"MAYOR AS OVERSEER."

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 15160, 2 October 1913, Page 8

"MAYOR AS OVERSEER."

; ME ANGLAND EST REPLY. To tito Eraioß' '*TTv«itTT HEaAia)." SSir, —In reply to your mfclftadmg I arid incorrect article in your issue 01 • this day's date in connection with Mr; Loganj drainage engineer, and the men. 1 working at the outaall, I wish to con- i tradict some or the incorrect statements . yqu have made. '- I -1. Yon state that "Mr Anglsrvrt seems ! to have formed suspicions that- the men were loafing." This is an mcoxreet , statement; 1 never formed an opiaon or j stated that the men. were loafing. What - state at the meeting on Monday ; night (I repeat again) "That I was not ] satisfied' With the way the men have j been working at the outfall." How could I he otherwise when the engineer | could not explain in answer to my ques- \ tarn, where the men were working!, i Especially so when the work up to-the present time has cost the ratepayers of Timaru £I7OO more than the estimate apt, and wfll he well over £2OOO before the work w completed. ;J2. Again you.state to Mr'Logjin and the foreman going tcr'the Gera&line races without considering apparently what hours the engineer had been .working'-.earlier in. the day." I may say I had" doubts as to the manner and . method Mr Logan' was adopting to look after the work and the -time of- placing bis men at work, as the following will, ; I think, allow your readers to judge. ! On Thursday last, the 25th ultimo,- it ; was high water'at ten o'clock ajn. -In the first two hours the tide rises - four Therefore I wilt ask you how : many hours Mri Logan wjorked. that ! morning before going to the races. Further, I would Eke to ask you to I solve another question for ine and give j me the answer, viz.:—Thi-g morning the time pay-sheet was sent to the Council j office by Mr Logan for the payment of [ the men's wages far 8J hours worked i on lie 25i3u'ult. Seeing that Mr Logan stated in his interview with your reon the 30th ult. that "nobody left for tie Genaldine races on the 25th ult. until after the day's work was completed for the day," will you, sir, or , Mr. Logan give me an explanation, and answer how'the 8J hours were worked . on the 26th ult., seeing that it was nigh • tide at 10 o'clock and the men were only .supposed to .work to twelve o'clock. 3. Further you state "H Mr A-ng-land had been an experienced overseer - he would hare questioned the engineer - in detail and treated him with all respect before his workmen." 1 may state that there were no workmen present when I spoke to Mr Logan on the railway bridge at Eversley Hill. Mr Logan came from his office to where Mr Virtue atnd myself- were seated, in a ' motor car.' I treated Mr Logan with respect, but did not agree with has statements.

4. And again you state "Mr Angland eeems to have brandered badly." If I had bhmderel as badly as you have in connection., with your criticism in con-

nection with my conduct to the engineer and men, in your Leading article of Ifco-day, JarhKjh l ahsoiutely incorrect from lie start to the finish, I would | take lessons at some charitable institution and try and' perfect myself. 5. As to the deputation from the men at the outfall, Mr Virtue informed me that Mr Logan rang him up and asked him if I would hear them. I told Mr Virtue that I had nothing to do with i the men, and if tixev had any complaints j to make ttiey had better put it in writ- I ing and lot.'the. matter come before the Council, as I considered that was the proper course. Since then I have seen by your paper, the "Timaru Herald," that they waited at the "Herald" office instead as a deputation, and on account of the ■statements which appear in your issue of to-day, for which of course you are : responsible, being of' a very serious mature to me, I have- placed the matter in the hands of my solicitors to'deal with as they think fit. ;,. This letter finishes my correspondence with you in- connection with this subject.—l am, etcjf < ~ W. ANGLAND. Timaru,. Oct. Ist, 1913. MR'LOGAN IN REPLY. Mr Logan makes the following statement in answer to the charges made:- — Dealing first with the statement that I credited the men with 8J hours on Thursday, I may say that before this work was started at the outfall an- arrangement was made with the Mayor and Council thaf> if: the- men worked leas than eight hours, owing to "ohe tide, it shorila still count .as eight - hours. On some days they worked- more than eight 'hTJursi - but were only paid at the rate of 9s a day—the rate agreed upon. This arrangement was entered into because' it would have been impossible to get mea. to continue at such dirty, Jaborious work, if. on some days they could only work five or six hours at the rate of 1* -lid an hour. Men would not take on such work if they were only going to make £1 15s to £2 2s spm>j ii-eoks. At times they had to work up to the waist in water, and th*T ruined their clothes, and some of thera also spoiled their watches. The 8$ hour day certified to on Thursday last was simply ih.& recognised way of 1 filling in the time sheet under this arrangement. To make up a week , of 48 hoitrs to allowed five days of 8* hours and one day of 4J hours: We" worked to that as closely; as circumstances would permit. The Mayor knew all about this arrangement, as I had disoussed it with him before it catie bafore the Council, for approval. Th© time sheets hare always been put in. in thds manner since the work started. The men have never worked less than six hours, and often they bars put in 8| hours between -• tide ■ work and on other parts of the job. | They have worked as long as possible |on every day of the week. If it were raining the men had to knock off and receive no payment for time thus lost. And if a man, rom *"& "(ason, wanted to get, off for an hour or more, payment for such thne was deducted £om his wages. In order to earn the full wage the men had to be at w™ all the time it was in progress. The Mayor also asks how we could nave worked on Thursday morning, emce it was high water at ten o'clock, and in the first two hours the tide rises row fc»s. -Mr . Angland' evidently thinks that' the only time at which work can be done at the reef is at dead.low water. "Were our pipes discharging at dead low water mark" this would be the oase, but the Mayor evidently forgets that the bottom of our pipe* it. more than four feet above low water, and on occasions when we hare had &|»I tide and calm sea wo have 'worked a seven 'hours shift on the reef without any great inconvenience. As to nry own .tone, I may say that I hava frequently been on the work from 18 to 19 hours out of the 24 while the tunnel was in progress. I wajjirst appointed to supervise the carrying out of Mr" Slinger's plan. and was afterwards given sole oontrol of the work. I was not bound down to any hours so long- as the work was properly supervised. The Mayor says that he treated me with respeot when he amis- to the works on Friday last. I must give an emphatio denial to this. The respect he showed me was to give me the lie direct; he also used strong language, and toEd me that the - men' and myself had done no work for a *"•<*• He also told one of the men —Mr Benjaxadj»-4&at they "had not *w A* 1 ?'? a *■*." and he paid that they had not started at-5 o'clock that morning, though he had just been told that they had started *t thaw hour. I certainly gathered from the Mayor's remarks that he accused same inference from bis remarks Im conclusion I may s«y that I think *£ w ,, a , great shame that these man should be oritioaßed as the Mayor has cntaciied them. I have never seen better men to work. I hope that there will be inquiry, and that it witt be opeiFto -tibe Press.