WAITAKI ELECTRIC POWER BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22328, 31 July 1934, Page 5

WAITAKI ELECTRIC POWER BOARD

TO THE' 'EDITOR. SlR,—I quite agree with your correspondent "Simple Simon" about "The misguided individuals who still persist in their attempts to belittle the.chairman of the Waitaki Power Board." The air of mystery which "Ex-Employee" tries to weave around himself is quite childish. Whether he can shoot hares, or blow i whistles, etc., is of no interest to anyone except himself. If " Ex-Einployee " were to say why he is an ex-employee the ratepayers would be able to judge whether it is only about the best interest of the electricity scheme in general that he is concerned. From his last epistle it is quite obvious that he is ignorant of the of lost units, about which he was writing. If he were to write an essay on the possibilities of perpetual motion and 100 per cent, efficiency he would then at least be entertaining. The letter of ." Consumer " on the 27th inst is most despicable in its attempt to infer base motives by the questions he asks, and the ■ editorial footnote to his letter was wrong in saying that Mr Milligan is the secretary ot the Baptist Church. The source from which you gained that information is evidently not reliable. If "Consumer" had taken the trouble to look at his account from the Power Board lie would have,found that even he can get water heating for 2d per unit, and under certain conditions for less. Why ask if the engineer recommended the rate ? What has the engineer go to do with it? The members of the board are elected by the latepayers to look after the financial part of the business, and to my mind it was quite time that we got such men as Mr Milligan on the board to look after our interests, as the engineer had dominated the board far too long. . The ratepayers at last election showed that they were not satisfied with the policy of the board as it then existed, and I wish to voice my protest against the actions of a few who, by misrepresentation of facts, are trying to thwart the policy of the present board and to belittle the chairman, who has given such good service to this'fair town of Oamaru: When the disgruntled few use such methods it is quite evident that they realise that they have no case, but to my mind they have only succeeded in making themselves I look foolish. I hold no brief for Mr Milligan, but I do admire him in the stand he is taking, and consider that he is on the right track for the benefit of the ratepayers as'a whole. Mr Newlands is to be congratulated on his decentralisation scheme, which was carried at the last meeting. It appears to be just what is required, and if it is successful in the South Canterbury district there is no reason why it should not be equally successful here, and, as Mr Rutherford said ■at the meeting, "it is worth a trial." It is quite obvious that there is something wrong with the organisation that allows so much time to be wasted at present in getting away from the depot and on to the job, and that is possibly the reason

why the work is" behind, in spite of the fact that the Waitaki.Power Board, with only 377* miles of line, has more men'than the South Canterbury Board, which .'has 735 miles of line to look after. It appears that it is only a matter of organisation to make a success of the decentralisation scheme.—l am, etc., Justice. Oamaru, July 28.