WAIPA COUNTY MACHINERY LOAN

Waikato Times, Volume 93, Issue 14494, 18 October 1920, Page 6

WAIPA COUNTY MACHINERY LOAN

CTo the Editor.) gj ri —There seems lu De a doubt in the mmds of many of the County ratepayers, especially in me Newcastle rjumg as lu the advisability of Noting m lavour of the U2,uuu loan lor machinery. There is no doubt that every ratepayer should give the mailer careful consideration, and ue conversant with the reason wnj lite Council decided 10 raise such a loan, but lu vote against il, merely because ul the increase uf the rale imposed, would be sheer folly.' 1 have been asked by numerous ratepayers why we should raise a loan for machinery, before we have metal quarries of our own to work'.' The answer is this, there arc numerous loans for road metalling nowraised, the most important being a loan of £IO,OOO for the Newcastle riding. Although we believe that we shall eventually get the metal i equina! not far from the riding, yet tiie fact remains that if we have to rely on the quarries from which we draw our usual supplies it has still to be carted from the railway to the district, that has to be metalled. Considering that the average distance will be about six miles, it will be an exceedingly costly process to use horse teams, when up-to-date automatic tip motor waggons can be purchased, whereby double the ioad will be taken in one-third of the time, meaning that six horse teams would be required to do the same amount of work in a given time, that a motor lorry could do it in. Anyone can realise what a huge saving of the li an money that is going to be. At present the County requires two steam rollers with scarifying attachments 1" tear up and relay the present roads that, are pitted with holes. The tractor at present in use has proved to be a good investment, and another is required for use in the southern end of the county. We could also do with at least two motor lorries at present, Altogether the machinery that we could keep busy would use up seventy per cent, of the loan. It must be recognised that this class of machinery is not stocked in New Zealand, and it will lake iit least one to two years to procure all our requirements. Furthermore, it is impossible for us to purchase or Kive an order until the loan has been carried by the ratepayers. Metal is hard enoush to procure, but we shall be hopelessly lost without the machinery to handle it, in the case of n big loan like Newcastle Hiding has raised. Ratepayers should bear in mind that the loans raised for metalling now are .100 per cent greater than were required 10 years ago, on account of increase of traffic, and the high cost, of labour. Therefore, it is necessary for us to go in for labour-saving devices. Ratepayers are continually demanding better roads, which we as a Council recognise are necessary and beneficial, and must be made in an economical and expeditious manner. I believe that when the ratepayers are conversant with the farts, and have given the same consideration as the Council, they will be unanimous in supporting the loan, and reap the benefit of good roads, that will be a saving of time, wear and tear, and a pleasure to travel.—l am. etc.. A. 11. ELLICOTT, Councillor. Hamilton Riding, Waipa County.