CHANGES AT HAND.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1248, 3 October 1911, Page 2

CHANGES AT HAND.

THE TRAMWAYS. DISCUSSION BY CITY COUNCIL. A TRAFFIC MANAGRU TO HE APPOINTED. For four lmiirs ycslorilay iiftornnon Wdliiiatnu's tramway umlurtaliiim was under consideration by tho City Council. This uct-asitm was Hie ailjmirneil meeting ealled for tlie jiurpusi! of uiiisideriiiK the report, which Mr. Slnart Rii'lianlson mado on tho tramways i» May last. The council commenced ils sitting at 2 o'clock and ra-o.at (i o'clock. In opening the proceedings the Mayor said that since tho last, mectine, of the council a now point hud cropped up in t'lint I ho traniwayiiK'n lind tiled tlieir nolico with the Conciliation Couiiril, and therefore the council's; busiuois would uc much as it would bo by the «":),y to discuss wall Pi's of wages. lie jiropofpil to asiv the Tnumvay (./ommillce lo meet after tho council meeting and appoint, three representatives tor that dispute 'lho matter i.bn council was met to consider wius.a very important one. 'Xho diliicuily in coining to a conclusion on nil tho points ol the report appeared, to l>o that many of tlio suggestions and recommendations of -Mr. Kichardson were entirely on the question of the traffic management. It teemed lo him that Uic discussion woujd mostly locus on the necessity of providing a means of management of the traffic which would bo siitielaclory to tho council and to the public. A capable traOic manager iu a tramway concern was tho pivot of successful operation. Mr. liichnrdson's- report, which dealt exhaustively with the working of tlio wholo undertaking, showed clearly tho necessity for a strong and capable man who was fit to carry the responsibility of dealing with tho difficulties which continually arose between the management and the men with reasonability and absolute fairi\f<s. The. undertaking had grown enormously of late years and \y:is now a huge business concern requiring applied atVnti<in nnd an alertness of applica[ion for dealing with circumstances as they arose, which ho regretted to say was absent. He Mieved that the proS3iit superintendent of traffic had found tho huge conrern beyond his powers. If his Worship was right in that contention, tho sourc-o of weakness, was plain, and tho reason for a change evident. What Was the Remedy? If this was admitted, what was the remedy? The city must obtain at once the man for tho position. The city must be prepared lo.pay for such a man, and in his opinion a salary of .WOO n year should be voted, and applications invited at once for tho position. If councillors agreed with this argnin(v.rt it would shorten the discission on minor details of alleged want ol management for any such discussion must be so interwoven with tho first point as to be inseparable therefrom. The man who was wanted must have had experience- in calculating traffic and in appreciating the various and varied conditions pertaining to a service lilw Wellington's, and such a man must also have tact to no simill degree. Could they find such a man? Thai: was tho (inn'stion for the city. A traffic superintendent who could not calculate tlio. requirements of a city, the various ramificiitio:is attaching to .such a concern, could in a woek, or in a moment, produce confusion* or even incalculable loss to the city. Everything depended on management. It might bo asked if it was not possible for Jlr. llichardson or Mr. Cable to undertake Iheso duties. From his experience as Mayor—nnd he was in almost daily communication with them— his answer was emphatically, "N'o." »\lr. Eich;irdsoa was their engineer,' and his whole time was fully occupied as engineer, not only of tho tramways, but nlso of the electric lighting department of the city, both of which wore hup; concerns. Were it not for the fact that Mr. Richardson hod with him an afjle lieutenant in the person of Jlr. Cable, his duties could not be performed, and though a great deal of his time iu Hie past had been ' givon to traffic, Mr. Cable could not bo .spared for the ever-increasing work of tho engineering and management side of tho tramways and electric lighting department necessitated more aud more time beiug given by him. Finance. The tramways to-day represented a verj large sum of money, and waste was saved only where there was able management. They had increased their capital year by year by ilie expenditure of revenue earned and depreciation moneys, but there is r.n provision for the establishment of a liriuia fiuul for emergency use. lie pro-pc-jtd that half of the