OFFICIALS RESIGN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24832, 4 February 1942, Page 4

OFFICIALS RESIGN

EMERGENCY TRANSPORT SERVICE MAYOR'S ACTION DISAPPROVED AN EXPLANATORY STATEMENT The reasons why the controller of the transport section of the Emergency Precautions Service (Mr James Phillips), together with the deputy controller (Mr G. W. Ferens) and members of the committee, have tendered their resignations to the Mayor (Mr A. H. Allen), as chairman of the Dunedin Executive, are explained in a statement which was issued yesterday. " The controller and deputy controller of the transport section," the statement says, " have tendered th2ir resignations, which have been accepted by the Mayor. This, serious step was taken as an expression of disapproval of the Mayor's proposal to alter the present system of training and organisation. His Worship contends: (1) That the section is too militaristic, and this, he states, is borne out by the fact of the personnel wearing uniforms and being asked to drill; (2) that there is no need for specialised training; (3) that the present training is too slow and too costly and altogether unnecessary; (4) that there is no necessity for lectures on incendiary bombs (that this was being attended to by the firefighting section); (5) that there is no need for lectures on anti-gas(as the decontamination section is dealing with this). "Reversal of Policy" "As the Mayor has not inspected pur section or investigated our-organisa-tion," the, statement continues, "we contend that he is not in a position to make these assertions. We do admit that he has the right, as chairman of the E.P.S., to implement his own policy, but we cannot subscribe to what is a belated reversal of the original policy submitted to his Worship and approved by him. The original policy was formulated by a very strong committee of business men, who have supported our action, and these likewise have now tendered their resignations. Further, the members of the section have expressed their approval of the mariner in which the section has been trained and organised in a very /decided manner. . .' •

" The points at variance as raised by his Worship can be satisfactorily answered as follows: (1) That our section is too militaristic is entirely without foundation. The members have had elementary drill only, and the fact that they have purchased blue overalls and caps at their own expense and wish, does not constitute a military unit. Further, this action was approved in writing by the Central Executive and the Director of National Service- The basic principle underlying the training is to bring about co-ordinated movement necessary to control a large body of men. . 2. That there is no need for specialised training is grossly incorrect. The transport section is the life-blood of the E.P.S., and from practical, experience we know the drivers must be tested and trained and classified in order to get the most suitable drivers for the various classes of vehicles for the purpose for which they will be used.

3. Actual tests carried out to date have proved that the statement that the present training is too slow and costly and is not necessary, to be unsound. Competent transport and business men definitely'. agree that our present methods are sound and. vital to the final success of the" section in the event of it having to function. Further, the cost to the city to date has not exceeded £3OO. Explanation Desirable "Finally, questions (4) and (5) can quite easily be replied to by saying that we feel that all members should know; how to . deal with incendiary bombs," the statement concludes, " With regard to anti-gas lectures, we likewise consider our members should be instructed how to detect the various gasses and what action to take for selfpreservation. In conclusion, we, the controller, deputy-controller, arid committee feel that if we were to adopt the policy as outlined; by the Mayor, the section would fail to function efficently in a state of emergency; Further, we think it our duty ; as a committee to place these facts before the citizens of Dunediri." :, Minister Asked to Intervene

On behalf of delegates appointed from the various units of the Transport Section, it was stated last night that the following telegram had been sent to the Minister of National Service, Mr R. Semple:— • "On behalf of the Dunedin E.P.S. transport personnel, we, the appointed delegates, strongly protest against the acceptance of resignations of the controller and deputy controller of this section. The Mayor severely criticises and disapproves of the policy adopted by the controller regarding organisation and an extensive training scheme for the personnel. This present programme is regarded as indispensable, and has our full confidence. We beg you to investigate the matter urgently." The statement was made on behalf of the delegates that they had the utmost confidence in the retiring controller and deputy controller, and desired that their resignations should be declared void and that they should be reinstated. .

MAYOR'S REPLY TRAINING OF PERSONNEL SIMPLIFICATION DESIRABLE "Some of the subjects mentioned in the remarks attributed to me: in Mr Phillips's statement were never even referred to by me," said Mr Allen last night when he was asked to comment on the position. " In View of the fact that under compulsory registration men under 46 years of age are to be made available to the armed forces," Mr Allen added, " it became obvious that the future personnel for our Transport Section must be secured from men in the 46 to 65 age group. It was also apparent that these must be secured as quickly as possible. To facilitate their training, I consider that the necessary efficiency with the new personnel can be quickly achieved by a simplification of the elaborate military lines adopted by Mr Phillips. I, therefore, asked for his co-operation by the adoption of some modification of his training. This he refused, and the resignations of himself and his deputy were tendered, and have been accepted, and another controller has been appointed. The resignations of other personnel have not been accepted, and it is desired that they will continue under the new controller. The necessary personnel and vehicles will be available within the next couple of weeks." Mr Allen announced that the new controller would be. the chief city traffic inspector, Mr E. H. Barrett.