THE TRAMWAY TROUBLE.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12483, 20 April 1906, Page 6

THE TRAMWAY TROUBLE.

Tlie dVipm-afci-an whidi waito<l on the Tramway Board yesterday oai W'Tvalf of the. tramway employers doubtless meant woJl, but tiiey can liardly Iμ , congratulated ujkhi tiip «<rrpnsth of their case or their skill in/puttinj; it forward. Accoixlirvg to Mr Davcy, M.H.U., thoy l»»d 'l*>en to i>i:iop Iwfore the Board t>l >i? for the men's objections to <th» merit and demerit system, and to ii certain appointment. But the Board listened m rain for thfso rv«boiie. The burdvn of Mr Davcy'e ro-

marks, as far ( as the system was concerned, eeems to have been that ho did not understand why it bad been adopted. When asked if he could point out JLnything c-tjectionable in the system, he put upon the Board the onus of showing why tihey had made the change, suTely rather a peculiar method of verctHating the men's griovanoes! Mr Davey admitted that the Board had probably not adopted the system without due. consideration, but he nevertTwJcfis invited them to alter ] their decision, if they could see their way to do so. The Board naturally ddd net "see their way ,- to stultify tihenieelves by acceding to this naive request. The Chairman scored good-humouredly when, after remarking thai tihe enforcement of rules in every large system had to be effected by inspection, he reminded tho meml»er for Christ church East that he and his follow legislators vrexe continually passing la.ws which, as a rule, required the appointment of inspectors to watch what private persons are doin£. In gene.rai terms, Mr Recce explained that the system had been adopted because it was impossible to run the tramway service without something of the sort. Mr Gray supplemented this by stating that tlie appointment of motor inspector, to wihrich objectioa is taken, was made because of the Revere injury the rolling stock was receiving owing to wireless handling, and Mr Stead pointed out that th«* Board had not only the comfort, but also the lives of the public to consider, and to ensure tho safety of passengeis and others the motormen and conductors must not be allowed to l>ecomo careless. After all, too, it must not be forgotten that the system is only on its trial. The Board is of course desirous of working harmoniously with its employees, and of treating them fairly, and if at the end of the present two man tins' test the eyecm is found to be capable of improvement, it will bo modified in accordance with the experience gained. Some of tho members of tho Board took, we think, an erroneous view as to the attitude of tho public in this matter. So far as the bulk of tho community is concerned, wo believe the Board has their full confidence. They realised from the outset that the members of the Board had not introduced tho muchdebated system merely for their own amusement, but because they thought it necessary in tiho public interest. We have every hope tTiat by the time it comes into full operation the tramway' employees themselves will admit that their first fears were totally unfounded.