NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 185, 1 May 1920, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

Tiir hopes held out yesterday of a settlement of the railway strike have not.been fully realised., The Pimm Minister, met the. representatives of tho three railway organisations, and made them what two of,tho bodies regarded as a fair and reasonable offer. The Amalgamated

Society of "Railway Servants, which ! I is the largest, of the three bodies of : railway employees, accepted this ofI fej', and the Railway Officers' Tnstitute. also acccpted 'it. The Locomotive. Engineers, 'Firemen,, ami Cleaners' Union representatives, however, attached a condition which Mn. Massey could not accept.. It is regrettable indeod that the locomotive men should thus have prevented a complete settlement of the trouble,-which would have ended a situation causin.n; such great venience and,loss to the whole community'. •The' 1 fact-''that the great, body of railway employees are well satisfied with the Government's offer, and are prepared to al. onec reiurn to work, leaves no room for doubt that the offer , was a reasonable one. How 6 then can the locomotive branch representatives hope to justify their action in perpetuating the deadlock?, They have professednn anxiety 'to end the trouble; they have expressed their willingness to arrive at a fair compromise.; they have spoken of their concern for the public, and have sought to make it appear lliat they bad only taken the course they .did lie. i'eanso they could not get a lair investigation of 'the merits of their claims. Jfow_ that they are offered the opportunity of such investigation they raise new difficulties and fresh claims. "When" tho facts ;imm disclosed we. venture to think that it' will. be universally admitted, even by the.bulk of the locomotive |m6n themselves, that the PirmiK Minister's offer was a fair one, and i'that in his endeavour, to end the deadlock "Mil, ADssey met; the representatives "of the railway scrviec more .than half way. The locomotive :inen can gain nothing further from prolonging the strike, but they can :make,'it much more cOstlv tlyin it ' has been both to themselves and to the public. It may be hoped therefore that. on reflection to-day ,they will realise this and put themselves on good terms with the public by. getting to work as speedily as .possible. 1 ■ i ■*. # ' ■ Wellington- promises' to piake a very creditable display in its street decorations dnring the Royal visit. There is a finishing touch, however, .which the ( people themselves cVin give which will greatly enhance the animation and gaiety of : the streets when the 'Prince passes through the city.. _ In America on such occasions it is !a common custom for the spectators .to wave small flags as a procession -passes through the streets. Individually it is a trifling thing, but the effect in the mass is very striking and far beyond what can be obtained-'from the stationary street decorations alone. Motorcars and other vehicles decorated with small flags and streamers fluttering'in the breeze can'also add greatly to the life and movement of the. scene. This b a direction in which the Automobile Club could usefully: give .'a lead. • intended in any case to give the Prince a Royal welcome, but ,we want such, a welcome now that will more than.make amends for the un-pleasant-dislocation of arrangements due to the railway strike.

The municipal milk .'department is to ■be heartily congratulated on the prompt and effective arrangements made, to ensure the milk supply during the-railway strike. The scheme for (bringing, in the' milk by motor instead of , rail appears to 'have'worked in every respect without a hitch, and the change-over made'without disorganisation or delay. _ Furthermore,Vthc work was .carried out .-under' the most unpleasant .weather conditions witn teeming rain, a' biting southerly, rough voads and landslips to eontend with. . The letter of thanks .which the 'council is sending to its milk department manager and his staff will have a- wide endorsement. As. Councillor .Luckie said at yesterday's council meeting, the way the crisis was met is as good a tcs' tiinoniitl as one. could wish for oi the efficiency oLthe inunicipal uijlk scheme. - ' '.- ■ - *.-».# * . In choosing, tho ' visit of. tho Prince of Wales as a suitable moment for a strike the locomotive men have apparently, overlooked, tho fact that they have ensured New Zealand :of a great' deal of publicity abi'oad. of the worst kind. The British public, the whole Empire in fact, is very keenly -interested in the present Royal four abroad. The Renown has a full complement of correspondents of the leading London newspapers and news agencies, and we may rest assured that the full particulars of the sort of welcome we have given the Prince arc biing published throughout the Empire as rapidly as the cables can carry the messages. Very extended reports were published in thf London Press of the Canadian tour, and' the interest in the Australasian one is fully as keen. In the war New Zealand made a name for herself,- a well-deserved name, as, if anything, the most steadfastly loyal of all the Dominions. Not onlj halve we tarnished our reputation for colonial hospitality, but it is only too likely that an erroneous idea will get abroad in many minds that our attachment to tfoe Cr.own is but .lukewarm. At the, same tinie, with the British Labour Party, working strenuously for the nationalisation of the mines and railways, uo greater disservice could be done them by the railwayinen here than has been done by, a strike at this most conspicuous and inopportune moment on the State-owned r'ail--vvays of New Zealand.

Mr. Donald Robertson, who retired yesterday from . tho office of Public Service Commissioner, has completed' ah exceptionally long earner of able and distinguished service to tlie State, Since lie took .tip tho responsible' 1 duties he has carried out-for the last six i years, he has been ' subjected to a. great deal of criticism, and even al; times to abuse, but an ample vindication of his work in these, somewhat strenuous and exacting years appears in the fact that non-political control of'the Public Service is now firmly established in this country, and is defended and upheld by of those who at'its inception opposed it most bitterly. The change-over to tho new system was bound to en-tail''-a ccrtairi, amount of friction, and the first. Commissioner would have been more than human if he had wholly escapc-J criticism. He has no reason, however, to be r!issatisfied' with the final result of liis efforts. In establishing non-poli-tical control of the Public Service ho has added toi{ie high repiitiiiioi? he had previously established as - a departmental administrator. The public generally will echo the hope expressed by the I'M in Sr.rviw. Jourmil that Mii. Korkrtson may long enjoy the leisure Jie lias fully earned during his many years of active and honourable servicc.