deprecia- , lion moneys should be set aside' next year in connection with the tramways ami I lift power supply as a reserve iund, and that the balance of depreciation, together with any profit there may be, should be used as an improvement fund, ft was to be dearly understood that the depreciation part of the iund was only to be- used for permanent improvements. He thought that any future balance-sheet should set out against tho concern tho cost of the supervision by tho engineer of the permanent way. Looking at the huge expenditure in the past seven years from depreciation and revenue, which had been expended on improvements and additions to capital _ account, totalling ,*577,f125, and this increasing the value of the concern from ■ ,LT>!2,b!l:i to ,C!>1!l,!Hl, and realising that the iiicresisivl trallic and the growth of the suburban trallic spells more cars, it would probably b<; necessary to obtain u loan of J'20,000 in the near future to cope with lho public demand. Of course, jn new trallic manager, after inquiry and consideration, might find that now'methods of running would advocate that. They were to-day sailing along with a comparatively small surplus. They were not in a position to cope, with all'tho Ira flic for the suburban areas. These matters were for the traffic manager, and for him alone. In a huge concern like the railways of Hit* Wfiminion, for instance, the whole result of the operations depended on tlie traffic manager. lie thought. Mr. Kiehanlsnu had presented as able a report ns hml ever been presented to a local authority in Xcw Zealand by ono of its stnff, and he thought every councillor had leanit a great ileal, and pe-t a deeper insight into the tramways by reading the report. ITe wished to pay a compliment lo Mr. Richardson for making such a report, and to congratulate him on the "meat" in it. Three Motions. He intended to move — (1) That a new traffic malinger should be appointed, nt a salary'of X'Tnfl a year; (2) That the council should provide a reserve fund, and keep a liquid account, (such as lie had had referred to previously); and (3) That' the council should debit, the tramway concern with the part of tlio cost of the engineer's supervision of tbe track. His "Worship went on to say that lie thought that if Ihev got a capable- manae<?r tlio running of the trains should l>o left entirely to him. The councillors could make recommendations, and bring forward evidence, in support of contentions, and so on, but otherwise would be saved a tremendous amount of bother. Mr. Cable was capable, but could not. be spared from the nnsrhiocrs' department. Mr. Hichardson could not possibly touch the nutter. Therefore, he would move That a traffic manager .for tho tramways should bo advertised for at a salary of .'-'7OO a year, and that snic'i adverlisemont should bo made in Australasia. Tin' whole report, the Mayor faiil, was then open for discussion. The Discussion Begins. Councillor Cameron said that a mistake had been made in nrkoning lho revenue. A sum of over ,mM\ had boon put iu as c-'jpilal and no sinking fund or depreciation provided. Tho Mayor snid that Councillor Cameron was.wrong, Imt Councillor Cameron maintained that he could find I he figures to prove what he said. As a fairly rough estimate a total of ,Csi)i),fl72 had been put 3 in as capirul. Ho compared Wellington's with Dunedin's system and wiid Dun- :> o(liii was setting aside .1.21 |kt cent, while o- Wellington was only setting aside 2.5S per cent, dcsiiilc conditions in liunedin's fac. vour. The cost: per ear-mile here had increased from 5.72 d. lo lO.flil. This was serious and would no doubt Iμ; looked into

if a traflic manager was appointed. He < (liil not iill-oKi'llior liko the idea of a loan i as a tramway ought to lie soil-containing 1 once it was soundly financed. '1 In- people 1 who used I ho ti-iiiiis .should liiaiat'ain I them. There should In- stridor riil<-s re- ; garding concession tickets. J,ugi;iit;o ear- 1 ricd on trams should li« paid lor, fay, I sixpence ii parcel. It was well worth six- i pence, too, to carry go-carls, the folding i and unfolding of which, Ij.y file way, the i conductors endured most patiently. 'J'lio trallie on the Kiibirnie lino was getting I li'i-ril)lv congested and something should h> done. Jlo agreed (lint. I ho city ongiuoorV time e-lioultl lie charged against Ihu permanent way. ll was a fairly prions lliiiiß if the Wadostown lino was to result in a loss of .