WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 January 1919, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

i ~ -^ra * "J" Oi -A ■■ ¥ 5& ' - f i, THE SHIPETNG TROUBLSi/ j f|§| GENERAL UNKESIL-f ■ (Special Correspondiat.)' . vL t . Wellin » t <">. Jan. ». Jne ferry steamers have been rwmin* without any further interruption fctf a feeling of uncertainty as to the? safe' lugs still prevails and in shipping circle* there are forebodings of grave,twuW to come. The men, on their side, eon. tinue to protest through the officials of' their union that they wish to maintainharmonious relations with their emptor, era and that nothing ie further froi* their intentions thua a strike. But thein general attitude n» not in keeping wit* their fair words. The shipowner! .« determined to employ no nan "run, ners," and the Seamen's UnJen, white professing to fcave no sympathy witfc these interlopers appear* to be tfctina no particular trouble to fill their place* Meanwhile, no one c«m say what • da* will bring forth .«-«■■ «»| tee politioa:-. aspect'*,^ One of the significant feature* of "a* situation is the persistence with *!&&' some of the Übor offickbj farrfted W discuss the situation drift off Into th* political arena,. They admit that tb» men are difficult to maniee ud ofteaf unmanageable, but they fmd excoaat for them in the sins of omission and cqmr mission, whether real or ismgiaayol the National Government They want to know why Mr. Maasey and Sir Jowph Ward are away from the covatrv at such a time as this, why the coet of li*« mg has been allowed to soar so high, and why the working-man is beariMlSnraeb'j °. *» Wft r tuTdea. The irreJewM? tfi allthis saenis never to occur to them, and any attempt to bring them bade to the subject in hand simnly gtinrnkteai' their wayward oratory " J2^

THE SANE ELEMENT, -qpnf Bui it would be unfair to the meaij earning their living ou ships or working on the water front to assume thatafllj of them, or even a majority of tl»sny|: share this distorted view of the sitoav: tion A larg« proportion of the regm. ; lar firemen are irresponsible spirits, th»l fault, perhaps, of theL- occupation anctt its conditions; but tha men with whomi they arc associated include a number Ui sober, hard-working fellows who are] anxious to do wall for themsehes byl honert service to their employers. These* men stand for the observance of agree* merits and for a faL- day's work tat a" fair day's pay, «ind if they aw socialistic. at all in the aggressive sense jt is in," believing State control to bo the remedy for ail the existing shipping trouble*. .V THE EMPLOYEES- VIEW. For the employers it caa be eaki that they are exercising a great daa|: of patience and forbearance in extreme** i difficult and trying circumstances. ThejJ \ want the labor the men can supply, an4<j for the most part they are doing their ■ twist to get it in a reasonable way Aa" far as the firemen are concerned they probably have some ground for eomplaia- , ing o? the accommodation provided for the men ou certain steamers, bat it nv tho fault of the authorities if the law. is not being observed in this respect, and it is well known that the men's quarter* on most boats are to a great extent whatthe men themselves choose to make' them. And they do not usually choose very welL '*„,„"