THE TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 99, 26 April 1879, Page 4

THE TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT.

The Otago Daily limes says, in reference to fhe threatened strike of operators:-— ln thie matter we believe the operators have reasonable ground for complaint, but apart from their present grievance, we consider it dfsirabla to call attention to the gross mistnanaseroent of this branch of the public service. Whether Dr Lemon ie a sort of departmental autocrat who will brook no interference, or whether be ha*, by means of his achievements in con neection with the duplex system of telegraphy, succeeded in impressing successive Governments with nn exaggerated idea of his ability as a pnblic servant, we cannot cay; but this we know, that the existing slate of ► ffiirs in the department of which ho ie the permanent head is in the bighpgt decree unsatisfactory and detrimental to the public iotereslß. In the first place, centralisation is carried out to the full length of its absurdity, and to prove this it is only necessary to slot* that the officers in charge of the various stations have not power to keep their offioes open for two minutes after the appointed time for dosing, without communicating with the general manager and receiving hia permission, no matter how preesinj? the emergency may be, or what important interests, or public or private, may be involved. In this respect a change should be made at once. If the officers in charge are fit for the important positions they hold, they should certainly be entrusted with a certain amount of discretionary power, and be made to act on their own reiponaibility in such small matters bb these, without disturbing the Doctor in his scientific studies at the seat of Governmeot. The greatest evil of which we have to complain, however, and one which calls for an immediate remedy, is the absence of Bny system of classifying the officers, At the present time men who are not worth their salt receive ealaries as high or even higher than the most useful and efficient officers in this branch of the service, and hftva an equal chance of promotion, while in addition to this the good men have to do a large proportion of (he work which their leas Bkilful and often better paid brother officers are unable to perform A smart lad entering ihe telegraph office has absolutely no encouragement to work hard and make himself efficient when he has before bis eye every day examples of well-paid lazineßs and incapacity, and knows that diligence and attention will have nothing to do with his advancement. There are many men who have not been in the service more than six or seven years and who, through being energetic and ambitious to become first-class operatew, have always worked hard at the busiest wire*, thus doing far more than their proportion of work, yet only receive £120 and £130 per annum, while otbera who are not capable or" doing half the amount of work are paid £20 or £30 more a year. We could ppim oat numberless instances in which irjuatice is done under the present management, but we think we have said enough to show that come system of classification should be ioflisted upon and that the operators should be paid according to their ability, also taking into consideration length of service. Unless something of the kind is done the public will losa the services of most of the Orat-class officers, who have come to see that the advancement that they have a right to expect is almost hopeless unless some sweeping change is made. We have our own grievance i with which we do not wish to trouble the public; but unless come reform in the direction we have iodicated is carried out, it will be necessary at the next session of Parliament for some one to move for a Commission to make an exhaustive inquiry into the working of the Telegraph Department.