THE RAILWAY "CUT."

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 26 September 1919, Page 3

THE RAILWAY "CUT."

SOLDIERS' RAIL PRIKTLEGE. ARRANGEMENTS FOE RESUMPTION. Wellington, September 26. During the restricted railway services, soldiers were advised by tho Defence authorities not to take out their . four-weeks railway privilege ticket, as they could not obtain the usual advantages. Tho majority of the men accepted this advice, and as there was an unusually large number of arrivals during the period of the "cut," no fewer than 30,000 orders for the four weeks free travelling are outstanding. This presents a serious problem to the authorities because tho Railway Department is not altogether clear of its difficulties, and is consequently only able to deal with 5000 of these privilege orders per month. Thus, to avoid serious congestion on the railways, and to reduce tho inconvenience to the soldier to a minimum, tho Defence Department has extended the period during which outstanding privilege orders may be exchanged for tho rail ticket to June Ist, 1920, and has prepared a dotailod scheme under which the number of tickets to be accepted each month by the Railway Department will be carefully allocated to tho various military districts in strict proportion to tho relativo 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 ablo to exchange it for tho ticket (as was the case before tho railway restriction) at a Defence office, but he must first make sure that the order will be accepted for tho 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 (inclusive) and will alter each application and date of receipt on ono of these lists, according to the month required. Should the applications for any particular month be in excess of the number of tichQts which the group officer is authorised to issue, he will inform the applicant that a pass cannot bo 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 date of original application. Thus a soldier applying for, say, November, if informed that the November 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 days of his application for November. All applications will be disposed of in order of date of application.

Any soldier when notifying the Department of tho month in which he wishes to travel on four weeks' privilege ticket should .not forward ordeT (B.E. 202) for the ticket. Tho 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 have had three weeks' Tailway privilego ticket deferred and hava not been issued with another (B.E, 202) for a four weeks' ticket will appiy to the nearest Defence office as in the case of men who have not exchanged their order for the rail ticket.

The system of allocation ha« 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 Eecords at particular periods, so that any deficiencies in the 'number of applications from one district for the coming 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 available on tho railways.