THE STRENUOUS LIFE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 115, 1 February 1918, Page 7

THE STRENUOUS LIFE

PRIME MINISTER'S DAILY ROUND &0W HIS HOURS ARE CuGWDED / ——. ; "If anybody thinks we have nothing do it wouid be a revelation to him to conie along here and stay with us for a day," said tho Prime Minister Yesterday. Aud ho spoko feelingly, having had a succession of heavy days. Very few_ men in high executive positions in private business concerns work anything like such hours as are regularly workeß by the Prime Minister. His hour for coming to tho office is 9.15 a.m., and he rarely leaves before C.lo p.m. In addition he often comes back to his office in the evening, and if he does not do this he has work sent up to his own room at his house which lie must do before he sleeps if he is to keep abreast of things. Yesterday was quite a hard day for liim, but not worse.than many other days which he has to go through. He Teceived two deputations, both on important matters, which involved a deal of time and-talk\ mostly, .of course,_by the people who had come to visit him. He had a eoiiferenco with the. committee which is. assisting the Government in the matter of the. export of butter and cheese." This was not' really a single conference, but several, because the committee retired to another, room in. the building -to".discuss..points that had ton- raised. Iretjirmng .to talk again- with the. Prime. .Minister. Ho had a meeting of Cabinet. He had interviews with three other Ministers, with two officers of his Departments, with tho Mayor of a town of importance on a.matter of importance'witli a. gentleman froin.Timani, and with two other citizens, all of whom had good reasons for-desiring to. interview him.None of these were appointments that could have -been taken by any of his own .officers or'ly other'.members of the {jove-Ttiment—thirteen appointments in-one day. The; .average length of ■ time required, to keeir these would he about-half an: hour, for every" one; more-.rather than less. In- addition he saw three .-Press. reporters. In the course-of :the.day he always has- a few talks-with.his secretaries about thm?B in the day's work, and everyday ne has to loqk over piles, of documents ■brought into' his room and stacked on 'his table, and after perusal of them to f,wn his. namu a few score "of times. Departmental and other documents pass through the Prime Minister's office at the' rate of at least a thousand a- week! Mr. ■ Massey is., not a- man to make •'decisions slowly, otherwise .he never leonTd have time for sleep. He gets .through work quickly, and in spite, of the- volume -of work always awaiting his attention, lie contrives to keep unruffled bis extremely equable temperament when his time is leing_ wasted by persons who come to him with '-perfectly impossible requests. Nor does he get a respite when he leaves, Wellington. At his headquarters he has his liomp to which he may flee when he has bad enough, but when he has to live in an hotel in' another town people wait for him, when he comes out of his temporary office to a meal, when ho is leaving the dining-room,'on the steps of the hotel—in fact, at any'point where he may be waylaid. As he is a rare visitor deputations aro prepared for him,- and .his, days are occuuied. from rthe time that' he opens his office in the morning until he goes to bed, or until his train or steamer leaves to take iiim to another town—and another day's work. In the session the pace is accelerated, and for the whole time that the House is sitting Mr. Mnssey ■lias to be in his seat -until the House rises, whatever the hour may be. • This pace Mr. Massey has sustained "without any breaks since he took office 'as-head of'the Reform Government _in 1912. with the exception of a period of a few weeks when he had a breakdown after a .very strenuous, time a year or two ago, and the period when lie was in the United Kingdom last year. Even then, as everyone knows, liis time was fullv occupied except during the weeks that he was on ship- ■ board. He has never had a holiday.