Attempt to Eliminate Squeeze Opposed: Skeleton Service Being Run An epic of squeeze is the tale of the events leading up to the strike of the conductors of the China General Omnibus Company. The men went out at 8 a.m, on August "The" Company were not unprepared and was immediately arranged to put skeleton services in force, They were working before the day was out, Tt is wrobablo that new conductors. will engaged for, apparently, the men fon strike have found service distaste-Tui, Some of them recently asked to transferred to other routes, the explanation being that, owing to certain changes in the methods of the Company, they were not able to obtain for their wages those sup-piements" which "they considered essential, But let the story be told from the beginning. Last autumn there was a strike, The Company had to take on untrained conductors, To temper the wind to the shorn jamb, fiat rates were instituted, The hew hands would not have been able to work on the old graded seales. The result was that traffic rently increased especially on the jong routes. Then came the Japan-trouble; traffic was dislocated land, especially in the northern dis tricks, returns: ped with a thump: When conditions promised to come back to normal, the Company had to consider the best way Of restoring their services to the ficiency desired but found that although the number of passengers was steadily increasing the re-'Venue not, On one checked route alone the number of passengers, as compared with" that "shown for a. similar period in the previous year, was Ydentical but although the fares had remained unchanged, the collections were actually $800 less per diem.
his could be explained only in one snd the word is "squeeze." Ex.
turnstiles were introduc short routes and immedi Ately' this. verdict. was confirmed. More turnstiles have been ordered. In addition, on the longer routes, the device was adopted of splitting into zones and issuing diferent coloured tickets for the cliff zones. This, fortified by @ system Inspection, produced such an imjprévement in' the ratio of collections Yo the number of passengers carr that the Company were able to feel that they had successfully grappled with the squeeze problem.
'This view. was speedily proved accurate by request for increases {in the conductors' wages on the ground that the men. were not Making as much money as they required,—The request, followed on attempts to get transfers to short Youtes where no zones had been introduced.
"The Company's attitude on the wage question was plain: they were compelled to wait and see whether the steps to re-organise the serv nvout suck returns a8 just Redvattention to that matter. The Conductors "were not, inclined Srait; they evidently felt that. the Collapse of the squeeze system Te: They. have. thus decided to" sever tired caste trestment fom them.
association with "Company po Sed of the. temerity" to organise Against. "squcese" on what, eons: ering. the'Agares Involved, might etlied mammoth proportions.
Te may be asked how it is that the' passengers: have' not helped in ihe Pitecton, of "squeeze" The nswot is thnt they have net, for Feasons which, no doubly appear to them adequate, They wil, however, Ihave cause to support the' Company Inthe present determination Keen its balance sheets Complications" of "squeeze Slomont™ in accountancy is nat te: Eogiived. either: ty. shareholders enters into economic philosophy, is farlly on the principle that the consumer has to pay. In other Seords, the honest passengers would have to. submit to higher fares because of the leakage which occurred on the transfer of their. small money to, the coffers, of the Company. The sequel, it is expected, Will be the enlistment of conductors who know that squeeze has to be! Danished from their vocabulary—at any rate on the highly" intensified plan of their predecessors', concep-"eRihowgh a strike was: not suns expected on Aug. 11, there were inications "that. it would not take place. "However, at, 4.90 a.m. when the conductors begin to gather as a tule, there were very few to be seen, and these later vane ished, and there was then little doubt that the. shake hai eom-MéAttemptt id sind! conductors: and inspectors around the streets and Induce them to come to work failed, so other arrangements were put in hand: "All" the drivers and Workshop staffs remained loyal. At 745 am. seven express buses went out, as usual, with their customary Chinese drivers, but the work of the conductors was. taken over by seven foreign inspectors of the eon pany, mostly British, and all ex-
Shorily afterwards buses went cout on Route 1A, with Russian drivers, and with spare Russian drivers doing the work of conductors. At 9.30 am, a notice was posted on the gates of the company's premises. at Connaught Road, intimate Ing that all conductors who had absented themselves for duty. that morning were dismissed, and requesting them to return' forthwith all" Company's property in their During the course of the day] further "buses "were pat on the Sti spite of police protection, two buses "were attacked in. the "even In spite of police protection, tw
ing, one in Markham Road and the other in" Kiaochow Road. The Strikers threw stones at the passing Vehicles and, apart. from. several windows being smashed, two loyal Inspectors received injuries. A. metal panel on the side of one of the buses was. stolen, Tntimidation took place on Aug. 12, some of the conductors who struck and were dismissed afew hours Inter deciding to. take the opportunity of using the French Conces-aide of Avenue Foch and Edward VIT as a suitable site' for this Work, For a short period buses on Route 9, which use these boundary road ere taken off, while remade' with the vrenck Poli 'Very soon afterwards extra police wore drafted on duty on these roads, and the' intimidation suddenly stopped. The dismissed workers had Been going on board buses and quietly suggesting to the loyal bus Staffs that they were now making lot of money, and intimating what their wives, children and near re-Tatives might expect in the way of revenge.
At 10.15 a.m. on Aug. 14 as he opened the central doors of a Ping-Road route Passengers, bya thrown at him by two Chinese, He managed to open his eyes in time the two men escaping down street, and the police hope that will be able to recognise his all ants in the event of their arrest, appears that some of the acid was thrown on to the dress of a foreign lady passenger in the bus but fortunately she was able to get away and change her clothing fore she sustained any injun such as acid burns, ete.
Sixty-seven buses ran in the {International Settlement on Aug. 15, the service started a few hours! after the conductors went on strike and were promptly dismissed thus being well maintained. There were three incidents in which ex-conductors. attacked and one of an ob-Jectionabie type, the latter night-soil was throw:
a bus in Avenue Edward VII eight "Chinese and two foreign passengers most regrettably suffering. In the dangerous _ins-stances vitriol was thrown, one with no. effect what-wer, while in the other a Russian, driver received some in the eyes.
The Russian chiver was taken to the Goneval Hospital for treat and it was found that his injuries, Although painful, were not serious. He was. attacked just around the commer, at the intersection of North Szechien and Tiendong Roads daring. the attern other vitriol case occurred in Dixwell Road, and being thrown Jat a bus in which several passengers, foreign and Chinese, Nobody suitored in method of throwing been discovered. 'The attackers are using old electric lamp globes, with the brass caps knocked off, filing them with vitriol and then ce them up. These globes break easi-Ty.when' thrown.
No arrests were made in any of these attacks.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.