THE RAILWAY CUT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 2034, 27 September 1919, Page 1

THE RAILWAY CUT.

SOLDIERS’ RAIL PRIVILEGES.ARRANGEMENTS FOR RESUMPTION. Wellington, This Day. • .. During the restricted railway services soldiers were advised by the Defence Authorities not to take out their four weeks railway privilege ticket, as (hey could not obtain, the usual advantages. The majority of flie men accepted this advice, and as there was an unusually large number of arrivals, during the period of the “cut,” no fewer limn 30,000!orders, for, the four weeks free travelling are outstanding. This presents a serious problem to the authorities because the Railway Department is not altogether clear of its difficulties, and is consequently only able to deal with five thousand of these privilege orders per month. Thus, to avoid serious congestion on the railways, and to reduce the inconvenience to the soldier to a minimum, tiie Defence Department has extended the period during which outstanding privilege orders may be exchanged for the rail ticket to June Ist, 1!)20, and has prepared a detailed scheme under which the number of tickets to be accepted each month by the Railway Department will be carefully allocated to the various military districts in strict proportion to the relative numbers of returned men in those districts who are,waiting to travel.

The soldier who holds an order for the four weeks rail privilege will not be able to exchange it for the ticket, (as was the case before the railway restriction.) at a Defence office, buf he must lirst make sure that the order will be accepted for the particular month in which he desires to travel, by notifying the Defence Department’s local representative in writing, as early as possible, which month he desires to use the railway ticket, giving at least a month’s notice.

Group Officers will keep one list for each month up to June, 1920 and will alter each application and date of receipt on one of these lists, according to the month required. Should Ihe applications for any particular month be in excess of the number of tickets which the Group Officer is authorised to issue, he will inform the applicant'that a pass-cannot be issued for that particular month, and will ask which month the applicant now desires, and when the reply is received will enter the application in order of dale of original application. Thus a soldier applying for, say, •November, if informed that the No-, vember list is full, and who then replies that he wishes to travel in, say, January, would have his application entered on the January list according to the date of his application for November.

All implication* Avill he disposed of in order of date of application. Any soldier when notifying the Department of the month' in which he wishes to travel on four weeks’ privilege ticket should not forward order (B.R. 202) for the ticket. The order will be exchanged for ticket at Defence Office at which application for ticket was lodged when the soldier is ready to travel, providing, of course, application has been approved. The Group Officer will inform each applicant by letter whether the application has been approved or transferred to a subsequent month. Those soldiers who havlN had three weeks’ railway privilege ticket: deferred and have not been issued with another (B.A. 202) for a four weeks’ ticket, will apply to the nearest Defence Office a;j in tin' case of men who have not exchanged their order for the rail ticket. The system of allocation lias been carefully devised so that the full number of tickets will be issued each month, the military districts having been instructed to keep in telegraphic touch with Base Records at particular periods, so that any dehciency in the number of applications from one district for the coining month will enable a larger number of tickets to be authorised in other districts. Soldiers will recognise the great difficulties which have been occasioned through the coal shortage, and the Defence Department relies upon them to assist in carrying out this scheme, which is the fairest method of adjusting the needs of the returned men to the limited facilities available on the railways.