THE RAILWAY BALLOTS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14330, 21 June 1917, Page 7

THE RAILWAY BALLOTS.

(Per Press Assoclatl »n.) WELLINGTON, this day. I During the last fortnight Mr Hamp- : ton, president of the Associated Society 1 of Railway Servants, has visited vari- < ous centres of the North Island for the 1 purpose of explaining to the railway men i tlio balloting method adopted by the Railway Department for the selection of ' men to be released 'for service m the " Expeditionary Force. Mr Hampton 1 watched tho ballot on behalf of the rail- ♦ way servants, and he assured the mem- j bers of the society that he was prepared " to vouch tor its fairness. He has visited ■> Palmerston North, Taihape, Ohakune, J Taumarunui, To Kuiti, New Plymouth, Stratford, Hawera, and Wanganui. Mr j Hampton told a Dominion reporter that ■ after he had addressed the railway men ■ generally they had expressed themselves - satisfied that the best method had been adopted m the selection of men for ser- i vice. He had explained that if there < was no ballot the heads of the depart- : ments would have to undertake the duty i of saying which men could be spared, ■ and this would be undesirable from sev- i eral points of view. The Te Kuiti rail- ] waymen had carried a motion strongly ' condemning the departmental ballot, but i after hearing Mr Hampton they had re- < versed the decision, and resolved that ■ the system adopted was the best m the circumstances. .