The secretary of a growers' cooperative urges that the whole of the society's reserve be spent on re-laying the approach road, since every member's produce travels over it. Which of the following, if true, most weakens the case for spending the reserve in that way?

The secretary counts only what the road would give and never what the money must be taken from. If the same reserve is the only thing standing between the members and a season's spoiled produce, the road is bought at a price larger than its benefit. The age of the surface tells us the road needs work, which nobody disputes; hired lorries and the length of the work are details of execution that leave the choice between the two uses of the fund untouched.