THE SYMPATHY OF THE PUBLIC.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17504, 21 December 1918, Page 8

THE SYMPATHY OF THE PUBLIC.

TO THB EDITOR. .Sib —"The tramwaymen, by their present ■ tactics.." are losing the sympathy of the #nbbc.' Ono often at the present time heats this opinion expressed by certain passed gers of the disgruntled type. It ofay 1 wT termed a "big-liver" Utterance, atftf-it "is just as logical as such utterances usually are. It is just like saying that if the men use drastio measures to win justice ,from' their employers they will lose the sympathy of their employers, as in this : case the public are the employers of . the tramwaymen. It should be noted, however, ' ( that.-/tho men jure, not asking so much for •public o-ympathy as for public justice. They have experienced 12 years of public sym- • pathy, bad conditions, and poor wages, and are seeking better wages, better conditions, and, obtaining these, they caii "afford to dispense with publio sympathy. '§OTPSstby . impbes the existenoe of a grievDi(do,- Remove the grievance, and .sympathy KfjSHEPifluous If the public has any genuine" feeling in tho matter it will stir Itself to redress tho wrong; but if a'little inconyenjanco causes its sympathy to vanish, then it was never of. a v-ery strong character, and trimwaymen have no reason to regret I' is the sort, of sympathy that rsjiyg: ' |u;am sorry your conditions are bad and your" wages poor, bat if you inconvenience _me m rectifying matters . I am going ,'to. kick you." : f any -'case tbo men are not- to blame for running to rules; they are only carrying out instructions. It must be admitted that the spectacle of confusion at the Post Office at crash hours is a sight for gods and men; but tho responsibility must rest With the compiler of tho rules. If for 12 years the men have been allowed to ignore public safety to suit public convenience, surely for a few days they shonld bo allowed to study public safety and ignore public, : convenience. As the rule book and the .tfino-iable canaot be . reconciled, the timetable ■•'must go by the board. In these ;days a little excitement is as good as a tpnic-.' .... "'Tfe?' sympathy of fhe workers who keep the" cars going is with the men and their fight. The tramwaymen cannot afford to j|GSP-j .-md tho workers in other inchwtrioo cannot afford to let them lose. Organised labour cannot allow them to ibo beaten; and let •us hope when this fight is over it cannot be said m -jther centres, as it has ;<ilroa% m?on said, that the conditions of the DiTnedm tramwaymen are a menace to every tramway worker in N*w Zealand. Onranised labour understands that the men only ask justice. More than that, no ono has the right to demand; less than that no one "should be compelled to demand. I -am. ctc Observer. MiTSselburg'h, December 20.

THE INSPECTION OF BUTCHERS' SHOPS. TO THE EDITOR.

■ ■ Srn,—Dirt, when brought in contact with •food, is beyond all doubt a prolific moans of spreading disease. With others, I have been waiting to see if certain butchers, particnlirly one in the northern part of the -wnke op to tho need of springdgaapig the shop of its accumulation of oy-dirt of long standing. Tho manager ' nnocrKcioos of the danger -to vthtch

til© pubEo ia being' exposed. I understand that wo have a goodly number of inspeotora employed by the City Council to look after this kind of danger to the health of tho people. It should not be necessary that they should have to be callod out of thoir officos to Inspect many places which require their attention, particularly whore food is concerned. A good many of us will be curious to observe if this little squib will prochico a salutary activity on tho part of people who neglect sanitary precautions. —I •am, etcL,

CrnuaratAS Cleaning.