The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1919.

Gisborne Times, Volume LI, Issue 5235, 29 July 1919, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1919.

There is, as yet, no indication as to when the coal shortage problem is likely to be solved. It seems that the Government is better off to the extent of about 15,000 tons than it had been reckoning upon. With, the collapse of the maritime strike in Australia an immediate improvement in regard I to supplies "of coal for this Dominion should be brought about. But what do we find? Instead of a promise that railway restrictions will in great measure shortly be removed the public is threatened with still heavier restrictions. The whole business is inexplicable in view of the official statistics which have been published. It will be recalled that it was recently given out that there would be available for railway purposes, during the next six weeks, at least 60,000 tons of coal from the Dominion output and from importations combined. In connection with these statistics it would seem that for some unexplained reason the Dominion output for August was not included. Why, goodness only knows. There is the fact also that, in addition, a proportion of the further 20,000 tons that has just come to hand , will be available also for railway purposes. As the Bailway Department requirements do not greatly exceed 25,000 tons per month, it would be imagined, in view of the seamen's strike in Australia having come to an end, that the Government, instead of talking about a further “cut” in the passenger traffic, would 'liave considered itself in the position to announce that it intended to provide improved railway services. The decision to limit railway travel-

A Mysterious Business.

imu mmi iiMjWMTiirißii jiiinirMnimiiiiirr^^— ling after August Ist t 0 passengers j who are under an obligation to use the railways will, no doubt, be re- i garded by many people as an attempt to restrict, in particular, attendance at the* racing carnival at Christchurch early next month. Thousands of people; in the aggregate, from all parts of the Dominion make a ooint of attending the not-

able race gatherings held m the southern centre in August of each year. Maybe the authorities consider that, if they were to increase the railway facilities prior-to the hold g of these turf gatherings, they would be accused of having made the-eon-. cession to suit the race-going section j of the people of this Dominion. D , is really difficult to see, in view ot , the coal supply statistics that are now available, why improved service both for passengers .and for g —could not be immediately provided. . In this district the people are srngu- j larly fortunate in this regard. i doubt very much, indeed, whether j any other district which is not coal- , producing can boast to-day of h«m £ in force its regular railway Ur tabic. Not having had the banefi • of inter-communication with o h districts by railway Poverty Bay for !once is at a distinct advantage in that it is perhaps less affected y 1 general railway “cut” than other portion of the Dominion We “ are -certain, however, that the re . dents of this district recognise ]u . t -s keenly as the people of the d*. ricts that are affected the mconven - nee and loss of business which has ieen forced on practically the «hoh * the Dominion by the serious shortlge in the coal supplies that has >een disclosed. It is fairly clear aso j » those who have followed up the | natter what is at the root oi the | vhole business. There has been no lenial of the fact that the coal-mines >f this Dominion have, during the oast few months, become sadly undermanned. An innocent explanation of this state of affairs has be»u iffered to tjie effect that many men who engaged in coal-mining during the war period have since re nine to other occupations. But there is something behind this condition or things. In this regard it is inter es.ting to note that when it was naively suggested to the Minister 0 Mines recently by a Labor deputation that it was owing to the bad conditions of work and of housing that miners were drifting away from tne mines the Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald interjected: “I could tell you a lot about that, but I am not going to do so!” We should say that most people by this time must be convinced that the reason for the extreme coal shortage in this Dominion is to be found in the fact that the extreme Labor leaders have been discouraging coal-mining with a view to bringing about the present very unsatisfactory state of affairs in regard to supplies arid in this way bringing into prominence their claim that none of the coal mines should be privatelyowned. It is interesting to bear in mind in this connection that the State has for a number of years had State-owned coal-mines and tha‘those mines liave been just as badly hit by industrial trouble as has been the case with reference to privatelyowned mines. But the Labor agitator class evidently does not want an extension of the present system oi national coal mines. What they an aiming at is ownership by the miner* alone. Color is lent to this statement by the proposals which the ■Minister for Mines states he intend* to include in a Bill to come before the House during the pending sessioi of Parliament. The main feature o! the proposed legislation is that miners should be assisted to work smal areas on ’their own account. Then can, of course, he no objection to the adoption of such a principle. Bui the main point is that more men are required for the big mines that are at present being worked. It is trail a very unsatisfactory state of affair; that the Government prefers to re main silent on the more importani question as to whether it lia s , or l.a----1 not, any proposals to bring forwnrr with a view to ensuring at least a* large an aggregate output of coal foi this Dominion as that which obtained prior to the Great War. i " ' ii