£IOOO a year, and the council should have made a stronger n-ii-tanre vt pulling the line there till they knew A would pay. As a nivalis of relieving: ovei->«.:wding and coping with heavy (raliic. he fVuglit the introduction of trailers should bo considered. Councillor Hotelier and cithers: "We can't , do it; it's not allowed." Councillor Cameron: "1 sun aware of the difl.io.uliy, but try and imngiiio it. is possible." Councillor Cameron said it was also desirable that the tramway lines should bo kept fro? of pedes! rians. A eouneillor: "How?" Councillor Cameron: "It is done in oilier places." A voice: "Nonsense!" Anolher voice: "Where liavo (hey fenced them in?" Councillor Cameron concluded by conKralulatiii , ,' the .Mayor upon his criticism of the subject mn tier, and complimenting Mr. Jtiebardson upon his report. Over Officered. Councillor Frost said he was satisfied we. had in Wellington tonic of the best experts South of the Line; in fact, he had bo:v:i assured Mr. Kicliardson was the best in (his hemisphere. Hut business men should run the concern. The system, he thought, was a good deal over-officered. There wero too many inspectors. The corporation should keep a large stock cf its requirements for the trmnwaye, euch as Auckland did. Councillor Barber said Hint in view of all tho circumstances it was astonishing to lind that: the expenses per car had incrciLsed. The system must be loaded too much—there were too many inspectors, or something. Ite had a sugg<»stio!i to make. There was greater congestion on Wellington South trains than on any other portion of the system. His idea was that I liny should lay nn extra s-et of rails from Courtenay Place to Newtown. In rush hours they could run a tram on the extra lino from Courtenay Place to the Newtov/:i School without a slop, and from there to tho terminus without a slop. That line, too, would relievo the pressure when there wero crowds for Athletic Park. In the future the line could be taken round from Court onay l'iaco past tho To Aro railway station' to the Post Office. Councillor Fitzgerald did not 'think this was the lime i'or .such a suggestion as Councillor Barber's. Uo did not agree with his Worship's proposal for a traffic manager. What was the good of a manager who was not manager of the wholo concern? He <lid not see how tho Mayor could congratulate Mr. Kiclumbon upon his report and at the same time make the. suggestion he , put forward. There was something radically wrong, but the motion was too vngue. Had they sufficient work to keep Mr. Cable occupied? Tho, Mayor: "Do you expect mo lo answer j , " Councillor Fletcher: "lie doesn't expect an answer." Councillor Fitzgerald said they would bo spending .C2OOO a year, and would they have work for three men? They wanted a good business man to manago the whole concern, lie moved: That in the opinion of this council tho. time has arrived when wo should appoint a manager of tho wholo concern. ' The Mayor: "Let us be clear. You mean to run the wholo concern?" Councillor Fitzgerald: "Yes." The Mavor: "Power houso?" "No." " "Car sheds?" "Yes." "Then you must.have tin engineer Mr. Richardson informs me." "Are general managers in other concorns engineers?",.. .■• .■.... ■■~■■.'■■,.. Ship Without a Captain, Councillor Fuller seconded.. ITo said that there should bo a supremo manager. He could have an engineer ns an ndviser. "Our tramways," he continued, "are something like a ship whoso officers and captain have been washed overboard. A voice: "On strike." (Laughter.) Councillor Fuller: "No; but the ship has got to port somehow, through the work of the engineer." Comparing the Duncdin and the Wellington tramway systems, Councillor Fuller introduced 'figures which he claimed showed to Dunedin's advantage. Our management expenses were excessive, aud the failure of the tramways as a business was due to bad management. In comparison with Dunodin, Wellington should have made a surplus of. at least .£15,000 last yvxtr. Councillor Fletcher said that he did not iv-ree with tho Mayor that an expert should be appointed to control the t'afhe. There wero" men in the service capable. The Mayor had suggested a salary ol C7OO a year. Mr. Richardson received *C 750, and Mr. Cable .