THE ADDINGTON INQUIRY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10059, 29 January 1909, Page 4

THE ADDINGTON INQUIRY.

WANTED, NEW APPLIANCES.

(Pee Pkess Association.) Christchurch, January 28 One of the men engaged at the Addington railway workshops made a statement to a representative of the Press to-day, in the course of which he pat the case for the men in a nutshell. In view of the feeling that exists at present amongst the men as a result of the charge contained in ihe General Manager's letter, and in justice to the men, he considered that one line of their defence should be made public at once, that defence was the obsolete character of the appliances at the workshops, appliances with which the men at Addington were expected to turn out work equaL In cheapness and quality to that turned out at other works. '•Take the cost of one of the X engines constructed for the North Island Main Trunk,"' he said. "One of the boiler plates was in the rollers at Addington about eight weeks, simnly because" the machinery is hopelessly out of date. In rolling boiler plates an un-to-date plant will do the work with a' man and three lads at 30= ner dav. and will do a plate a day. At Addington, on the other hand, with the machine used there, the cost is five men at £2 15s per day, and they may be three weeks <.' ii the job. Again the punching machines at Aldington" have been in the establisiiment for the last, thirty years, and are entirely out of date. It is impossible to do any quick work with the obsolete machinery we have to work with." He described the" manner in which rivets are put in by one of the hydraulic machines, and stated that the cranes used for lif tins the boilers are sometimes manned bv three or four men. In an outside firm. with the same amount of machinery, these cranes would be driven either by electricity or by an endless belt, requiring the attention of only one man and an attendant to look after the boiler. He also alleged that the steam hammer does not perform its duties satisfactorily. A blacksmith has been known to take absolutely half an hour to beat- np a piece of 9-inch round steel and place it under the large steam hammer. As soon as the steam was released in the cylinder of the hammer it would conif flown with a thud and stay iti that position until the steel was so cokl that the men would be absolutely disgusted with the whole show. In the meantime a large number of blacksmiths and their mates would be waiting with their "heats'' in the fire for an opportunity to use the hammer. With regard to flinging large plates, this is still done by manual labor at Addington, though in up-to-date shops hydraulic machines are used. Three or four men are required for a flinging machine, and the process is over in a few minutes. By the Addington process about eit'ht men are required, and about half a "day is taken. Continuing, he said in comparing the cost of engines built by Price "iSros." with those built at Addington. it has never been taken into consideration that Addington lias to bear the c< st of a large statf of officers. There is a verv large staff of foremen at Addington "which you would not find at Price r>rcs". Regarding the inquiry, he said that the men would be- satisfied with nothing less, than a public enquiry or .1 Uoval "Commission. If it was a departmental inquiry- what would be the position of the men who came forward? Who were going to be on the Bench': Were the men who were really on their trial going to try the men lower down, or were'the officers going to be tried as well as the men: The men thought that there should be a .Magistrate or even a Judge I of the Supreme Conn on the tribunal. The men alleged that the machinery -it Addington was obsolete, that there was no system or method, and that, given up-to-date appliances they would be able to compete with any outside or private firm. . , . - , , To-day a telegram signed jointly by Messrs "Laurenson, EH, "Witty. Russell, and Davev. Ms.P.. was despatched to the Hon. J. A. Miliar, Minister of Railways, asking him to make the inquiry into the charges against the employees at the Addington railway workshops as public as possible, so that the people of the Dominion would be able to decide whether or not the charges were groundless. The foliowinc reply was received : "Re inquiry. Addington : It is proposed to hold a public inquiry, not a departmental one. It will be he'ld by persons altogether outside the railway service, and will be open to the press, I think you will agree that it cannot be more public than this, and when details are published I think you will be satisfied.— j! A. Millar."