CARS HELD UP.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 26, 31 January 1912, Page 8

CARS HELD UP.

TRAM DISPUTE. MEETING THIS AFTERNOON, UNION'S DECISION. THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS. The tramway, situation has developed rapidly, and by the the- time ' The Post is published the cara will have stopped running,. only temporarily, it 'is. hoped rather forlornly, but from all indications of feeling on the part of the tramway men, it is feared for some time, at any rate. i Shortly before 1 o'clock to-day the secretary of the Tramway Employees' Union (Mr. A. Sutherland), came to the Tramways head office, in Harris-street, and left with the Electrical Engineer I and Tramway Manager (Mr. ' Stuart i Richardson) a formal notice from the executive of the union that the cars would be held up between 2 p.m.' and 4.30 p.m. this .afternoon. The. letter contained an enquiry as, "to where 'the manager would like £he cars to be put in event of ix. resolution to leave work. ; The interval between 2.30 and 4.30 p.m. will bo devoted to a discussion by the 'general body of the tramwaymen &a to whether notice .shall be. given of intention to strike or the strike shall take place at once. It is intended to- confirm, (or otherwise) the resolutions arrived at by the separate' shift meetings at 10.30 arm. and 8.30 p.m. yesterday. It is understood that there were some disfien.tients against too violent , a step >at the morning meeting yesterday* ■ and_ the efforts of some of the Trades Unions secretaries were devoted to a. counsel of caution. At the night meeting the feeling was absolutely unanimous^. There were no dissentients. It is with a view^ of testing the feeling of the combined body of men that the mass meeting is being held in the Trades Hall this afternoon. There appears to ,be no doubt vt the result in the minds of the men, and in Labour circles generally. The temporary cessation of traffic for two hours to hold a meeting will, it ia feared, become a' genuine etrike. The cars will be , taken- home, io 'their respective shed* at Thorndon 1 and Newtown at the close , of- the meeting ,and the strike will bc4 gin. 'TChai m practically the universal opinion *■ The Electrical Engineer, prior to the arrival of Mr. Sutherland on the scene with the document notifying the holding up of the cars (afi already announced) received a communication from .the" union secretary by telephone informing him of the proposal to stop the cars 'for the period named. Mr. Richardson formally entered and recorded an' objection to the course proposed by the men. He replied that he did not recognise the right 'of the men, on any pretext* whatever, to leave duty. It would be | entirely without authority, and would j .come within the nature of, a strike. With Tegard to the place where he wished the j cars to be- left in event of the men persisting in their unlawful procedure, he informed Mr. Sutherland that he de- , ftired that the cara ahould be returned to their' respective sheds. ' A SOLID PHALANX. Though doubte have been cast in certain quarters on the solidarity of the Tramway Employees' ' Union itself, there is no question that to, ono who has\ been , Among them the men are perfectly solid, so far as the motormen and conductor* are concerned, and the men directly in contact with the cir inspectors. When it comes to the powerhouse, car -sheds, and electric light station, the position arises that many men employed in these branches of tramway work do not in many cases, aa one man put it, know Inspector Fuller/ In the case of these men it ie virtually a sympathy strike, and there does not appear to be the same unanimity as among the caitnen prdper. For the sake of unionism and banded labour, these men haA r e cast in their lot, unwillingly, it may be, but effectively for the present crisis. There is a -minority, however, which it is believed would take the first opportunity of getting back. LABOUR'S POSITION. WILL THE TKAMWAY UNION BE SUPPORTED I "Will 'Labour support the tramway men if they do strike?" said a union secretary to a Post reporter. "Of course they* will. This is not a one-man business now. It is labour ' versus antilabour. If necessary, funds will be forthcoming to support those who are interested in the battle. Make no mistake about it — we mean business. The men ■ will* win, and they are out to win." Enquiries in other quarters go to show that the unions • throughout the- city are solid in their support of the tramway men's attitude. CITY COUNCIL'S ATTITUDE. WILL STAND FIRM. It has been suggested that the City Council should resign in. a body, and that the issue, on its merits^in a general sense, should be submitted to '.the electors. This is the most unlikely contingency .possible. A Post reporter who made enquiries to-day ascertained that the city authorities -are absolutely determined in the stand they nave taken up, and will not retreat from the attitude. In the event of a general strike, it is understood that private enterprise will supply^ vehicles to convey people to the suburb*. MEETING OF THE COUNCIL PROBABLE ARRANGEMENTS. The , Acting-Mayor (Councillor J. Smith)- was with Mr. J. R. Palmer (towh clerk) the greater part of the morning, and an informal meeting of a few councillors took place in one .of the rooms of the Town HaU Councillor Smith went home before the arrival of the message 'from the Tramways Union secretary notifying the intention to hold up cars. As the Acting-Mayor is not on the telephone at his private house, it' was impossible to get his opinion on the subsequent proceedings. It is understood, however, that an emergency m6eting of the City Council will be called together soon to discuss wayß and means. A Tcport on the situation and the possibility of maintaining a limited service to outlying districts will then, it is believed, be placed before the councillors by the management. The service may be said to contemplate a, few cars into town iv the morning, an attenuated city time-table, and probably home cars out of town back to the suburbs. The lines with the heaviest traffic are those through the Kilbiruie tunnel, the Newtown and Island Bay lines, and the Karon • line. Seme effoit will probably be made to maintain the skeleton of a service on these lines with 6uch assistance as the management may

procure from volunteers and their o\jn staff. There has been an extraordinary^ run on. bicycles in view of the strike. Many firms in the -town have orders for the hire of bicycles booked up for three weeks — these mostly from people who live in the suburbs. " ... Private personfa have also arranged for the running of expresses from various points to the city in the event of the care ceaeing .running for any length of time. There .ire forty-two taxi motor-cars licensed in the city, and there are, in addition, about 450 other private motor vehicles, which no doubt at a pinch might be pressed into service. POWER HOUSES. It is expectrd that the city' power houses for supply of current to the trams and to the electric light circuits may carry on. witt» a few private engineers, and there will be many volunteers. The boilers are all mechanically stoked and need comparatively little labour to attend to them. Thi& might be managed readily, and the engines are of a Genii-automatic class, both in respect of high-speed triple expansion and the 'Parsons- steam' turbine.' The only difficulty is the shortage of coal. The electric light station consumes about 50 tons a day, and the tramways not quite so much. With a reduced 'service they will consume less. There were several councils of ways 'and means this mornmg, all the managers attending, including the City Engineer. There was also a constant string of coal carts dropping coal into the yard until lunch. EMPLOYERS' POSITION. ASSOCIATION" TAKING 3S*O ACTION. It has been suggested in some quarters that the / Employers' Association has indirectly interested itself in the dispute. This suggestion, .however, vis -emphatically denied. "So far as I know," said Mr. G. Shirtcliffe to a Post reporter to-day, "the Employers' Association has taken no. part whatever in the dispute. I have never spoken to. the secretary or any member of the Employera' Association on the subject. I feel sure that the City Council, as a body, would strongly resent any interference by any outside body in I the vresent difficulty."