The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE TUESDAY, JULY 31, 1917. A POSTAL INVESTIGATION.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 31 July 1917, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 1917. A POSTAL INVESTIGATION.

(With which is incorporated The Tar hape Post and Waimarino News),

Some days ago startling, allegations were made against the post and telegraph offices ill Auckland. How far these charges are true we shall probably never know . It is true that a commission has been set up by Parliament to inquire into their accuracy, but it has been the invariable experience that such commissions merely result in white-washing the Government and its officers. We are inclined to the opinion that there will be some little variation in the present case, we also most earnestly hope that investigations will result in the discovery of the real cause of what is too obviously the want of order and discipline. We have no hesitation in saying that if any private business man conducted his affairs similarly there would be nothing ahead but the bankruptcy court. Such a rtfan would not have a customer left unless his business was a monopoly as is our post and telegraph. This journal has complained time and again, both publicly and privately, but with no amendment for' the better and all hope of any betterment has been abandoned. The authorities, ostrich-like, stick their heads into the saifus of war-time until their excuses have become ludicrous and disgusting. "We have drawn attention to settler’s letters being found along the roadsides, and not very long ago we drew attention to a case in which a letter containing an order for an advertisement had be?n received in the Taihape post office from Auckland on the ninth of the month and was" not delivered to us till the sixteenth. We took the letter into the post office and laid a. complain, but we have had no explanation yet. By this letter containing an order for advertising we lost two pounds sixteen shillings, and probably future business. A complaint was brought to this office some days ago, that a cablegram lodged and paid for on behalf of a sick man had not been despatched, but had laid in the office until the sender, getting anxious about no reply coming to hand, had enquiries made, when it was found that the lodged cablegram was still lying in the post office. When information was forthcoming the sender of the message was dead. While lying ill the man had cabled for four or five hundred pounds, and he was dead before the cable had even been despatched. Surely the authorities will not say such blunders are the result of the war. We are quite sure that if complete sorting of mails is insisted upon directly they arrive very few letters will fail to reach the addressee in proper’time and order.’ On Saturday last we published a story that was gathered chiefly from a sheaf of telegrams, most of them marked “urgent.” They, with a little explanation from the addressee, furnished a most uncanny narrative. By unpardonable and inexcusable carelessness a whole family were, for two or three days made to suffer most heart-appalling experiences. They were made to mourn the death of a deeply-loved daughter and sister; to Travel from Taihape to Auckland, and to even get

within a few yards of the place where the coffin was to be made. Owing to a letter not being delivered a train was lost, which just doubled the time of mental agony, ana it was only by the merest incident that the .coffin was not ordered and the whole funeral arrangements made. The unhappy people had been delayed unnecessarily by the non-delivery of their letter, and they knew that the utmost expedition would be insisted upon by tjjie hospital authorities. Then it was borne upon their terrible experience, their anguish of mind; their heart-breaking, was all the result of post and telegraphic' blundering and remissness. The little loved one was not dead; she was alive and well on the way to complete recovery from her illness. We have advised many that it is waste of time to complain about postal and telegraphic irregularites, and we have for a long time acted accordingly ourselves. We did not overlook the fact “that the authorities, in absurdly excusing these irregularities, were reducing the service to a condition that would bring about its own cure; we realised that we had to suffer the loss and inconvenience we were complaining of, and much more, before the authorities would be compelled to acknowledge that the paying public had rights at least equal to those of their pafd servants. The tide has turned a little in the public interest, and a commission has been set up to make investigations. We sincerely hope that the commission will not be confinea to the specific charges which brought about its institution, but that its order of reference will be widened lb take in such cases as we have mentioned. The family that were the victims of this heart-appalling, unintentional hoax have suffered monetarily as well as mentally. They closed down their businesses temporarily and proceeded to Auckland, involving a loss and an outlay that we think the Department should make good to them. The telegrams that caused the trouble were brought to us before we consented to refer to the subject publicly; they leave no doubt about a simple, yet terrible blunder having beeh made by someone.