AUCKLAND RAILWAYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17250, 28 August 1919, Page 9

AUCKLAND RAILWAYS.

NEEDS OF THE PROVINCE. VIEWS OF LOCAL M.P.'S. SOLVING LABOUR. PROBLEM. The views 0 Auckland members of Parliament on the railway needs of the province were obtained prior to their departure for Wellington to attend the Parliamentary session, which opens to-day. In addition to being asked to express their opinions on the relative importance and urgency of the different provincial railway construction -works, they were requested to offer suggestions as to meeting the labour difficulty. It will he remembered that to the latter cause the. Minister for Public Works, Sir William Fraser, has attributed the slow rate of progress of railway works. Tb® vmws and suggestions of the members are given below. "The Government has £15,000,000 in London consisting of surpluses which have accumulated diirinc the war period." said Mr. C. J, Parr (Eden). "That sum is invested in short-dated Imperial securities, and will be available immediately for the prosecution of a forward public works scheme. The Government, there- i fore, need have little worry in regard to fin wiring a large railway policv for the ■, Dominion. The railways should be the first claim on these accumulated funds, and I ara taking no parochial view when 1 claim that the Auckland province is entitled to the largest portion of them. The railways of the Auckland province would pay from the outset. Also, they would materially increase the production and prosperity of the Dominion." Works Calling for Early Completion. Continuing, Mr. Parr said that in his opinion the 20-mile gap on the North Auckland Main Trunk line, 'which, separated the SO miles of running railway in the North from the 80 miles between Auckland and the Huarau tunnel should bo bridged without delay. If it were vigorously proceeded with it could ba completed easily in the next two or three years, instead of about one mile a year being instructed as at present. He believed that, the completion of this line, running from Auckland city into the far North, would not only be of advantage to the' North Auckland peninsula, but also of great value to the businesses and industries of Auckland city, just as, in a larger degree, the completion of the worth island Main Trunk Jme had been the chief factor ia Auckland's prosperity in the last 10 years. Referring to the East Coast railway, Mr. Parr said the present gap between Waihi and Tauranga separated the rich and fertile East Coast district from Auckland. This connection ought to be made in the next few years, and the route must be shortened by the construction of the line from Paeroa across the Hauraki Plains to Pokeno, or some other convenient junction with the Main Trunk line. Very fe»w people realised* the importance of the connection between Stratford and the Main Trunk line. This would open up me Taran&ki province to Auckland traders. Piecemeal Construction Boomed. Discussing; suburban railways, Mr. Parr said that the ridiculous roundabout route of the line out of Auckland should he materially shortened. The cities of the Dominion had a just claim to more busi-ness-like and sje*idy service. At present the numerous irregularities in the suburban railway services were simply inexplicable. Poor business management was, he felt cure, the cause of this condition. " Our cM system of piece-meal railwaymaking !ba® got to go, declared the member for E&eh. " We must try to approach 1 more nearly to the ideas which prevail in Canada and the United States, where they lay a mile of railway ft day. Our public works system is archaic* Our rulers have failed to realise that speedy construction pays best." In respect to the labour problem, Mr. Parr said he wai* inclined to think that more casual labour would bo, available than was ever anticipated. Many soldiers had returned, and were receiving their allowances, and, after the strenuous time they had experienced, 'they were naturally not vary anxious to obtain work. When these men. settled down, however, there should bo ample labour for railway works. "" ' ; "■.; PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE 01* KOETH, RAILWAY' GAPS TO BE FILLED. "The completion of the North Auckland Main Trunk line is, in my opinion, of paramount importance," said Mr.* J. G. Coates (Katpara). He said that the construction of the railway on the Oakleigh gap, between the Main Trunk and Wharigairei, should be pushed on as quickly as possible, and also of the 15-mile gap between Paparoa and Waikiekie.' The tunnels on this line, which had been the cause of so much delay, should also be completed as soon as possible. The line north of Waiotira, where the vVhangarei branch line joins the Main Trunk just above Waikiekie, should be pushed on to the Wairoa River. Referring to the East Coast railway Mr. Coates said it was also of great* importance. He could see no reason why it should not be carried on simultaneously with the North Auckland" railway. In discrseing the labour question the member for Raipara said that in the past the Public Work? Department had not competed in the public market with other employers, but had paid less wages. In future the Department would have to compete, and pay better wages. Condition* of living on the railway works were such that it could not be expected that the best :r>en would be attracted to them. The Department could secure the btet men if it improved these conditions and paid : the best wages. Some improvements were now being made on the North Auckland railway works, such as the building of huts, and the provision of proper bathing and sanitary facilities. But these improvements did not go far enough. Married men should be encouraged to work on railway construction, as they mier>*-rf-rnain and .-ake up land as settlers after the completion of the works. To encourage this it was essential, however, to provide educational facilities and means of recreation for the men, including libraries. If the Government attended to these matters there would be plenty of labour available. LINES OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE. PROGRESSIVE POLICY URGED The rapid completion of the East Coast and the North Auckland Main Trunk lines are the greatest railway need« of tb« Dominion to-day, in the opinion of Mr. A. Harris (Waitemata). These rail wavs were not merely of provincial importance, but were, in his opinion, so outstanding in character as to rank anion tr the greatest of New Zealand's national requirements. The East Coast Railway would, when completed between Waihi and Gisborne, traverse over 300 miles of the finest, agricultural land in the Dominion. This railway would open up 7,000.000 acres of land so rich as t<>, be cappble of an amount of production far in excess of the combined provinces of Canterbury and Otago Alter years of " construction " only about forty 'miles of this line were open for traffic The tirst thing necessary was the completion of the bridge across the Taurantia Harbour, connecting Tauranga township with the line now in use between the Mount and Matata. From the latter point southward formation work was in progress across the Rancritikei Plains. This area contained . 110.000 acres of magnificent dairying country. _ A connection from a point six miles from Whakatane township to the port was necessary Thence the railway would traverse the Whakatane Valley,

