The Daily News. FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1920. THE RAILWAY TROUBLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 March 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1920. THE RAILWAY TROUBLE.

The decision of the Executive Council o,f the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, representing nearly nine thousand second division railwaymen, to ballot on the question of a strike, indicates that the trouble which has been brewing for some time past is coming to a head. The issues on which the men are asking to vote are:— (1) The acceptance of the rates of pay proposed by the Railway Commission; or (2) A strike in support of the full demands of the Association. P appears that the arrangement made by the officers of the Association after the meeting when the ballot was decided upon, was that no move should be made until Mr. Massey had been interviewed, but, unfortunately, the Premier's stay in hospital is proving more lengthy than was anticipated, so the ballot is being proceeded with. In view of the fact that the proposed rates of pay have been generally condemned by the men, the answer to the first question may be taken for granted, but the relfr to the second question is of yWy serious importance to the community, and to the men concerned, especially in view of superannuation. The railwaymen's leaders contend that whereas the latest arbitration awards in outside industries give artisans a minimum wage of 17s 4d, the proposed railwaymen's average is 15s 6d. The demand of the men is for the present wage to be increased to secure the same purchasing power as in pre-war times. Per centage increases are objected to, on the ground that the men with the highest wages would receive greater increments than the lower paid men, though the problem hits all alike. The findings of Mr. Justice Stringer as set forth in his report were based on expert statistics, and his estimate that the full time war increase as applied to domestic expenditure is a little under fifty per cent., is probably correct, though it depends on whether the highest or lowest grades are taken into account. The railwaymen claim there has been a rise of 100 per cent in the cost of living, so there is a large gap to bridge, provided the men can prove their contention. The main point, however, is that the matter in dispute is one that leads itself to settlement by a conference, and as it was intended to interview the Minister before taking action, the abandonment of that wise decision cannot fail to alienate p'ublic sympathy from a body of men who, otherwise, might have relied on the support of the people to secure a square deal. Mr. Massey's illness should have certainly induced the men to refrain from direct action, but they appear to be in a mood to resort to intimidation, and by so doing they are courting serious trouble for themselves and their dependents. The men would be well advised to make haste slowly over committing such a rash act as to vote for a strike. They cannot have forgotten how the railway strike in Britain collapsed a few months back, when the issue became no longer a mere question of wages, but involved the principle of whether an organised industry is justified in holding the community to ransom. A strike by the railwaymen of the Dominion would be quite unjustified. Parliamentary rule may have its defects, but it is certainly nreferable to govern-

ment by strikes. However strongly the railwaymen may feel over the question of pay, they must surely recognise that having waited so long for a settlement of their grievances, it would, under the special circumstances connected with the Minister's enforced absence from his Department, have been politic to exercise the virtue of patience. The dispute is a mere business matter between employers and employees, but a strike will make it a question of public safety and convenience. "We decline to believe that one man in a hundred in the railway service desires a strike over a matter thai can be settled by a conference. It seems impossible to consider that the men realise what they are doing in adopting such hostile tactics to obtain their end, and thereby destroying the friendly personal relations which exist between the public and the railwaymen. We have purposely treated the ballot on the strike seriously, and not as a mere act. of intimidation, in order to pom? out to the railwaymen the folly of rash action, and the wisdom of an amicable settlement. All that remains to be said is that if the railwaymen decide to challenge the public they will bitterly regret having committed an error in tactics that can only end in their complete defeat. Up to the present they have presented no facts and reliable figures to support their demand, which they should do if they desire to gain the support of the public, who. in the last resort, are the court of decision.