FREE TRAM RIDES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2693, 12 February 1916, Page 3

FREE TRAM RIDES

FOR INVALID SOLDIEES. . Captain Simson has teen partly successful in obtaining the freo tramway concession from the Wellington City Council. The council, in committee, decided that it would not extend the privilege to all returned' soliders as it would perhaps interfore with, tho service were that concession to apply to all returned soldiers here, where the men assemble in tho greatest numbers. What was actually decided was that nieu returned from tho front who wero in, or attending at, hospitals or convalescent homes, or still being medically treated in any way shall he permitted to ride on the ears free of cost. The system to ho adopted! will be the issue of a special ticket, with so many rides represented on it, the only to be issued on the. applicant teing guaran- : teed by a responsible officer. Speaking to a Dominion representative, the Mavor stated that Captain Simson desired tho concession for all • returned soldiers, hut they could hardly l go as far as that in Wellington, he- > cause there were such numbers of them • here, and the privilege might leadl_ to difficulties in maintaining tho services. i It was all very well for Captain Sim6on ! to talk about what Christchurch or • Dunedin was doing, hut they only ihad. a few men to handle compared with tlie ' number in Wellington. Why they even - had trouble when they franked the 1- members of the Garrison Artillery at ' the forts over the trams in the early - stages of the war. The complaint from , was that they wero suffert in" inconvenience as the cars always appeared to be full of soldiers.