AT THE POWER-HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1352, 1 February 1912, Page 5

AT THE POWER-HOUSE.

FITTERS CALLED OUT, THE SUPPLY OV PRIVATE POWER. i The position at the city power station is that the. firemen and greasers employed in connection with (ho generation of power for tho tramways havo goiie out on strike with tho other members of the Tramways Union. The firemen and greasers engaged in connection with the generation of power for privnto consumers are still at work, and lmve notified the management that they will not go out unless the council ntlemptu (o run tho trnmwiiys with non-union labour.' The men working in the electrio lighting station are not'in any way couuecled with the tramways, and it is not anticipated that any of them will be involved in the strike.

There are iu the employ of the Citr Corporation certain engineer-fitters, who do certain work in connection with' the power-houses. They sue not on what is known as tho permanent stall', ond,th.ough members of fhe Engineers' Union,' have been compelled to join (ho: Tramways union—which has no power over.tho pe'rmanont hands on the power-house engineering staffs, With the declaration of the strike, these, men wero called out yesterday, anil this, it is understood, reduces Iho staffs of the power-houses by two or three men. It is gathered that t'heso men. havo nothing in common with tho motormen, conductors, or inspectors, and vet they havo been forced to leave their ivork at tho bidding of the union, and as they are married they feel very sore about the whole business. . .■; . *

COAL SUPPLIES. In any ea*e, the management do not anticipate much trouble about keeping tho power-house and the lighting; plant running. Their only doubt in- as- to wh'.'ther they eim secure an adequate simply of ciml. Xα difficulty of this tort lias cropped up yet, but as there are almost certain to be sympathetic strikes or partial strikes, it may eonio- along before many weeks. It' is statedy'for instance, that the Drivers' Union will refuse to handle coal for the City .Council, and that the waterside, workers, are practically certain' to refuse'''to"..touch coal which they know is for the '. City Council. Yesterday the 'train ways management seined the opportunity of laying in a big supply as fast as possible, and drays wre unloading State coal in the yard outside the lighting plant building as fust ns they could. Last night them must have boon about TOO tins of coal stored there, and, as the daily consumption is only slightly more than! :!0 tons, this will weeks. The power-house is not so well supplied. Thore are 100 tons there, 6ulh>ie.ut.tofbed the furnaces for two weeks at the ordinary rate of consumption, but as tlioro will be a much reduced drain on the current owing to the trams being laid up, jlu , coal should last much longer.. ;/A;ll the current that will be necessary will ibn that vpquirod for the spwiul lights along the tram route, nnd tor the supply of power for private use. If coaliiiß'jarrangenionls now in train proceed without interruption the Council will have over 1000 tons of-'coal stored at tho lighting station before- the end of tho week, iiud tho supply at tho tramway ppwer-lwuse will also' bo increased. ■'Arrangomente are being made to procure additional supplies.