A LESSON TO WELLINGTON

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 139, 9 December 1924, Page 9

A LESSON TO WELLINGTON

TO THS EDITOR. Sir, —The unfortunate position of the Auckland Tramways at the present time points.a moral that should not be lost, sight- of. Here we see the direct result of an expensive and well-equipped tramway service passing under the control of the new tramway regulations, the employees being the agents for carrying them out. Ido not pretend to hold a brief for Wellington or any other place, but I think it will be generally conceded that we have in onr Wellington tramways a very fine body of men who are good-natured and considerate in carrying our their duties. The spirit of "bon camaraderie" between the men and the public is patent for all to see, and it would be a very great pity indeed to see this good feeling destroyed, as it would be if the Tramway Unions were successful in their agitation for the carrying out of the tramway .regulations as to the number of passengers to be carried at one time. The ideal of "a seat for each passenger" has never yet been attained for rush hours. The two cardinal principles, it seems to me, in running our trams are these :—First, it is the duty of the employers (in our case the people) to see that the wages and conditions of the employees are good. I think we can say this is ao in Wellington. ' Second, it is the duty of the employees to carry the people to and from their homes as espeditiously as possible. The citizen—in bulk—only wants to use the trams at certain times, viz., to work, perhaps to dinner, and homo at night. Also' on holiday and special occasions, he demands his ride. He doesn't mind the crowding and the j- crushing, or at any rate, he takes it in good part, knowing it is unavoidable. I If only he can wedge his body on board he is happy. No doubt the conductor has a rough^time for 15 or 20 minutes, but after all 'he has lots of easy trips. We don't grudge him these at all, but we expect him during the rueh traffic to play the game and take his part cheerfully, and I unhesitatingly, say that the very large 'majority of them do. Now, what is the result of the Auckland position? Just at the time the people want to get home car after car passes half-full, and the conductor puts down the bar and curtly, tells you there is no more room. The result ie now being seriously felt. The loss on the tramways, we are informed, is now £550 per week; employees are being dismissed, and'the irony of it all is that the Tramway Union is urging the public to use their own trams. The lesson of all this for Wellington is this—let the Tramway Unions leave well alone, and cease their agitation for the operation of new tramway regulations, and let the City Council, as in the past, resist these regulations with all their' power. —I am, etc., ONE OF THE CRUSH.

The above letter was referred to the Mayor (Mr. R, A. Wright), who remarked that formerly regulations not enforced in Wellington had been observed in Auckland, but at. the present time those regulations had apparently relaxed. Conditions were now very much the. samp, ns iv Wellington; that was, it was not laid down that every tiuxamntvr *hau!d be sieotsd tiuvins r»sL> b'JUi'6, "