£125. Why not appoint Mr. Cable traffic manager, aud ii Mr. Richardson needed assistance, get n from him? All the talk about tho bad management of. the tramways was hippo buncombe. The trams were well managed, and all they wanted was to get the best out of that'nianagement. As to tho pressure in rush hours, <.ouncillor Fletcher suggested introducing the minimum faro system. i Wanted—Local Patriotism. Councillor Shirlcliu*« commenced hi? remarks by n plea for inoro local patriotism. TliVrc had been too much comparison with other systems. There was u tendency in the council to decry our own tramways. (The Mayor: "Hear, hc.vr.") As to ' the comparisons with Dunedin there were extra wages paid in Wellington tuid other nhascs which it was unfair t<l not cji.ll attention to. for they showed that Wellington was getting a much belter service. However, while Wellington had made a splendid achievement, there was ' room for improvement in the trallic de--1 partmeiit. A* strong, capable, tactful, cx- ' prrionced traffic uiaiiasr.r was needed. : This ho said withon'. n word of disparace- • nient lo the prevent stall'. ' Councillor M'Kojizio said it was quite ' refroshins to him to hvar Councillor 1 Frost putting in a word fur Wellington, for it was rare that wo heard any nf our \ public men doing so. (The Mayor: "Hear, ' hear."). There was a wrong spirit: in the council, aud that was lhal councillors listened too much to corporation employees instead of sending them direct to tho heads of the departments. That was where the trouble began. The working excuses were Roins up out of all proportion to the whole thing, lie was sure that some alteration was wanted in the management of the trams. There w.k no equity in tho length of tho sections. People living on the Ncwtown line could go as far for a penny a< Brooklyn residents paid threepence i'or. A councillor: "Hut there is a difference in the loadimr." It was a duty of the council, said 3 Councillor M'Kenzio, to innko the trnm- . ways pay, and yet. on big football days 3 tho management, failed to put on enough s cars to cope with the traffic, and in that » way money was lost. Councillor M'Larcn said that to expect 5 a perfect system in such a short period \ of time as the life of the Wellington 3 tramways was absurd. As to the pro- . petals before the council, they had a i traffic inspector at present—Mr. .lames— d at a salary of .£275. 'W'hnt was intended should bo'done with him? The tramways of Wellington were- a credit to Hie city in Councillor Godbcr's opinion. They worn giving more to tho public than other systems μ-civ, but. a man with experience ought lo be got. s Councillor Fitzgerald's amendment was lost by 10 votes lo f>. The Mayor Replies. o In replying, the Mayor stated that the !. complaint made that there wore too many :i inspectors in Wellington wasa matter for ■- Ihi; traffic manager. A remark by his Worship roused Coun- - rIIUA- Fuller, 'who said: "I take it, (hen, ii that what 1 said was decrying Wellings ton." Ii Tho Mayor: "You must not interrupt s iti.s Worship, proceeding, said that they - had defects iu the running of the sy*e Icm, and not a man who could sen it. r That was what, they wore going to get. - In rush hours (hoy had insufficient ears, :1 in ordinary hours"too inaiiiy. lint Wols lington's trams were not as overcrowded o as Sydney's. (Hear, hoar.) lie was not

debarring Mr. Cable from the posMblo iimv po.-ition. lie had IVamod his resolution mi thai Afr. Cable could apply. Ho was not going to say Mr. Cable wa-s (ho Ix'.-it man, although Mr. Cable was prosent, and, if a Ix-ttcr man came along, Mr. Cabli , was not going lo get favours from the enuucil. 'I'o ?avo inoney was mil luivssirily to nu\l;v inoney; n chuip man in a big loncern was not a wiso move. 'J lie Mayor's iiiolion was jiut and corri<sl without a Tho Mayor then moved: That a reserve fund should bo. cstablishod, such fund to he a liquid fund, and IhiiL hiicli Innd should Ik> builtup ll ii 1i I if roaches .UO.tlllt), mid further, the amount spent should 1)0 refunded as toon as possible. Councillor Shirtclili'o Meondod. Councillor Fuller was a-liing the Mayoi a number of riurstiuns on linauco uiatI tors when ('■ouTicillo.r lliudmmvh iiUVr|jecle<l: ".May J '■uggosl. that your Worfllip lake. Councillor Fuller and give him a few le.-sons. '.It would pay ttwiuiho he is tiiliing ii]) our time." Councillor Fuller: "Such a remark is all very well from an old councillor, but 1 have a right t'o know. ... I am not going U) be blulVed." Tin' Mayor: "ijet me tell you, not; ms an old Mayor—(laughter)—but. as an old councillor, that tho lii-st thing ia not I'o gel; healed. A good many of the- interjoclions nindn when you are speaking lake place because thev seo you rising lo it." Councillor' Fuller: "I ram not' heated, sir; I am earnest." Tho Mayor's pcxind motion was carried. On tho motion of tho Mayov it was llica l'Ds-alvnl: That, tho tratnwnys undertaking should bo debited with the cost , of tho supervision of the pernianont way by (ho cily engineer.