To Build The Bitoi Road

Mr. Hughes as Czar of New Guinea

From a Special Correspondent

SALAMAUA, April 4.

I HAVE it on very good authority that steps Will be taken immediately to commence the actual construction of the long-debated road between Sala maua and Wau, following the direct route across the mountains.

This decision has been made by Can berra, and has been influenced by Mr.

Hughes who, although he gave up the Territories portfolio over a year ago, insisted that he should be permitted to “finalise” the New Guinea goldfields road question.

The decision over-rides all common sense.

There is good reason for believing that the direct, or Bitoi Gorge, route was opposed by the Administrator on grounds of policy, and by the Director of Public Works, Mr. Field, for sound engineering reasons. The Administra tor, taking at last the long-sighted view, when he was in Canberra the other day, recommended the building of the road via the Markham Valley and the Warn pit Valley, on the grounds, first, that great engineering and maintenance problems were thereby avoided and, second, that such a road, in any event, should be the first stage in providing an arterial highway for the opening up and development of the great central plateaus of New Guinea.

The instructions which came from Canberra—and they are generally accepted here as the instructions of Mr. Hughes—were definite and peremp tory. The building of the road had to be proceeded with at once, and the Bitoi route had to be followed.

IT may interest your readers to know that the Goldfields demand for the direct route between Salamaua and Wau, which was carried into flam ing prominence by the energetic Mr. H.

T. Allan, has now practically died out.

The majority of the people to whom I have talked are more or less indiffer ent about it; and, when they are pressed, admit that there are good, sound, national reasons for following the longer route, via the Markham and the Wam pit.

The majority of people, who have to pay freight from the coast, do not seem to care much whether the road is built direct, via the Bitoi, or round by the Markham—all they ask is that the road be built, and reasonably soon.

I am a stranger to this country, but I do know something of road engineer ing. I have had a look at the proposed route and have had a talk with a large number of people who are interested in the road project; and I am convinced that if any attempt is made to build the road from Salamaua to Wau, via the Bitoi, the job will take years to com plete—certainly not less than two years and probably three—and the cost of maintenance will be enormous.

But, if I do not know New Guinea, I do know Federal politicians very well, and I know the character and history of Mr. Hughes. This decision of his to build the road via the Bitoi Valley is typical: just as his decision (subse quently repudiated by Cabinet) to build the new capital at Salamaua was typi cal.

He knows nothing about engineering,

and, when it comes to spending public money, he is irresponsible and unprac tical. He was wheedled and flattered into giving his decision in favour of the Bitoi Valley. But, for a time, he could not see any answer to the financial problem—even to him, it was clear that it was not possible to build a road for anything like the amount of money in sight. However, since then, for con stitutional reasons, it has been found necessary to place in a special New Guinea Trust Fund the revenue taken out of New Guinea as special gold tax; and this large sum will be sufficient to provide for the cost of the road, even if it takes three years to build and costs twice the amount estimated. So, now, Mr. Hughes orders: “Full steam ahead!”

Editorial Note : We publish the fore going communication, for what it is worth, but we believe that it about sum marises the position. The Administrator, addressing the Legislative Council in Rabaul on April 2, said, briefly:— “The route decided upon by the Com monwealth Government (Bitoi Gorge) has been divided into four sections, and such progress has been made with the specifications for the first section that it is hoped to be able to invite tenders for this portion of the work within the next two weeks.”

If the circumstances are as stated, we can only say that it is a shocking thing that an impulsive, erratic and un informed man like Mr. Hughes should be allowed to fasten such a “white elephant” upon helpless and inarticulate New Guinea. Why does the Federal Government not check up on him? He was proved wrong in selecting Sala maua; he may be equally wrong in forcing the road-builders to use the Bitoi route.

Rev. €. F. Andrews, who was a leading advocate of the rights of Indians, and who visited the Indian communities in Fiji in 1936, died on April 4 in Calcutta at the age of 69. He was the friend and biographer of Mahatma Ghandl.