The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 1922.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 March 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 1922.

P. AND T. SERVICE. We recently referred to the action of the Secretary of the Post Office ;n requesting* members of the P. and T. Officers’ Association to vote on the proposal to join the Alliance of Labor as extraordinary. It has since been explained to us that Mr. Morris’ purpose in forwarding the request was to make sure that the result of the ballot represented the opinion of the majority of the officers of the Department who were members of the Association, as on a previous occasion of a ballot, 2000 out of 7500 members failed to t vote. We unreservedly accept, of course, this assurance, but we still think that it would have been better if he had refrained from appearing prominently in a matter that is looked upon outside with considerable apprehension. It is different with the PostmasterGen er al . w ho is quite in order in referring to the proposal, asking officers to record their votes, and warning them of the extreme danger they arc running. Mr. Morris is the official head; Mr. Coates is the political head. A wrong construction could be placed upon Ihe Secretary’s motives, and actually was. and this kind of thing ought to be avoided by men who, as heads of important Government Departments, are the custodians of the public’s interests. The Minister’s statement on Tuesday will no doubt have been carefully perused. He points out that there are 800 minors in the service who do not appreciate the significance of the issue placed before them. He also warns the officers that the public will never agree to the Department tying itself up with one big union; he may have added, “one big revolutionary union.” The idea behind the present movement is quite clear. Some of the members of the Association feel that constitutional efforts in resistance of the cuts in salaries, or. more correctly, in reductions of the cost of living bonus, have failed, and that there is a greater possibility of gaining their ends by unconstitutional means. That is the real position, though the gentlemen referred to will vehemently deny it. But they count without their host, which in this case is the public, who will not be bludgeoned into compliance with their wishes, and are prepared to fight such extremism to the bitter end. The P. and T. service are not wanting champions, who will see that they are fairly treated in this matter. Once, however, the members of the service place themselves in the power of revolutionary labor, for that is what joining up with the Alliance means, they will forfeit the confidence and good will of the public, and be regarded with distrust. It has taken many years for the service to reach the high place they occupy in the esteem and confidence of the public, and it would be a thousand pities if they were to suddenly lose it by ill-considered actions of a few short-sighted malcontents, who, though posing as the champions of the Service, are to-day its greatest enemies. Mr. Coates has plainly and forcefully placed the chief bearings of the matter before the service, though he studiously avoided all extravagance of language, contenting himself with adopting a quasi-judicial review of the position. There can, however, be no misconstruction of the comments he made, the general tenor of which accord with public opinion. The Minister was thoroughly justified in stating that it would be a very serious mistake for the post and telegraph service to ally themselves with the Labor extremists. and the reasons he gave are such as will appeal convincingly to the community. The essence of the service is fidelity and se6recy, and the Minister naturally questions what would be the effect if the officers of the Association became part and parcel of “one big union,” controlled by autocrats whose will is law, and who would not hesitate to further their own ends by destroying the secrecy of the service. Hence Mr. Coates thought it right to give a timely warning that if the ballot favored affiliation, then the whole position would have to be reviewed, and

what that means requires no second sight to comprehend. The members of the service are entitled to decide their course of action on any matter in which they are concerned, but in making a decision the consequences should be kept in view. The Minister has done his duty to the State by reviewing the matter temperately, but pointedly. The meanings that can be deduced from his remarks are such as the members of the service would be well advised to take to heart.