opening up tha very richest of land right 1 on to Opotiki. Good pastoral country extended from there to Gisborr.a, a dis-1 tance of 98 miles. With a really progressive Public Works policy this great national railway could be completed during the next five years. Regarding the North Auckland line, Mr. Hams said that after years in which the ' battle of the routes" gave the Government a splendid excuse for "going slow," the country was faced with the fact that llwo uncompleted tunnels just beyond the railhead at Huarau made the progress of a construction further north temporarily impossible. On the 20-mile branch line betweeri Waiotira Junction and Whangarei, which, when completed, would give direct i communication between Auckland and , Whangarei, a gap of 2£ miles had been x atliberately left unformed for years, on f the plea that, if it were finished and in use the traffic .would interfere with the extraction work on the main line. Dealing with the question of labour, which > the Minister for Public Works blamed so " much for „ slowness of railway construc- , I on ' Mr - Harris said it seemed to him , that with the return of the New Zealand troops this difficulty would bo larcelv overcome. The Department must, however, be prepared to pay the ruling rates ' « wages. A mistake was made in returning to the old co-operative works i system of day wages, instead of letting out the construction work at fixed contract rates, of so much per yard. Under the . latter scheme it was possible for a man to earn far more than the lis a day payable r,nn er * « co -°P^ a ,«ve system. An exten- . sion of the use of labour-saving machinery in connection with the railwavs construction was also necessary. This would do much to expedite the work and considerably reduce the cost. M Th * * blkin S «P of the North Auckland Mam Trunk line, and the completion of the connection between Waihi and Tauranga, on the East Coast railway, ware charactered by Mr. C. H. Pooh? \ZT t-SL -] £ e ,nost undertakings m the interests of the province He stated that he was close touch with the policy of *! Auckland Railways League, and had endeavoured to emphasise m t.h t a roo! v . tlffie pat ™« It consisted of experts in railway matthereto provmc,al necessities in /elation BATTLiS-ORY OP "PRODUCTION." LA«D AWAITING DEVELOPMENT. In statin his views, Mr. P. Mander fMarsden) said the progress of the country j had been very much retarded by the war uurmg the last five years, while the public debt bad been increasing until it had now readied the enormous sum of £200,000,000 Production, more production, and still more production," should be the battlecry of all who had the best interests of the Dominion at heart. More production ¥1 la? nl ?** bought about by opening up the t&untry by roads and railways, and offering every facility for closer settlement. During the war a cautious policy in regard to public works expenditure lad been justified, but now that the war was over development and production should be ipushed on by taking the railways into those Districts which had the largest areas of land to develop. The question of immediate profit should not be the paramount consideration. It might be a JW!e while before steam navvies, rails and bridge materials were procurable, but, with nroper judgment, there was muA work which could be earned on in the meantime. Sailway Work Hot Attract*™. Tie labour difficulty was one of the greatest problems that would have to be solved, said Mr. Mander. Work on the railways was not among the most attractive forms of labour, especially for married men, and wherever possible the reasonable wants of the railway workers should be fairly considered. Very often little pm-pnekmg tidngs caused dissatisfaction and unpleasantness, which never had a tendency to bring about the best results, and progress was often retarded in this way. .Progress had frequently been retarded, also, by superior men being compelled to take" inferior men into their gangs. The latter, unable to do an equal amount of wort, claimed equal pay. Another method ba connection with cooperative work was that a gang of men was allowed so much per yard for removing earth, but, if the gang earned more than a certain amourat per day, the price . per yard was cut down. He believed 1 that in some places this method had now been altered, and that the men were allowed to earn as much as they could. That method would enoourage men to push the Work along. It would also attract a larger number of men to that class of work. Good Results From Good Pay. Notwithstanding tha fact that certain Labour leaders had been advising the , workers that it was to their interests to curtail production, there were quite a number of working men who knew that , reduced output meant higher prices, ; and greater production meant greater wealth. Mr. Mander said he feared, however, that this was not the. popular idea of the workman of the present day, very largely in consequence of the unsound instructions they had received. If this could be remedied, and good pay would produce good results all round, he felt sure the result would be so beneficial that none would want to go back to reduced wages or reduced output. PUBLIC WORKS POLICY ATTACKED. SOLDIER LABOUR ADVOCATED. The immediate completion of the Strat-ford-Okahukura trunk line was strongly i advocated by Mr. W. T. Jennings (Taumarunui). This joining up of Auckland ! with Taranaki he placed first in import- | ance from a provincial point of view, and j next the East Coast railway. The conges- I tion on the Auckland-Wellington Main Trunk readily suggested the urgency of ' the rapid completion of the above-men- I tioned lines. "A ' sledge-hammer' man is wanted, \ i to stop the present criminal, wasteful, and j extravagant manner of carrying on our i public works, which I specify as railway and road construction," said Mr. Jennings. '* The obsolete methods in use are , easily 20 years behind the times." j Regarding the labour aspect, the mem- | , her for Taumarunui suggested that re- ' turned soldiers, under their own officers, ! who had been engaged in bridge and road- , making in France, should be given con- > tracte. If they made 15s a day, or more, seeing that the work would be done quickly, it would pay the Dominion to i resort to the change. The men could live I in tents supplied by the Government, and, being employed in large numbers, the cost of living would be lessened, as goods and , cooking would be matters of collective and j not individual cost and action. The Ha- I hilily of labour disputes would also be , lessened under this scheme. j