The Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 1914. HOW TO SETTLE ROUTES.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 4829, 6 May 1914, Page 4

The Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 1914. HOW TO SETTLE ROUTES.

I lu; excellent idea adopted by the Goverirment in setting up a commission to inquire into and report upon the inland waterways of the Auckland I province, more directly in relation to canal projects, could advantageously | be applied in a general way to all j schemes for the improvement of tran.s----j port facilities. This is particularly so in regard to railway proposals. As we have previously had occasion to deplore, whenever a railway proposal or similar convenience is mooted, there instantly .jets in , a wild and lamentable clamour for the accruing l>enefits, and the aggressive element is invariably founded in a neighbouring area, hot in pursuit of trade that legitimately,should be turned into the one natural channel of outlet. The contending parties then wrangle for an indefinite period, snarling and snapping like a pack of under-fed dogs, hungrily anxious to secure the prize. It is a wretched business altogether, and as it is impossible to expect strong common sense to prevail, with the elimination of vicious parochialism and bitter rivalry, the only a 1ternativo is to submit railway routes and similarly contentions matters to a commission of experts—commercial and engineering. We particularly spccify commercial representation on such a. commission because it js obvious, from the lessons taught by past experience In railway construction, that the trade aspects have been sacrificed to engineering and oilier interests. A shrewd man of business would be able to exercise a restraining influence

should there be any tendency to deviate from the most advantageous course and make recommendations that would yield in results a return more than equal to the expenditure involved. Such a commission, uninfluenced and disinterested, could, for instance, render useful service in reporting on the railing of the East Coast area, and finally end the battle over the routes. The contending parties, or those anxious to see the best done for the district and the Dominion in a national enterprise, would no doubt be prepared to accept the verdict of such a combination of experts. We would heartily welcome a solution of the kind. KILLING IN DUSTRIES. Judging by the plight to which the grain grower of Canterbury has been reduced by a recent award of the Arbitration Court it is apparent that no time should be lost in making provision for the voice of the unfortunate third party to be heard when industrial disputes are in process of adjustmen. The hard facts of the Canterbury case are that the contract system of threshing has been abolished in favour of payment by the hour, the cost lias been rushed up from 3Jd to 7d a bushel, and there has been a general slackening on the part of the workers as well as the mill-owners. With shifting time included in the charge it means that the grower’s expenses have been doubled and trebled under the new system, and he is virtually fleeced to such an extent that grain growing is rendered unprofitable. The inevitable result is a substantial reduction in wheat and oat cropping by the larger land-owners and a return to sheep; while the smaller man, with insufficient acreage for sheep, is practically squeezed right out of the industry. The most dire consequences must follow when any country, especially isolated like New Zealand, i.s dependent on the outside markets for the wheat supply necessary to furnish the staff of life. It affects, too, not only the farmer, but also throws the implement manufacturing industry out of action and gravely, affects the general public. Yet when the dispute between the workers and the mill-owners was under consideration the grain-growers, who were the. third party and immediately affected, had no status before the court and had to stand listlessly by while conditions were framed absolutely destroying the graingrowing industry. This concrete instance of a flagrant weakness in the legislation will no doubt harden up the expressed determination of the Prime Minister to so alter the Act next session os to give the producer and consumer representation in the Arbitration Court.

BOLSTERING A WEAKNESS. In connection with the controversy that has been renewed over the most advantageous system for projecting a railway to or through the East Coast district we have followed tile principle of publishing the arguments of opponents in fulll so that our many readers in the area affected may have the benefit of all versions and detect any weaknesses and inconsistencies that may exist in the contentions set out by the advocates of the respective schemes. No doubt this practice has l>een noted and appreciated, irrespective of the views contained in the comments or held by the reader, but we take this opportunity of drawing attention to it f§r the purpose of making a comparison with the attitude adopted.by at least one of the relentless and most illogical and misinformed opponents of the feeder system. It has been the consistent rule of the Masterton Times to remove a sentence or two from an article, just to suit a particular line of argument, and in that way attempt to cover up a weakess and present its readers with a distorted view of the position. Of course, the most telling and crushing facts are carefully and conveniently suppressed so that the render may not be enlightened, and the gross absurdities in assertion and illustration perpetrated by the paper not be exposed to the Masterton public. That, is certainly one method of conducting a. controversy, but it is not the way ol an honest and lair critic engaged in advancing a cause of national concern. The unfortunate author, however, can very well be left to enjoy the monopoly of such tactics. COSTLY TRAINING SYSTEM. While the. territorial movement is on ■its trial in New Zealand it would be disastrous to overburden the scheme in the important matter of expense, and already the cost lias mounted up to a substantial figure. The present system of holding periodical camps lor instructional purposes is a factor in piling up the expense, while the absence of large numbers of young men from work is causing considerable inconvenience, especially in country districts. There appears to be a. growing demand for a simpler and less expensive system, both in regard to periodical camps and regular parades in remote districts. There is reason to hope, points out a contemporary, that the Inspector-General's report will bo pertinent in many respects to these questions. Not only have his public utterances shown a breadth of outlook and mental practiealifv not "

always identical with the soldiering profession. He has, further, addressed himself to the camp question in Australia, ' where he suggested that once in every four or five years would be often enough for “a camp embracing three units, light horse, infantry, and artillery.” Divisional camps composing the three units are expensive undertakings. Brigade camps * and regimental camps are smaller cerns; and it is time to consider ther camps on the less costly plan not, as regards the remoter r ™. trainees, meet the demands heller t than the present system.