SHORT-LIVED VENTURE

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 177, 22 February 1933, Page 5

SHORT-LIVED VENTURE

Auckland Staff Becomes Suspicious OFFICES NOW CLOSED j j Auckland, Feb. 21.—Considerable j J interest is being taken in the city in the affairs of a financial institution | j and subsidiary enterprises whose development has been nipped in the bud in somewhat unusual circumstances. A master mind which is stated to have operated mostly from a leading hotel, various managers, a clerical staff, skilled tradesmen and vendors of sumptuous office fittings are the characters in the stories in circulation. An intriguing feature mentioned is that often the staff were invited to return to their homes and gardens, as there was no work to be done, the understanding being that they would continue to draw pay while engaged in these domestic pursuits. A Fidelity Fund One man in reciting his experiences said that his application for employxhena resulted in a personal call at his house and a request that he should interview the principal at the hotel. Here he was given the impression of large business, with mention of the establishment of 12 branch ; offices in Auckland and about 60 in i the provinces. An agreement to serve j was produced and signed by the applicant, who was to receive a salary of £330 a year, to be paid monthly. The applicant bound himself to become a contributor to a fidelity fund at the rate of £4 17s 6d a year. It is stated that about 20 men were engaged to work in the principal | ' institution and for a few days they j ' were employed in a search for suit- i able offices in the suburbs and in can- j vassing printing houses to obtain ! prices for stationery. Some members I - of the newly-created staff were given ' the task of interviewing further applicants for employment and reporting on their suitability. j Shortage of Cash It was not long before the clerical workers heard of other enterprises in which the principals were engaged arid that a large factory in the city ■ was being adapted for the require- j meats of a new business. When the passing days brought little sign of a j ' more active demand for their ser- j vices, the clerks became suspicious, j i Their doubts that all was not well j < became stronger whan they found they j were shared by the manual workers I in the factory in being and a definite call for action made itself heard, it is ! . said, when it was mentioned that the I . heads of the vast company in being j > were so short of cash that loaus of j very small amounts had been sought. , of some of the staff, and one man had j . been asked for his contribution to the j fidelity fund in advance. j The matter was sfrongly pressed, but little satisfaction appears to have, been obtained beyond the knowledge that all the workers, clerical and man- < ual, would be better advised to seek other employment. The offices are now closed and the furniture is said to be back in the hands of the ven- < dors. In the meantime the matter isfh in the hands of the police. lii