TOO SLOW

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 410, 20 January 1909, Page 7

TOO SLOW

METHODS AT ADDINGTON WORKSHOPS. "GOVERNMENT STROKE." ' EXPRESS ENGINEER ASTOUNDED. y (i>l Tr.LBnUiTg—rUKSB ASSOOIVnOJJ) Ohrtslchurch, January 10. The general manager of the New Zealand Railways (Mr. T Itonayno) recently torwarded the following memorandum to the chief mechanical ongmcej at Aldington workshops:— , I have had a long interview with tho •■* express engineer, who ha? paid several visits to'thp Addington shops. Ho was astounded at tho slow method and leieurely work of tlw men generally, but more espeaially thoso m the boiler shop. Five nunutqs per nvefc for tbo. new riveter is n caso.iu point. Tho men in tho smiths' shop wero also doing a "Government stroke." There appeared to bo an utter disrogard of tho foreman's presonco in any of tho shops, the men J being allowed to talk, loaf, and do a very indifferent day's woik. It is absoJutely necessary that this e.tate of indifference oo brought io a close, and a fair day's work must be insisted upon. It will be futilo ior the locomotive engineer and his staff to say that the 1 charpes nro groui dless The tact regains that Work lit AddinKtou co«'s jnoro, to pioduco th.au it does at Pctcno or Hillside. Take the oost of "a" compounds built at Addington as compaied with thoso built by Price Bros. The latter can build cheaper and yet their shops are not nearly,i-o well equipped as Addington shops. You will piGhSfi take such action as uill bring this discreditable state ofaffairs to an end 1 ' I am, etc, T. RONAXNB. A' day or Iwo, aftor tbo diepatch of this memorandum it was replaced by anothor, identical in Januuago, except that tho para- ■> graph "it will bo futilo for tho locomotive engineer and his staff to say that tho charges are groundless" wai emitted. ALLEGATIONS DEtyIEP. great' indignation expressed

On receipt of tho memorandum, tho Cprist* ohurqh r workshops manager took $teps to have copies made and distributed to the heads, of the diilorent departments at the shops, together Twth a revest for an cv plananon, Thoso pjkplanations were sent in to the'manager to-day. A reply to tho memo' landutn was thereupon prepared and forwarded to "Wellington by to-night's roa;l. It is understood tliat the reports from the head? of the different departments at tho shops contain a general deuMl of the allegations mado in the raernorandum from Jlr, Bonayne, and the greatest indignation is expressed at the fact that those charges should hftvo been 1 made app-irently without foundation) on tbo authont), in fact, of a casual vjSltor, vhoso name i\as not moiiuoned by the. general manager. . , The reply to the metnojandum embodies tho general denial an, set out in the departmental reports, and contains a request that the name of the, visitor mAuig the oomplaint should be divulged, also that a full inquiry should be made jnto dio wh6le affair, With the ob» jept, ascertaining how far such sorioue statements can be justified, .It I? admitted that in a large nidastrial mstitutiw likpthq , Addmgtqn woikshops, where it is impossible ' to exercise a constant and complete supervision over every hand «mplojed, that instances of shirkmg w;dl occur, but on the "other hand it*is claimed that inapy ironfounders who have carefully inspected tho works from fane to timo agree that, as much, if«not'moro, work is qtyjuned. from tho men at Aldington as at t>ny other private foundry in the Dominion. In fact, one ironmaster who proposed to tender for tho turning out of a line of points j.ud crossings, which are now manufactured at the worlds, josolved not to do so-on the ground that ho could not get the work out of'h)s men thaji thp foremen at Addmgton gpt out or theirs. Regarding the work in the boiler shop, to fjvhicli particular exception la taken by tho _, f xport quoted by Mr. Eonayije, jt is claimed that tho foreman of, department is a particularly compoteut man, ,and one who exercises strict disoiplirie over " the moq under him. The statement also that it took five minutes to fix a rivet is absolutely ridiculed. Thirty-five, seconds ib tho time psually taken for each nvet, and the only explanation offered for the apparent inoorreiit statement is that tho rivet was fixed on a. bpiler which required raising and lowering, and that the time of such raising and ]ow<sr- , inR was taken into account. Regarding the allegation that the work m tho,smiths' shop was carried on in acoordanco with the 'Government 6troko" system, it its pointed out that the work in that shop can only be oarned on at a rush, or I not at oil. When the heated iron js with-, drawn from the furnaocs it has to bo beaten out and dealt with without delay, for if tho tenjpiiraturo fell below a certain point tho iron would have to bo reheated and the uork recommenced. It is, in fact, a common observation among the hands at tho shops that the 1 men in the smiths' shop earn then money, if anybody dopi. clause in the complaint to which tho strongest exception is taken and the strong- ' 6ib resentment ielt is that which appesreq < 'xn'.'the first memorandum, to the ofFeol that ft would be futilo for the' locomotiyo engineer and bis staff to say that the ohargfre were groundless It ib arguni that tho rery existence* of this stat-einont, aud, noMuthstandihg tbo fact that it was subsequently Withdrawn, proves that Mr, Ronayno has absolutely prejudged the matter on. tho strength of the statements of an authontv whoso will not divulge, and t]<nt he is acting, to gay the least of it, most ungenerously in ocoopting tho statemtito as sound Without making inquiry. , Tho comparison between tho cost of ",>" compounds bu-Jfc at Addington and tbeso built by Price Bros is also claimed to bo ■juaccuratp, it being alleged that the shops % caH turn out work ae cheaply as at any ouier concorn.

