A Line of Much Resistance

NZ Truth, Issue 1228, 13 June 1929, Page 6

A Line of Much Resistance

/pO be or . . not to be. That is the question, m the form various ■ ; Chambers of Commerce and other bodies would like to see the South Island Main Trunk Railway considered. Sir Joseph Ward's attitude to it is that the line is to be completed, willy nilly. Sir Joseph may be right. The completion of the line may be justified. At first blush there would seem to be no argument! against filling up a gap of 76 miles to link up two lines, making an uninterrupted journey from one end of the. island to the other, possible.' But this is not the only factor for consideration. : "It wj.ll not pay," is the chief cry of the opponents of the scheme. This is not a conclusive argument, either. A railway line may not be profitable solely as such, but it may be the means of augmenting the prosperity of the' country as, a whole, and that is the main consideration. •Sir Joseph's attitude weakens his case. . What past commissions have said about the line matters little now, m the light of altered circumstances. The proposal should be referred to the new Transport Council, and, if necessary, a first-class independent railway authority should be imported from England, Australia or America, to report on it. To enter upon the construction of the line without further investigation would indicate a rashness foreign to Sir Joseph's vaunted look-before- you-leap policy.