THE RAILWAYMEN WOULD SUFFER.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 316, 31 January 1922, Page 4

THE RAILWAYMEN WOULD SUFFER.

The decision of tlio executive of the A. 5.11.5. to issue papers to tlic members of the Society for a strike ballot can only be regarded as a further evidence of the failure of the responsible heads of the Society to recognise the gravity of the. position into which the country has drifted. In its essence the action is provocative of what has come to be termed " direct action " on the part of the railwnymen, the unthinking section of whom may easily be led into voting for a strike. Such a move on tlic pari ol the majority would be fatal to their best interests. The precedent csls Wished by the 1920 strike cannot be accepted as an augury of .success in a similai ir;jvo at this time. The circumstances and conditions are altogether dissimilar. The railway hold-up of 1920 was prompted by considerations which cannot possibly influence the Government in i onsidering the men who may elect to go out on strike on the present occasion, hi 1920 the Prince of Wales was in llie country and the Government was intensely anxious for the honour, lair fame and good name of New Zealand that His Royal Highness should not be hampered or inconvenienced in his movements; some 30,000 or ..10.00') were held up at Uotorua, and there would have keen many difficulties ein the way of provisioning the town had th. strike lasted for any length of time. Then, again, the finances both of the country and the railways wire buoyaii! and the average man was inclined to view favourably the demands of the mi:; for increased payments, the genorai opinion being that the Government ougnt to, and should, concede their claims, iho [tress, with a few notable e: ( option: (amongst them being the "Standard"). tailed to point out what the increased payments must mean to the public, and the Government had so little support in its resistance to the mens demands thai ii was practically forced to concede them. Now, under Lite stern necessity of re-adjusting the finances, the Government is forced to withdraw the bonuses conceded in 1920, and we believe that, in doing so, it lias tiic support of the reasonably-minded .sections of the community, who after ail constitute the majority, and who recognise that the " cut" in salaries must be made, if solvent conditions are to be maintained in the affairs ol the State. The' cost ol living lnr- fallen below the 52 per cent, standard which, under the agreement made by the Government, was to be regarded as the base for a reconsideration of the bonus payments; the railways are piling up, day by day, a deficit which threatens to'end in a loss of at least a million and a hall on the year's working. That io.ss the country simply cannot and will not stand for a long period. It will insist upon a more even adjustment ol revenue and expenditure. The executive of the A.S.R.S. apparently adopts the attitude that no matter who else .suffers, they will not allow their men to do so, and. ill ordering the issue ol si like ballot papers, they practically invite the men to '•down tools " and .•ease work. If. unhappily, the decision goes in that direction we predict it will he a sorry thing for tiie men. Public opinion will be against them to begin with, and in any steps it may take to overcome the difficulties a railway strike would bring about, the Government will have the country with it. The mere fact that the payment ot the additional £910,000 conceded to the men in 1920 is, notwithstanding increased lares of 25 per cent, and increased freights of -l<) per; cent., necessitating a draw of a million ami admit upon taxation revenue to keep t |, c railways working on a solvent basis, will'tell badly against the men , n tile first instance. If they lose, as thev are likely to do in the majority ol uisos it they proceed to extreme measures, both their positions and their right to superannuation, very little sympathy is likely to be felt lor them: and. candidly, we do not believe in the present temper of the country they have anything to gain. but. on tin luutrary! very much to lose by holding up the transport services.