. tn^ntioned 5 ifi . ;the Errae 'Ministbr 'to-dhy. 'fc ;.v.wards-the^plose^W ] > speech• af CJareiico -■ :^fc|^ ;^-H^aveyi;M,PM w ho\pbint ■";'eUj-out-.-that,-: seeing^thero: were' : go' : Jnaiiv "•: »ifrw (lpulit; they/would ■■! .liko.-to,h«ar!if(ie;-P r iine bii ■.-■'•'the..ma'tter, : pyv. : U'; : '.\::^':' : ':-•:.■ ■:■^•■^U■^^nly■■;■■hw^^brp■Tlght;■.μ^j|■4cT■ ; .ll^B>riQibi<.•e■'■» ; ' ■■■ he h. 'bis]seen^ r 'thai' , , tliij- proper^sburse-'.-wap'-.tgr.bring 'the ; fiiomo'.'"-upqof ■ : the 9f : ; tho. SJ{nister - for . :Bailwaysj , and:'ftllowhimvitoitake such et-ejib :;.fls-hc : ' thi?: he'; (Sir, Joseph) : .'hH<^.nW. ( h'a.d:;aii'opnori *'. tun^ty' <jf.: discussiiig >thi. : -' ; s«!jjVct'' \yith--filr, r ■■ < whp' iyas".»ntitled,'tb' have;!jn-opi : of 1 .; ;tho.-' Mna.'Xln.': tjsesp:; ■:■. he ; ' (Sir .•;■;; Joseph) was'takinc'tljb-only''co.urEe; he'could , -■-;;'; discussing, the .'matter. ;■:.? ;;'■■; :.i-'."-\\ ■'.", ; :: : . '■:Mr;;Gi iliat;the'.V6rkii-. ■ .:■' managers, arid the employees, should diave -, an ■ >.-,:-, opportunity to hayo-the.niat'ter' fully inquired ■■;.. mto. He agreed ,that:'it ; ;would not be/fair; flViiftor;:'except}to■ See;,tli'a|' ; :i fveryfniflln-'in. the ivorkshope'liad; fair.plijij: '•-.■: end' an inquiry, into the :oba)'ges ; .from : begiijV •v^.lgPg'to^nd.l-^-V^^vi^v:' , '/;^.--;;^^-,::;;;;^