THE TRAMWAYS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12502, 25 May 1906, Page 10

THE TRAMWAYS.

» TO THK EDITOB OF "THE TRESS." Sir ; — Your correspondent, £.s.d." -vat amused by my previous letter. I wish I could derive no more than anni«?ment from his. As a specimen of the I degenerate effeminacy which appears 'to permeate the unworthy succcvisors lof our pioneers, '£.s.d." would be hard jto beat. I confess it fairly payees ail Imy feeble powers of understanding that j anyone should not be aehatned, even j under a norn do plume, to write tiiat ;to walk from the Cafe Kcyal to Reeee a corner, wholly asphalted and mostly under glass, 'is specially hard on young men." I cannot tor the soul of mc imagine what passtis in the world of •■JL'.n.d." for a man, but 1 know it. to be something intinitely more cowaidly ,' an<l eitemina:u than my yotnrgfot gui, who ciH;«.Tiuliy drives to sciuool in weather whichst'ndti such "men ' as "£'.s.d."'' whining to t\w napers tor a tram to carry nis delicate but manly carcase liom the Clock Tower to the Square. I find as a matter of fact that there are something more tJiun eighty trams a day running tho ClccK lower each I way, but unit <lojs not, suit "£'.£. d." What Jk' wanUs is a tram from his gate-, bx> it in Jticcurton, Aduiiig;on, Papanui, or where it- may, i'j the Clock 'lower. Jit.» regards it. br-ing a man, a.s a '"serious matter for a man to walk from the te(juare. Cod help any country peopled by euch "men." I know the "U.s.d." &<tanip. Sir. I froqueii-dy drive into Chrie>tchurch in j t!iv- morning •«: about niuw o'clock. ! Come with mc Icr once. There hn.s j been a hard irost, and the horse's foot ring shrilly on t!»t- frozen read, and hie bii'ath conies buck like clouds of steam. "It is a nipping and an eag-or air," but the sun is like a ball of gold, the >:ky is like a shield of etcel. We en tor tho trahi area, and here we m-eet your "£.s.d.'' Here he stands upon a wrnor. waiting ror the tram. A 7iii!o of asphalt lies bet-ween him and his office. Does he walk it? Not he. So ingrained is the Joaiing spirit, so deeply rooted the desire to ge-t the last atom out of hi>s ticket, that he will n<jt even wnlk to the n»ixt stopping place. And so he fitands there stamping his foot, blowing upon hie fingers, muffled up in overcoat, and comforter, and gloves, and overshoes. At night ho wsilk.s heavily, grumbling from the Clock Tower to the Square-—it takes him oijzhfc iniuubefi— and ridee home to an evening gorge. If you eit next him, ten to on? he bores you with a full description of some obsc.ire malady which he attributes to the infernally depressing climate of thif; beastly holo. And I know, Mr Editor, that "£.R.d." is no uncommon case. I know that we are breeding in ryir midst a lazy, sybaritic spirit of which "£.s.d." is only a fair specimen. I know, too. that tho lamo ducks of society, who, after lamentably failing at everything else, turn as a last resort to politics, do nil in their power to cultivate- this spirit, "Quite right! Poor fellow! • Monstrous that you should have to walk four hundred yarde. Lean on mc, and I will find you a nice warm tram car. Must do nothing for yourself. Always lean on mc." Wherefore, I rise to suggest that it ns the function of the tramway eystem to supply "the reasonable requirements of thoie "who wish to ride"; that j eighty odd trams a day should supply the reasonable reqiiiremente of thc&o loafers who are too la-zy to walk from tho Clock Tower to the Square; that tho credit of the ratepayers should not i be utilised at the dictation of tJJicse | who oultivate the sentiment that it is a serious matter for young men to walk frem Rtece'e corner; that, in point of fact, the lino must be drawn somewhere, and that it should be drawn firmly at Ell, and also at S.D. "jG.s.d.V remark that I admit having lived here nigh fifty years is characteristic. To "admit" something implies that one is ashamed of or would conceal it. That is not my case. But as to b?ing behind the timea, one cauee of my concern is a belief tTiat the present system will be obsolete, and the j whole concern on the scrar* heap, witjiin my lifetime. I look forward to a day when men will refuse to believe j that we ever nanctioned a row of poles down tho middle of the Btreete. 1 b?lieve that, whatever sum we now spend will have to le written off and paid over to the bondholders, or interest en it for ever. I am, therefore, anxioue that the sum total shall not he inflated by attentdon to the squaHiiiig of babyish youn-g men wlio find it a serious matter to walk from Rrece's corner to tho Square.—Yours, etc.. PEDESTEIAN. TO THE TOITOR OF "THE PRESS." Sir, —I ei«o by this morning's paper that our well-known Clock Tower is giving "Tho Press" a turn with his buinees of improving the tram service by suggesting, in a letter signed "£.5.d.," that the Riccarton and Papanui trams igo past the Clock Tower. He already has the railway service, the Linwood-Wooiaton, the FitzgoraldBealey avenues, and the Sumner steam s?rvic9—four lines -as against the three in Colombo street. He now wants the Riccarton ami Papanui in addition. Evidently nothinis leas than the whole s-ill eaU=fy him. "A most disinterestid gentlema.n." There is only one 3cntre in Chrifttchnrch, and that is the Dlock Tower. No doubt "£.s.d." has a manager or the , trams iin his eye to do hits work, us wr-1 «a-- a member of the Board; vill lie not favour vis also with the name )f hv> electric traction traffic manager? , '^.R.d.' , thinks he knows something >f tramway management. Why does he ( iot stand for a seat on the Board him- , irlf? Surely, if his abilities • ire ao grear, ho can spare some of his : ime to tho ferv'-c.o of his fellow-men, i i\*e shall then know who this groa? ■ :ritic in, and estimate his siiggcstions 1 or the improvemerit of the tramway 1 ervice at their tru? value.—Yaurs. etc., i ANTI-CLOCK TOWER. j ■■■ _ " i