THE GOVERNMENT STROKE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144860, 11 December 1915, Page 2

THE GOVERNMENT STROKE.

TIRED WORKERS. nioa our ovv.x correspondent. WELLINGTON, Doc. 10. There has been a great deal ol trouble at the new military camp at Tauherenikaii on account ol a number of the workmen engaged there losing sight of the fact mat they were engaged primarily to work. The .section retorrod to appears to be labouring under the delusion that in all Government jobs drinking takes precedence and they have acted accordingly. . The camp is now in course of preparation and some hundreds of workmen are engaged there, and they arc likclr to be'there for some w eeks. As tilings are at present the camp is controlled by the public V\ orks Department add there is no restriction on the habits of the men ; the result is a largo (imintitv of liquor finds its way there and large-sized orgies and their eoucomniihints—brawls —result, loose tactics have,, of course, a deleterious effect upon the working capacity of the men, also the quality of the duties performed. . The whole business has occasioned a grout amount of Ministerial concern and various remedies are being tried. If the camp were placed under military control, as it very easily could be. the introduction of liquor .could be prohibited as in other camps. Instead of the work being under the control of tile Public Works Department it should be transferred to the Department of Defence and the trouble would speedily be ended.