The Fielding Star. Oroua and Kiwitea Counties Gazette MONDAY, MARCH 1, 1909. " Government Stroke."

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 816, 1 March 1909, Page 2

The Fielding Star. Oroua and Kiwitea Counties Gazette MONDAY, MARCH 1, 1909. " Government Stroke."

This phrase, which has been very much quoted in the press of the dominion of late, and is likely to become even more familiar to newspaper readers in the immediate future, has a meaning all its own and thoroughly well understanded of the people. To do "the Government stroke" is to take life easy — with the pen as well as with the" pick. The exponent of this "stroke" is the Civil servant of high and low degree who looks upon the service as a place of lots of time and he lives in a land where it is always afternoon — the morning, being spent in thinking of what is to be done in the afternoon, and the afternoon in making up his mind to put off till the morrow what should have been done that day. We readily admit that there are many men in the public service who earn their salary and their wage ; but there are far too many, in and out of the Railway service, who are adepts at "the Government stroke." And, worse phase of all, there are men in authority who do their best to prevent willing men from working with that energy and initiative that are encouraged in private employ. Recently we were informed of the case

of a young Englishman who, iaving had exceptional experience in one of the best engineering shops at Home, came out to New Zealand and got employment in one of our Railway workshops. There he noted a few things that were done in an old-fashioned and wasteful way. He suggested a more modern and economical reorganisation of the work. The foreman not only told him to mind his own business and to "keep his place," but actually suggested that if he desired to ( 'keep his billet" he would have to "keep his mouth shut." Now the Railway Review, the organ of the railway servants of the dominion, is rehearsing the latest instance. It is the case of Casual Fitter S. V. Croft, and makes remarkable reading in the series of letters sent by a working foreman to Croft after the latter had poined out a successful invention which he (Croft) had applied to a crane of the Greymouth railway wharf. The invention was a timesaver — there was nothing of the "Government stroke" about it or its inventor, and Croft, after sending details to the Minister (the Hon. W. Hall-Jones), asked for any reward that such a device might have earned. Apparently the department, instead of encouraging such a skilful and useful craftsman, "sooled" his foreman on to him, and because Croft would not give the "boss" the details he had sent on to the Minister, the foreman, after an exchange of several letters, finally wrote — "Please note that you are suspended from to- day until further notice for refusing to. comply with my memo, of 29/9/08 and 5/10/08, re alterations made by you to No. I hydraulic crane." Being a casual employee, Croft could not send his case on to the Railway Appeal Board, and had to grin and bear his suspension, which lasted for eleven days, whilst exponents of "the Government stroke" could go on stroking and men who lacked initiative drew full pay. Croft was reinstated by the department, but worse followed. Here is the sequel, as told by the Review — 5 After his reinstatement, Croft, complained, however, that his working conditions were made intolerable, he was not allowed to go near the crane on which he had displayed exceptional ability, and the pay lost through suspension not being refund- [ ed, though the unfortunate man got , into further hot water through demanding it. "You are not entitled to pay during suspension" was all the explanation he could extract from his hostile superior. They were badly at loggerheads, and a Departmental inquiry was held by two first division officers, which resulted yi Croft's dismissal. Dismissed ! What a. paltry thing for ;i groat department to do — a department that needs all the brains and energy and enterprise that can be imported into its system. We trust Mr. Millar will get interested in the . Croft case, and see that the inventive [ j genius, the genuine worker, and the [ | organiser gets a fair hearing and a good chance. We want more Crofts I find less Craft in the public service^ — I more work and less of "the GovernI nient stroke."