Aii importanl Masonic gathering opens in YVaiganui tomorrow, when the Grand Chapter" of Royal Arch Masons of Now Zealand holds its annua] convocation. the usual annual business will he disposed o during the day, and the installation ol Grand Principals and oiliccrs for the ensu iug year will take place in the evening. The record of telegraph Inisinoss _ for the last quarter oi last yiW, as published in lh« Gazette, shows ili.it in all 3,281.107 ielograms were handled by ihe Department; ihe "revenue amounting to £176.705. There was a shrinkage us compared with, Ihe lipn-cs for ihe Deccmher quarter of 1920. when the Department handled • 3,453.879 telegrams, and the revenue totalled £183.110. Sympathetic reference to tin death ol the l;.te Pope was made al Sunday morniiig'«< service ul ihe Rdondale Presbyterian Church. Auckland, l>y the Rev. G. M. Mac donald. "ihoiiL-h nit- laic Pontiff," saiii Mr Macdonal.l, ""tilled an ollice for .vhieh we as a Presbyterian ('l,nidi have no regard, we can \el distinguish between Ihe nan and his ollice." Those who knew iho late Pope most intimately le-iify lo hi? ihoroiig-li ( hri.-iian characlc)' as well as lo his singleness of heart and purpose. "This matter has been sell led for three months." remarked t 'r. S. I!. Lancaster at last night's meeting of the I'ahuerslon North ijorougli Council when a letter was cad from Mi A. C. Poddy, stating thai lie was surprised to learn ihai ihe council had decided to. auction stands in the boiiiigh foi' the retailing of fruit and pointing out thai both I lumilion and New Plymouth Morough ( ouncils have voti d against ihe introduction of barrow licenses. Oilier louncillors agreed with ( r. Lancaster, and iin- leit.-.- was formally received. The Valuation of l*:nd \mendmonl Bill n preseni I . for" Parlianienl -v iiich pro ,ides ilia; where land is owned or occupied by. or held in irn-i for. any society of persons and used for game.- or sporis, the Valuer General shall reduce the capiud and miniproved valtti —aims al giving material vli,.| from rales and laves lo the occujiier.! and trustee? of all such lands. On he oilier hand (says an exchange), local bodies which have been drawing a conidorablc portion of their reevnue from this M,uree will be considerably affected. Tin- 11 alien.- Prize, awarded by Ihe University Senate to Mr R, !*'. Fortune, ■l' Wellington, was insiituteil in memorv of he llev W. .1. Ilabeus, P..A., hue Follow ii the Xcv. Zealand University, and Inspector-General of Schools from 1078 lo 1899. The prize i- awarded for an essay 'omieeled with the science of education, wiih special rcfereiicc lo child study or he coiidilious affecting education in New /calami, h i.> open lo all matriculated ■ indent- anil ex-students of training colleges recognised bj the Minister for Kdu- ■ ■alioii. I' i- not awarded to am -indent ,vlio has malriculaied over live year.-, nor io any candidale twice, Withoiil discussion the Pahnersion North ilorough Council last night passed a resoiitinn lixing Wednesday afternoon as the •taiuiory hall-holiday for the year 1922. The erection of ihe caretaker'.- cottage al the Jloiougli Council's depot al Scfliidia he. t has been commenced. The conraeior for the erection of Ihe three muni ipal eotlages has now completed ihe work ■ml the three cottages arc lei. Occupation if Ihe ihird one will be I a ken in February. Ihe erection ol the dividing fences and hedges is now in hand. As an example of the extraordinary sale values offered by Ihe C. M. Ross Co., Ltd., Iress fabric buyers should tee the fine display of voile-, poplins, haircords, bengalines, tall.'la- and /.eplfer.-. etc. offered at 'lie paii" io i lear. Displayed in our pet ion only. Price Is lid per yard, width Ont. About 30 pieces to select from.— \i.lv..

Two farmers nl Koiiside, Canterbury, have lost £l2O woitli of sheep through dogs worrying them. Only one bankruptcy was filed with ih<\ Deputy Ollieial Assignee for the Pahnerxtoii* North district during the mould ending 10-duy. The ihird fvlensioii of t| M < automatic exchange at Hamilton, which provides for an addition :d b'M automatic telephones. Will be available fir u-e tin"-, wee!;. Four cases of scarlet fever were notified in I'almerslon Wth during |.|h> week ended January 30. There was also one case of diphtheria. The vital statistics for Pahnerstuu \ North for llie month of January were as ' follows:- Births 47, deaths 10 'marriiiio it 12. Wholesale prices of meal in butchers have hern raised in Wellington as from yesterday \>\ a half penny per pound on million and lamb. No n-e is reported on beef, pork, or veal, The .Mayer I.Mr .1. A. .W]i. M.P.) stated at last night's meeting of the Borough. Council thai a public meeting would lie held at an eaiT. date to discuss the question (if closjng Oakley street. A London message stales || m i Sir Joseph Cook (Australian lleh Commissioner) unveiled a marble tablet in memory of the late Sir George. 1 i<• i<l in llie Pout Street Scottish, Church. Glider the auspices of llie Red Cross Society, the Rev. M. MiiHinoux has opemd a lecturing tour in llie South Island on Iho work done in ihe gathering of the remainof those killed at the front and putting I hem in central cemeteries. The engineer reported thai during llie past nionih all the oat ero| s have hen: harvested and carted in and slacked at. ihe stables. The crop.