THE RAILWAY

Northland Age, Volume 24, Issue 48, 26 March 1925, Page 6

THE RAILWAY

AND OTHER MATTERS. In the first paragraph of a "letter’’ headed "Great Heavens! Chops and Tomato Sauce.' t e Kaitaia "Norlhlander" of Saturday lot says: “It is a kind provision of Nature that unintelligent peisnns, imdequate y acq lainted with the vocabulary of'the iverage man find sancluary in expletive."

It must be a fact, for in the second to 1 last paragraph of the same "leadei” we ft id such expletives as gutless, etc. At this stage of the “..rgument" we desire to tike a calm review of the situation. T.ie editor of the ‘Ate" came to Kiitaia, was appointed to the position out of 39 applicants, and immediately threw the i tfiuence of “The Age" with lit >se workiig for progiess. He his gone to particular pains to investigate the needs of the North, and is doing all in his power to help the North, lie makes no wild statements, but, as usual, speakes calmly and plainly. At a recent meeting of the Kaitaia Chamber of Commerce he made some of these plain observations, or, in other words, he said what most people think. He did not do this with any desire to decry the North, but with an honest desire to help. To any unbiassed person that was evident from the resolutions moved by the said editor and passed at the said

meeting. They were: “Thai in the opinion of this meeting of the Kaitaia Chamber of Commerce the time has arrived when it is absolutely essential to the health and wellbeing ol the people of the W estern Area of the Mangontti County that a cottage hospital be erected at Kaitaia without delay and that an officer of the Health Dept, te asked to visit Kaitaia and select a site for such hospital." “in view of the importance ol linking up hit district with the line at Okaihau this meeting of the Kaitaia Chamber of Commerce urges residents to do all in their power to back up the agitation for such railway facilities. The construction of this line is of vital importance to the Mangonui County, asa tremendousvolume of produce and merchandise must now be carted over county roads, making the cost of upkeep heavy. This Chamber is of the opinion that the Mangonui County Council.

t le Kaitaia Town Board and the member t T the district should do their utmost to secure the authorisation of this railway and thus expedite the development of the county.”

The editor of "The Age” has had consi lerable experience in public life, and he felt, and still feels, that it is his duty to C J-operale with organisations working for the betterment of the community. He does not presume to think that these organisations cculd not do without him or “ The Age,” but believes that "every little he ps.” Furtherhe does not think that Ins influence is ever likely to cause a revoiutirn or anything like that, but firmly believes that such influence thrown in with t >e aforesaid organisations can and will cause the construction of necessary public w irks ill the North. He believes in the “ Iripping stone" method and sticks hard a id fast. He has nailed that railway flag to the mast of “The Age ” Well now, after the meeting referred to, the “Northlander,” for some reason best known to itself, grossly misrepresented the “Age” editor’s remarks and in a long “leader,” beaded “111 Weeds Grow Apace" roundly slated that individual, getting right down to personalities from the start. To say we were astonished, in view of our agitation for various improvements, is to put it mildly. We could see at once that the "Northlander,” possibly to get itself read, was prepared to stop at nothing in its campaign of calumny aud we then issued our now historic challenge, "Lay on McDuff, and hinged be he who cries, Hold, Enough I” At the same time we did not wish the “Northlander” or its editor to anticipate the course of justice. Since then the inky battle (started by the “Northlander”) has waged hot and cold, and believing that the peculiar psychology o. the sports of the Noilhlandcauses them to hanker after a good local “dust up” rather than lull details of the cattle tick or of a tragedy in Kansas, U.S.A., (where every rooster one meets calls himself c iloncl) we will carry right on. The “Norlhlander” had the first word and believe us "The Age” will hive the last. We will be there! In Saturdays issue the "Northlander” makes a further effort to show that the wicked “Age” is wrong in saying that Mr. Bell sent a telegram to the Minister of Public Works urging cessation of work on tie railway this side of Okaihau. Mr Bell did send such a wire and although henow denies it may we gently remind him that it is on record that terminological inexactitude, repeated with sufficient frequency, may so hypnotise the propagator of a fiction that the illusory picture he has conjured up finally appears to his own sell to be the naked truth! We do not attribute- to Mr. Bell any uncanny power over this matter, although his action was certainly weird We have simpiy stated that he sent a telegram to tie Minister of Public Works urging

cessation of work on the railway and that history record? that the work duly stopped.

At that time, so keen was Mr. Bell on the goo l roads idea that he actually advocated the ripping up of rails on existing railways and laying the permanent way down in concrete for motor traffic. (Vide report Kawakawa Chamber of Commerce meeting). All along we have been in entire agreement with Mr. Bell that good roads are of great importance, but we believe the railway Is just as important! And, as pointed out in our issue of the I2th inst, in thinly populated counties like Hokianga and M ingoi'iu a great liability is thrown on the people in the construction of these roads, the cost coming out of their pockets. The railways are built at the national 1 expense and are a national undertaking. If Mr. Bell could get the State to construct and maintain roads all would be well, but he cannot. We would like to know how much extra money has been granted this and Hokianga County for‘road work in lieu of money saved through cessation of | woik on the railway at Okaihau. Assum--1 ing that the cessation of the work was ■ inevitable, as Mr. Bell says, was this a reason for him to wire the Minister hastening such cessation ? We think net That was the time to have fought for its < o itinuance, as well as fighting for roads, liven a mental patient (vide Northlander) would have seen the force of such agitation What prevented Mr. Bell from using his intellectual faculties at that time ?

Mr. Bell is quite right in saying that ihe public memory is notoriously short. It is, for it is*really wonderful what the average politican can “put across” and

“get away with.” Although we think that Mr. Bell should be more attentive to his duties (electors in Hokianga, Bay of Islands and other dis tricts are of the same opinion) we are' certainly prepared to give him credit foi what he has done for the North and Kaitain and with this object in view placed the columns of “The Age” (the papei that leaches the peop'e) at his disposal. Slid columns are still avilable tor him to give an account of his political steward ship, a reservation being that he abstain from quoting Dickens. Li'e is far to short.

We must admit that we are not as familiar with Chas. Dickens as Mr. Bell ii, but the world has travelled such a long way from the days of Dickens, great as he was, that newspaper readers looking for entertainment want something more ‘snappy.” Pointless quotations (as dragged in) from the immortal Chas. cut little ice with readers of 1925. And there is too much of the ‘.‘babbling brook” about C tarlie’s plagiarists.

It is not the fault of “The Age” that Mr. Bell does not recognise the boundary between decent criticism and mud-slinging. Mr. Bell can use all sorts of expletives but when he gets a little of his own back

he squeals. “The Age” at no time suggested that Mr. Beli’s absence from the hospital meeting had a derogatory effect on that meeting. The meeting went off fine without him, really proving how unimportant he is in the public estimation. W e did think, however, that it was his duty to be present and assist the promoters. We here reiterate our belief that he is dodging this very important question for fear of losing votes in the Eastern Area if he to aka stand on the side of those working for the hospital. We have to thank Mr. Bell for his invitation to the political funeral, which was unnecessary for we had decided that We Will Be Right There. The office poet is already preparing the epitah, and if Mr. Bell can’t foot it better as a politician than he does as a pressman that epitah will surely be wanted. He will have every need to step-lively.