THE RUSH FOR COAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 260, 30 July 1919, Page 6

THE RUSH FOR COAL

YESTERDAY'S WAITING' QUEUES,

Coal-hunger is siill unabated in Wellington. The wet and bitterly cold conditions prevailing uuring the past week have depleted itkuusarius of ■ domeslio bins, ana tneir replenishment must be attended to, ev'?n if women have co stand in a queue for an hour to register their orucrs. The ticket offices and foyer of the Town Hall were utilised for a couple of hours yesterday morning by the clerks of the State Coal Department ;o taKe orders, and the unusual sight was presented of one queue stretching from ue ticket Iwx on the one side down the _ main corridor to the Town Clerk's office, and, on the other, to the City Engineer's office. Other arrangements were made at the Department's olhce in the aiterncon. Those wishing to hand in orders were instructed to enter the premises by way «t Wakefield Street through the coal-yard, and pass through the office into Lower Cuba Street. Although the yard was, naturally enough, in a somewhat plastic condition, the new arrangement provided shelter trom the passing showers for those in. tho queue. In the office ono clerk took the orders, and another handled the cash with the aid of a cash register. It would scarcely be possiblo for more clerks to be employed in this work owing to the severe limitations imposed by the size of the office. Whilst, the queue slowly worked its way up .to the counter, hundreds of cash mail orders were being opened and recorded in another room. It needed only a glanco at the waiting queues yesterday to realise that a new form of economic "frightfulness'' has been added to life through the lamentable shortage of coal that is upsetting the whole of the country thU winter.