-, had been exception aliv heavy and should provide ihe council with aboul 50 tons of chaff for the cominc; year. A visitor from Levin stated to a reporter thai whilst he was travelling in the South Island he saw a rather unusual aspect of farming near Ashburton, where a light plough was being used, the motive power being supplied by a fanner and his wife in double harness. , During January thirty-three building M\ permits were issued by the Palntorstnu \ X'orth Borough Council, representing a value of £16,740 16s, including £B4B 10s for alterations. This also include.-, an amount ei" £6505 for the erection of a portion of Ihe new Y.M.C.A. hostel in Grey street. 'I he Railway Department I '• a largo .an' oi men on the Main Trunk hue ie!.:yiie On ,-iecpers and portions of the rails ;,, iln., w hoi distance between Tanmarmiui ii i! U'aim, Ida. On some parts of this porlioi, of die line the sleepers have ; bsu.hile! \i .-ayrci. Th n.iil ( aiiicrhury wheal crops are, lookJ iihi ny well, •■.". ■Mr T. Buxlon, organi-*»i" for the I'si-u-'i ' I'moil, who has ju.-l mado u loin of the district. Many of Ihe farmrv:> on ihe be.tvv land e\peeted to thresh from 53 iu M hu.-beb- I" the acre, and the opinion was :.vucr. Ily expressed thai the average yield would he from 28 to 30 bushels. A motor car i;\v;r I and driven by Mr Anderson, a tiawlier, capsized on Sunday inornini; when ucg.,iiatiing a sharp bead near I' ~ii d r'a bridue, Pohnngina. The driver \\a.- sli'iht'y hurt, but the otlmr I occupants were imi.iji : •.'. Ihe oidy damage to the car ,\.-is .'.. breaking of the windscreen. The mishap to tin Win ur.a'cura railivtv bridge created unusual activity in Wnverley. On Saturday no less than 282 pis-angers disembarked from the afternoon train and left by taxis, motor bu.-"s and private cars for Patea, Ifawera and northern lo'.yni. For about half an hour after the arrival of the train the usually ijtt'ot ..elaekai station pre- mied a busy ighi a- i»e i"> senges and motormeii busied themselves villi the piles of luggage, gnulualiy et'.c.'is" i transhipment to the 57 motor-ears, and svaggons gathered louitd the station. Recommendations of the health <■ ■■"■• inittee were adopted as follow at la.-i niglu's meetimr of the Borough Council: tl) That the Deparimenl be notified lb-- 1 die council and its inspectors are (turn; everything possible in ihe matter of ex terminating rats in the I orough ; (2) Ilia 1 hi extra inspector be employed for one iionlli, whose duiies shall be to underlak" a tho-■•lu.'di house 10-house inspection of all oremises in the inner area, and shall also furnish to the tmrhieer each week a written report on the places, visited. Xm ihe least of the difficulli •- whii h tin 1 ITiited Siaie- Postmaster General's -mil are meelim; in their efforts to speed up the mails is die apparent imlifforen■■(■ on llie part of the public as to wlu'l becomes of letters once ihey are posted. The Postmaster General declares thai the l>i ad Letter Office is one of hi- busiest rlivt>inn>. St handles nineteen millior. undelivered letters every year, many of them with no addresses at all; a large number with only partial or incorrect addresses. The NV<v York post office alone handles over 250,00" misdirected letters daily, and a large .-t .■■!■" i- employed in addressing them throm.di llie directories. The result of this carelessness osts the taxpayer millions. A burglar is reported to he operating in Dannovirke. During the week-end four attempts to gain admission were made but all proved futile. The shop-breaker endeavoured to enter certain premises on Friday nmht by means of a. glass ventilator. The hitter was boarded up a- a protection against further attempts, but hi Saturday night the would-be thief ■jailed again and removed the batten* which had been placed both on the out side and inside of the glass, the latter ob •miction being also removed. A bolted door prevented the intruder from further, lie next tried to open llie back door with a jemmy and a dummy key. but the skeleton withstood all efforts. A cycle race held at Marshland on Thursday evening provided extraordinary excitement at ihe finish, due mainly to ho determined efforts of eight heavy Iraught horses to be "in at the death' says the Christehurch P>'pss). The race aas supposed to finish in Hills road, just ,ver the intersection of Briggs road. As a bunch of about 20 riders commenced to mike the final sprint [or home, tho mob of horses galloped out of a paddock and started acing towards "home and. incidentally, towards the finishing point for the race. As they gained on the horses some of the ye lists* realised the danger and slackened ■speed, bid others look the risk and dashed (trough ih" mob towards their goal. The (ff'orts of the spectators to turn the horses off into a cross road only frightened the inimals more, causing them to stampede madly in all directions, to the very xv-A danger of cyclists and onlookers. Forhinitoiy no one was hurt, hut the interference ilest roved a great deal of the interest in he race.