THE U SHAN'T SLEEP CO.

NZ Truth, Issue 148, 18 April 1908, Page 1

THE U SHAN'T SLEEP CO.

Visitors.-to "these shores— tourists j and persons who have.inoncy to burn —tand distinguished people who travel | bn the nod are always loud in.j tlfeir praise of \ the Union Steamship Company, or, as the company is affectionately termed by many of its employees, - live "U Shan't Sleep Company," so-called because it seems to be the fixed idea oE >the management that it's officers can keep going i without the necessity of turning; m ouce m a while. No doubt the distinguished peiscm.is genuine enough when he bleats about the excellent, service, fine boats, etc, etc., because ho is treated as a \distinguished person and it is to the interest of the company that the newspapers shoukl chronicle the distinguished persons ftuotl bpfajtoto. It is a big fat advertisement' for the company, and it blinds the- fool public to the fact that the U.S.S, Co. is really the most extortionate, powerful and tyrannical company, m ■ the Austral-. asdaiJ colonies, vii not vaj the world. Their fares arc easily the highest m j ' Australasia and their accommodation is shocking, particularly on the coast- I al service. If this paper were to chronicle all the complaints- made by passengers pages might be filled. It j has been stated, and not without , reason, that the Union Company is more powerful than the Government, and Jimmy . Mills a personage of more invpoftaride than the Premier, j However true this may be, there is no denying the fact that the public of New Zealand are at the mercy of this monopolistic concern, and are being badly boodled to provide dividends for a clique of absentee capitalists. 4 « The following letter, written by a gentleman who has travelled m most of the boats trading' about the Australasian coasts, and a gentleman upon whose word and judgment this paper places the utmost reliance, • speaks for itself. He says : "I tray- , elled from Lyttelton to Wellington on the Maori, leaving Lyttelton on Tuesday nig-ht last. As I, had just ar«. rived from the South I had no timie 'to book , a berth, indeed I did not +hink such a course necessary, having heard so much of the marvellous accommodation the turbine steamer contained. I interviewed the chief steward;-' He immediately alloted me a cabin and told me it would cost me 5s extra. There was only deck cabins left, he explained. I protested awiinst the charge and pointed out that I didn't like deck cabips and refused' to pay ah extra 5s for a cabin that didn't suit me so well as one below. He then discovered that he h'ff a berth on another, deck and that would be only 2s &d extra. I paid this without language because there were ladies present, and was conducted to a little • cabin on a lower deck (C deck I believe it was called) and found I was one of four m that quaint little hole. I began to wonder what the extra half-crown was tor, and asked a fellow passenger if he had paid extra too. He 'had and likewise was puzzled as to the ,rh v and wherefore- I called a steward and inquired if all was m order. It was. But: he couldn't give any logical reasohyfor that extra halfcrown. I examined the cabin, looking for hidden luxuries that might warrant the price of five drinks, but none were forthcoming. There was one watet-bottle and two glasses for four persons. There were two small pieces of soap and four small towels for four persons—'nothing to make an extra charge for, surely. Berths Nos. 1 and 2 bad curtains, Nos. -3 and 4 had none. Occupant of No. 1 berth wanted to read, occupant of No. 3 wanted to sleep. Result, an, argument about the light. A curtain on No. 3 would havo settled the difference. I hope tha company will spend No 3's extra half-crown m buying &, curtain. But these were mere trifles, compared with the wardrobe accommodation. No. 1 was all right, he had two whole hooks to himself, No. 2 had one, and one that was useless by reason of being only six inches above No. 3 bunk. Poor No. 3 had two, both of which were over his bunk arid useless. No. 4 had one and a useless one. No. 3's clothes had a bad time. Neither of his hooks would accommodate any trarment over six inches lone. He had to hang his clothes on the floor, or bundle them up" at the foot of the bed, a method that is apt to put a crease m the wrong part o.f the trousers and crumple the shirt-tfront some. Can you, Sir, or can the company, or can anybody explain why an extra 10s Should he squeezed out of the four occii-pan's of that cabin — on the top of an alxeadv exhorbitant fare, con-

j sidering that you- get.no meal during the journey — when such poor accomjj modation is provided? An extra I I charge for any ca-binY containing four lis ridiculous, and the company that ' i v lias the cheek ■to . charge it must be composed of a cast-iron crowd ot grasping capitalists;; I am>toW that the dining sa!oon-,-,*is .magnificently fitted up, and : that the pepper and salt are of first-class quality, rbjiit as you don't get any :meala.Meni.^oyage that doesn't count for m-ach;-?' 'l*' am not sure, but I think ?the chief steward blushod when he t^q^m-T:' half-crown. Anyhow, I am^sure^he felt his position keenly." * .' *'■ v; /■' '" '* This paper certainly cannot enlighten our correspondent as to why J he was charged the 'extra half-crown, except that it is a hard and fast rule of the Union Company to squeeze' every ounce of blood possible out /of the travelling public. In the first place 35s return for an 11 hours journey, with no meals provided, is an outrageous charge, arid the public J are .fleeced m this way because the U.S.S. Co. have the monoply and can charge what they darned well like, i When the Maori was on her, way to this country the daily press (afraid to say a word against such a great j advertiser as the U.S.S. Co.) printed ! colunwis of praise of the • new vessel ; described all her ; qualities, detailed her ample and comfortable accommodation, and finally went into hysterics over the enterprise of tm's great said glorious company m introducing 1 such a marvellous vessel into these waters. The daily press practically told the people of New Zealand that they i should go down on their knees and thank the Union Company for their ; magnificent gift. What rot! Who paid for the Maori, the Union Com,^ pany or an overcharged travelling public ? The public, of course. It is the fleeced public who have made the Union Co., and m return what do the public get ? Bitten a little bit deeper than before, that's all. What .has the much boomed Maori done for the travelling public?' Cut off two hours m ' the W'ellington-Ljittelton trip and diddled the passengers put of a meal. Why should the company be praised for the extra accommodation when an additional charge is made for all berths that are not situated m the regions somewhere adjacent to the stoke-hole ? / The good and kind* company, vide/ daily press, has provided a boat thfct will meet the emergency of a ''holiday crowd, but not a word about the good company charging all the late comers 2s 6d or 5s extra a head for the privilege of being part of that crowd- This U.S.S. Co. worship m certain .capitalistic quarters is sickening to the right thinking person, just as U.S.S. Co tyranny and impudence is resented by a long suffering travelling public. It is time some one whom money cannot buy, or some paper whom fat advertisements cannot silence, took up the cudgels on behalf of the helpless public, and "Truth" intends doing its best whenever opportunity occurs.