LITTLE RELIEF

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21801, 25 August 1945, Page 3

LITTLE RELIEF

’PHONE CONNECTIONS AUTOMATICS LOADED (P.A.) WELLINGTON. Aug. 25. The acting Postmaster-General, the Hon. F. Jones, said yesterday that there was little immediate prospect ol connecting any large number of waiting applicants, although the supply of material for telephone connections had been slightly eased. Not only was there insufficient material for carrying out line construction work, but many months’ restoration work following the recent severe storms in the Canterbury district would absorb many linesmen. Allhough priority would be given to those whose business was high up in the order of essentiality, even these could not be given the service in certain towns. The more serious problem, particularly in the larger towns, was the lack of switching equipment The automatic exchanges in the four centres, and Hamilton, Palmerston North and elsewhere, wore loaded almost to the maximum capacity. The Minister said that to ensure more equitable rationing of new connections it had been decided that until normal conditions returned a residential subscriber moving away from an address would not be permitted to transfer hir telephone to the incoming tenant or anyone else. Instead, the relinquish*'' 1 connections would be allocated to the next most deserving applicant on tN' waiting list, but there would be r; restriction on the transfer of a foulness telephone from one businessm.to another, nor on a person moving 1 a new address in the same e;lv takiiv liis telephoto conned ion wini him.