NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1289, 18 November 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

That very outspoken journal, the ltailway Officers' Advocate, has Eoiue very strong commente in its current issue on the defective ad-

ministration of the railways of the Dominion. It is particularly forcible in its references to what it terms the negative attitude tho management has taken up concerning those matters affecting tho welfare of the staff which have been represented by the Railway Officers' Institute. Hero is an extract from its leading article:

Wo have fdirlcssly nml forcibly expreyed our views on Iho ho.it ilo utlilmlo of IJio Minister ami General Manager, who have so far failed to kwn fnil.li with the ndiiers of Iho Service. Tho action of tho Department in declining to (,'ivn fiiir or reasonable consideration to liny rerj msl.t iiiuilo by tho Institute lias created in all grades, but more especially nmong officers in Iho Wither grade*, mid administrative branches of tlio Service, a fooling of diswlisfnclion and unrest. This fooling, brought about nwinif to promotion boiiiff sljittiialod and ixwilioiia of proiniso abolished (nohvillisl-.uidini; dio incnsuwl ros|nmsibility eonsiinuciil. on tlio vory lai'KO increase in Iho railway business) and the inl.rodiit'lmn of obnoxious regulations, is m fivwernl Hint tho ownem of tho railway —i.e., tho pmpli.—in tlioir own interceU inusl, in llm near fiitiiro compel their rcl)iftv>iilativi'.s in J'l'irlininent lo lake Hlroiiß steps to reinovo tho cause of tho pifsi'iil. dksnlisfuotion. In our Oetolwr isiiio we drew nUcnlaon (u tho fact that din railway ollicnr.s two (.rented a.s if they did not enntribiila in any way wlialcvcr to Ilii! siir.cp.--sful worltinn of tho railway?, Imt wein coiwiderod inorp liiiichinqs 111cnpabln of oxerfiisinp; any individuality or initialko in (heir biisintK?. In ennsc(|\iwicn of this rnmidialion of the officers, tho niana(((Mnont lias lost the respect and confidence of tho staff, and it is safe to ™y that this fooling lias been growing foi* yenw, in fact, ever sinco wo lost t)io services of mioli strong imd capablo adiniiiisiratorß as Mr. .1. I'. Maxwell and I lie. Into Mr. C. Hudson.

There is not the least doubt that the Railway Officers , Advocate correctly voices the views of members of the Service. The Government have made a desperate endeavour on the very ove of the elections to conciliate the railway employees by providing special increases of salary for many of them, and it is possible that some of their number may bo deceived by this expedient to tide over the elections. But the majority of the railway servants will no doubt recognise that this additional money, dragged out of the Ward Administration because of its fear of tho polls, offers no guarantee of a lasting improvement in their positions or in the conditions under which they work. What will happen after the polls when the Government have nothing to fear from the votes of the railway men? What happened after the elections of 1908?

The celebration by the Otago Daily Times of its jubilee, which occurred during the current week, is an event of considerable interest in New Zealand journalism. Like its contemporary, the Christchurch Press, which recently enjoyed a similar celebration, the Daily Times has a particularly interesting record. Associated with its early struggles and development have been men who have played a foremost part in advancing the interests of the Dominion and in shaping its destiny. Its first editor was no less a personage than Sir Julius Vogel, and it has been singularly fortunate in drawing to itself men well equipped to assist—so far as it lies in the power of the press to assist—in the work of nation-building. It is due to such journals as the Otago Daily Times that the press of New Zealand holds the nigh placo ifc does in colonial journalism. In its jubilee number our contemporary publishes a great budget of congratulatory messages which pay a deserved tribute to its past achievements and extend to it the heartiest of good wishes for the future. It is very pleasant to feel that in adding our quota wo can do so with every confidence that, under its present guidance, our contemporary can be relied on to live up to the high traditions which have distinguished it in the past.

So far as can bo ascertained, tho election writs will bo issued on Monday nest, and the meaning of this to electors who are not yet enrolled is pointed out on Page 6 of this issue. No application for enrolment will be received after 6 p.m. on the day on which tho writs are issued, so that every elector who has been unwise enough to neglect his duty of securing the power to vote must enrol at once. We have already explained ' that the duty of voting is a particularly important one this year, when the opinion favourable to political reform and the ejection of the degenerate and self-seeking "Liberal" . party can win if it is fully expressed at the polls. The party in power is fighting for the retention of the fat things of office. ,

! If it is defeated it will be unable any longor to plunder the country through the rotten administrative system which it has defended against Me. Massey'b endeavour to establish basic reforms that will make such plundor impossible whatever Government might be in power. It dreads, moreover, the exposure of tho secrets of the last twenty years' administration. It has enrolled every one of its supporters at the very least. That is why over? voter who is not enrolled must do w to-day; to put it off until Monday is to court disfranchisoment. Tiiere is another point to be remembered. Every friend of Reform who thinks he is enrolled but haenot actually satisfied himself that his name is on the roH must satisfy himself on the point to-day. Names often get themselves left off through a variety of causes. Every vote is wanted. The elector who can secure enrolment and does not is acting against his own and his country's intereste. Let everyone remember to Enrol To-day.

The Attorney-General is obviously realising that his Large and laughable willingness to promise Parnell anything he can think of is not assisting him very much, for the Pkiiub Minister is to go up and help him. Wβ recollect that nearly every candidate who received the special personal assistance of Sib Joseph Ward in the 1908 election was rejected by the electors with tremendous enthusiasm; but the Attor-ney-General's case is too desperate for him to reject the small chance that his chief's aid may really ■ help him. A Baronet rushing to succour a Knight in distress is a spectacle which may, perhaps, appeal to the sympathies of the Parnell folk. There should be some interesting, matter in the Prime Minister's meeting. He may explain, for example, how much of his colleague's talk is just the talk of "a candidate." No doubt the Prime Minister is choosing this way of indicating to the public the man whom he desires to be his political heir. Mr. Millar has come into conflict ■with bin chief (m often k> hope for iirst plaod in his political wilL

There is Mil. Mjm.au'h blunt and liwii'Mm exposure of the Prime Aljnisthii'h shiftiness in _ the matter (if railway policy; there, is his Rcornful denunciation of the referendum, when liiii chief proposed it, as "the sheet anchor of the shuffler." What rather amuses uh in tlio whole affair is the fact that those worried gentlemen overlook the strong possibility of a change of Government. The prospects appear to suggest that the <|unstion that will arise if, as cxpnetert, Sin Joseph Ward departs from politics next year is, not whether Mr. Millar or Sui John Findlay will be Prime Minister, but which <>i them will be Leader of tho Opposition.