TIMBER MILLS START WORK.D

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 278, 21 November 1913, Page 6

TIMBER MILLS START WORK.D

I EV3RYTHIHG QTTTET. i ■ The timber mills on the waterfront ■ resumed operations this morning, ! and although tlipy are still short- ; handed, a fair percentage of the men I lurried up. :i!-.d mlierrf intimated that ;hi\v will bfi'in nn Monday morning. The I emi'.;oyi-.. d of t!ic Li'j-lanJ-O'Brien TimI ber Company, who did not start wurk , this, morning, have been invited by adi vsirti.-t'mi'iit tint appears in this issue, ! i .ittend a meetTng to-morrow morning i: ton i/clu.-k ti further consider the ;>osit:un. "This id entirely for us men," ! -.:i.l iho convener to a representative of i t:." Auckland " Stir." "We do not rej ijiiirr any special police to protect us, ' .in we art iu-t meaning together to chat i >vrr the position. -, J here was no moledation whatever o: j the n:e:i who started work. One or two I wen , stuck up by pMcets, who merely spoke u> ihe:i!. and tfhey passed on. A vniiiig fellow was volunteered the information, "You will have plenty of room to work in to-day." His reply was. " 1 don't suppu-n we will work, but I am going in if it -tart;." Another who was accosted, replied. "Thai id your opinion. I have mine, and that : ja lam going to work." In neither case was there any unpleasantness, nor wae there any calling out of opprobrious epithet*. About :>U men who ■■ uinrr-sated <m the hill at the foot Of Harding Street were dispersed by the conntable.=. and tlie. men standing about Customs Street were kept steadily on the move by uniformed policemen. A contingent of mounted wi'ial' wore in a convenient quired, but they had nothing to do. About 50 special' constables nn f.i.-.t abn marched nlong Cu.-iUmn Street nnd around the back of the I.irk :■> see that no men were stripped from .-'Wuing to work, and mounted police were patrolling other roads leading to the wateri front. , Punctually at 7.30 o'clock the welcome 1 sound of the whistles were heard from I the v.-.rioiM mills, and work was started I inrmediately. Inquiry of Mr. XV. B. LeyI lan.!, who was early on the scene elicited th • information that 23 men had already gone ill, and after th.it a few more arrived. Other men had intimated their intention. Mr. Leyknd said, of starting work on Monday morning. Converging with one of the head men in the Kauri Timber Company, the "Star" representative was informed th.it I the head engineers wrie at work, hut i that the others h:id asked an.l been granted an extension till Monday morning. Speaking to one nf the latter, the reporter w.is informed that they objected to resume work under police protection. Inquiry at the offire of the Kauri Timlber Company elicited the information that S3 men out of 220 had resumed work when the whistle blew, and others were ready to start on Monday morning. "We have no intention of victimising anybody." remarked one of the head men at the Kauri Timber Company. " The men. as they come back, will be put to their old jdbs, whether they return today or in a week's time. Kvery man as he returns will just so to h':e idd That the men get a i;iir share of the! earned in the timber trade is proved by the fnet thnt one company paid its shareholders 7i per cent and the amount paid to the workers above the award rate figure.! out at S} per cent. At 7.30 o'clock the ]0n mounted specials who had been waiting at the various points, paraded along Customs Street \ , ."e=t. and lined up in front, of the Kauri Timber Company, where they remained for half an hour, and then rode off, leaving only a few vedettes nt various points of advantage. Mr. \V. & Lcyland had previously intimated that there war.o ncfd for specials to watch nmnd his iniils iv* lie did not anticipate any trouble. Only nbuut half-a-dozen pickets were to be'sc-.-n in the neighbourhood or" .Mr. I). (iolJii'% r..:!1 when <iaiting-tinie arrived, and no di-.unnftr.ition wa.s m.ide. A small body of font nnd mounted " special*" wa"« nn guard close by. and the nun encamped nz King's wharf and on guard in Quay Street forme'l a pretty strong ro«ervc. On inquiring, a reporter learned that all the miil-h!ind=. with the exception of three men and a few boys had returned to work. A representative of the firm I stated that on the Saturday, when the strike xrtut declare,l the m'ili was kept going till the ordinary time for knocking off. The men then their wiilingne" to return to work on the following Monday, but under the circumstance? it was not thought advisable to accept the offer. ! Work was resumed at Messrs. Cashj more Bros. - mill in We?t End Rond this morning. About hnlf the rtnfF returned when the whi-!].. blew ni 7.;'n a.m.. running the gnuntkt of a email force of nickels. A large body of mounted special? were in evidence soon after starting time, nnd the uisnnl activities Ti:e ParkT-Lnmb Timber Company all but seven of the old hands having, it win reported, turned np when the whistle blew. Out of the twenty-four men employed by the Taupo Totara Timber Company, Newmarket, twelve turned up to work when the whistle blew this morning. I There were a number of picket*, and a detachment of mounted " specials " in attendance at, the mill, but nothing in I the way of a disturbance occurred.