A TWOPENNY SECTION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 3, 28 September 1918, Page 9

A TWOPENNY SECTION

FOR RUSH HOURS TO OPERATE .FROM MONDAY EVENING.

There'is no movement to report towards a settlement of the tramway trouble, which, in its way, is one. of tlio most eccentric labour troubles which the people of Wellington have been worried with for a long time, llie conditions yesterday were not greatly changed from what they havo been throun-hotit the week. Tlio shortage ol men through sickness yesterday morning was pretty acute, hut an improvement in that regard and also .tit the speed at which the cars travelled was noticeable in the afternoon. The oycr-cr:-;!ing between 4.45 p.m. and OJO 11 last evening was again very uoixeuble, and those people who use the cars immediately after 5 p.m. wre subjected to much inconvenience. The City Council decided recently that a minimum faro of twopence should be charged over the' city- section (between the Lambton Station and the eastern end of Coiirtenay Place or Veitch and Allan's corner) at any time the Tramway Manager' (Mr. \\. H. Morton) deemed it expedient to.impose 'the charge in the interest of pub 10 safety. Such provision, it should.be clearly understood, is not for the purpose of increasing the revenue, but is a measure to induce one-section (city passengers not to use the cars at all and fo leave room for those who havo ■to travel further. It is thus a provision against dangerous overcrowding. The overcrowding has this week become so bad during the evening rush hours that the manager has decided to put the provision into forco as from Monday evening. The twopenny minimum fare will be chargeable over the city section between the hours of.4.dU p.m. and. 6.30 p.m. on Monday, and every subsequent evening until further notice. The new order does not affect the fares of those travelling more-than one section (including, of course, the city section), nor will it afreet those who .use concession tickets. The authorities hope that the imposing of a minimum faro of twopence during the rush hours of an evening will ease the gross overcrowding.

A PROTEST

(To tiro Editor.)

Sir—Tho men of the city tramways aro incensed at tho- remarks of tho Mayor, as reported iu your columns this morning, and have asked me to forward to you the' following ljrotest. AH tho protestors aro returned soldiers, who have been on active service, and have appended their signatures to the original protest. ■Unfortunately, time has prevented me getting into tcmcli- with more than about 40 '.per cent', of the returned soldiers who are working on the cars, but I am sure of the other signatures. The following is a copy of tho protest:— ■ "We, membors of tho Wellington Citv tramway sorvieo. who have valiantly takon part in tho great struggle'to dostaoy- the upholders.of brute force, do hereby protest against the Mayor's designation that we. aro • rebels. "Having fought on tho-shell-wracked fields of Europo ire claim that we arc but continuing here in Wellington a righteous cause, even if it is but an adjustment of a starvation wage. We deny most emphatically that our methods'are not constitutional, and opll on tho Mayor to, resign his Mayoral chair and prove in a by-election whether we have the nublic sympathy or not — E. J: Hay, W. R. Dixon, L. Watson, J. Pearson, J. K. Hodges, C.'Reid, C. L. Morton, 0. E. Reeve, J Kirkwood,, E. fiorgent, E. C. Sadler, L. Hnllam, l'. Errington, E. Bloor/J. N. Simpson, R.'C. Sefton, S. W. Wallis, R. Steer, P. Thomson, A. J. Thomson.— I am, etc., 11. DENBY. A general meeting of the Women's National Council will be held on September 30. at 8 p.m., in tho Y.W.O.A. building, when an address will be delivered on "Prison Hcform."