything unforeseen occurs. (Applause). Tliat is from the Waikato. We will investigate and explore the possibilities of another from Taranaki, and we might even try one from Hawke’s Bay also. From our experience we find that demonstration cars on tlrese trains are a great source of interest to farmers; they have been tried in the South Island and will in future be attached to all farmers’ trains in the North. We have dropped the idea of lectures because of the noise, but anything that can he suggested to us will be tried out. Me have thought of putting a cinemato<rraph on board, but it has not been feasible so far. Regarding tickets from the South Island, I would like to have the opportunity of looking into this before making a considered reply.” Concluding, Air Rodie! wished the association every success u ith the shou, and assured members or the department’s willingness to assist in any way possible. , , . . Mr Nash: If you find there is going to be difficulty'in granting excursion fares from the South Island, may I make the request now that you will coil sidcr the granting of them for the Spring‘Show from all over the North Island? Mr Rodie replied that the matter would be borne in mind, and, if the request could not be acceded to, he would undertake to call on Mr Penny and fully explain the department’s reasons. “We appreciate what the department has done for us,” stated Mr L. H. Collinson, president of the association, in thanking Messrs. Rodie and Pringle. “Particularly,” he added, “for what they did when the Gorge was blocked last Spring Show.” Votes of thanks were then accorded to the railway representatives.