ANOTHER CANARD

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2306, 13 November 1914, Page 6

ANOTHER CANARD

RAILWAYMF.N AND MILITARY • : service. . •; At his meeting on Wednesday night Mr. K, Fletcher (Opposition candidate for _ Wellington Central) referred to a notice, which he said had been posted at the "Hillside Railway Workshops, stating that railway employees who weilied to join the Expeditionary Force must resign their positions in tho Department. On application'being made to the Railways -Department yesterday a statement of the facts was obtained, which puts 3 very different complexion upon.the matter. The only circular issued by the Railways Department on the subject ran as follows :-t- ---; "MILITARY CONTINGENTS FOR • "SERVICE ABROAD. ■ "Members of the Railway Department who enlist for service abroad, in contingents other than those raised in connection with the Railway Corps, without first obtaining leave from the Department, will be considered ae having severed their connection -with the Service.. Every application for-leave, must be made by the member throu"h his district officer, who will forward the application on to the Head Office,' with a recommendation that leave be granted, or that the exigencies of the Service will not permit of compliance with the request without causing Gorious inconvenience. Members granted leave to serve in any contingent other than one from the Railway Corpe cannot be granted leave on pay." The foregoing is the only instruction on the subject that has been issued by the Head Office of the Railways Department. The Department hae granted leave to between 500 and 600 of its men for service in Samoa and Europo and of these the men first selected— the contingent of 258 sent to Samoawill not only have their positions keDt open for them, but are in receipt of half-pay from the Department. It was foxind as early as August last that a number of men wore,enlisting first and applying for leave afterwards. Owing to the fact that a large number of rail° waymen had already been granted leave it-was found that the efficiency of tho Railway Service and the safety of the public might be seriously endangered if any additional number of trained men were withdrawn from duty. The maintenance of the traffic and the safety of the general public must, of course, be the first consideration of the Railways Department, and theao ends can only be secured by maintaining an adequate staff of trained men. Facilities having been granted to as many railwaymen as possible to volunteer for military service, it was therefore found necessary to'call the attention of tho staff tq the fact that members should not enlist until they had obtained leave of absence from the Department. This intimation was conveyed by tho circular quoted above, which was sent out to all district officers on August 13 last. Everything possible has been done by the Railway Department te spare as many men as possiblo, consistent with tho safety and efficiency of the service.