PLATFORM POINTS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 167, 11 April 1935, Page 8

PLATFORM POINTS

Work of the City Engineer

“Some people have objected <? the money spent unnecessarily in the con struct ion of big walls ami substantmil buildings,” said Cr. J. Burns at t Karori meeting last night. I can as sure them that the city engineer did this work for all time, knowin„ it was of a permanent nature.” . “Yon must look after the heads,’ said a member of the audience. Mr. Burns replied that while no doubt some of the recent crR” of the city engineer was justified, he was a man who knew his business and had a long term of excellent -er vice. A Pleasant Surprise.

“When 1 visited the lenid baths I found it a deli ß btiul .an.c'- ..“.IS Karori meeting last night. I s J agreeably surprised. The water was warm.”

Library Unsafe. The present Central Library is small, cramped and unsafe,” said Cr. W. J. Gaudin at the Karori meeting last night.- “In an earthquake it would come down’like a pack of cards.”

Mayor’s Qualities. “We’ve gone through the worst times the city has ever fa « e 9’ ? “XJ say the Mayor has certainly made good during his term of office,” remarked Cl. M. F. Luckie, candidate for return to the Wellington City Council.,

Learning to Swim. "Before the tepid baths operated in Invercargill only eight per cent, of the children could swim,” said Cr. J. Burns to Karori electors last night. "At pre; sent%fts ft result of the tepid bftths per cent, of children of school age can swim there,”

Better Attention. “Patients to-day at Wellington Hospital are getting better attention than rliev ever have had before,” said Mr. .1. C. Riddell, Hospital Board candidate. Alterations to the hospital, he added, were to be a factor of the very near future.

Karori’s Progress. Karori had made the greatest progress of all suburbs, and it had a greater grievance than any of the others, said Cr. M. F. Luckie. He spoke strongly on the necessity fpr every effort to be made to provide Karori with much better access than it had at present.

Distinguished Record. "He has probably the most distinguished record in administrative affairs of all those living in New Zealand to-day,” said Mr. It. 11. Nimmo, candidate for the Harbour Board, speaking yff Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P.. past Mayor of Wellington, who is seeking election to the council this year. The Good Old Days.

Cr. J. Burns found the council cbaim bers at Karori a familiar place in which to discuss election matters last night. With the chairman, Mr. B. G. H. Burn, he had been a member of the old Karori Borough Council. “Of all the meetings I "have been to in this hall I don’t think there has ever been such a quiet meeting as that to-night.”

Mayor’s Relief Fund. "If you take the actual amount of private individual subscription the amount is extraordinarily small.” said the Mayor last night at Karori, referring to sources of revenue for the Mayor's'Relief Fund. He added that schemes were already on foot for obtaining a substantial fund before the winter.

The Right Man. In introducing Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P., to electors at Karori, the chairman, Mr. B. G. H. Burn, a former councillor, said that he knew the City Council candidate would be an excellent man as far as the finances of the council were concerned. In this respect he was a veritable watchdog. Mr. Wright, in fact, would be the right man in the right place.

Without a Past. When he arose to address Karori electors last night Mr. P. D. Hoskins, City Council candidate, referred to the fact that he had no local body experience to which he could refer, like some of the other candidates. “You mean you haven’t got a past,” said a member of the audience.

Looking Ahead. “I am very optimistic about the future of Wellington. It is going to be a big city, and in its future I can see that Karori is going to play a big part,” said Mr. I*. ]). Hoskins, City Council candidate. Therefore it was imperative that those made responsible by the citizens for carrying out the administrative policy should lookwell ahead in the work they did.

Interest in Elections, Mr. Wright congratulated those present at the Karori meeting on their cour- • age in facing such a large battery of speakers, especially on the subject of municipal matters, about which people did not know very much and did not take much interest, except when the time came for paying the annual rates. He knew it was boring. Still, somebody had got to do the work and somebody had got to look after it. Unemployment Relief.

, “The time has come when instead of the Government accumulating unemployment funds it should release them to give more effective relief,” said Cr. 11. A. Huggins. “We know that however much.they are gettiug the unemployed are not getting enough. It is the bounden duty of the people of the country to see that there is no undernourishment, and it is the duty of the State to do more and lift some of the heavy burden from local bodies and private charity.” Lights Out.

When the chairman at the Karori meeting, .Mr. B. G. H. Burn, discovered that Cr. W. J. Gaudin was chairman of the library committee, he found the matter opportune (to introduce some library business on behalf of the Karori library. He said that lights out of the library had disappeared and requested Cr. Gaudin to see that others were sent up.

No “Institutionalism.” A plea that in no way should tlie Hospital Board become “institutionalised” was made by Mr. W. J. Mason, board candidate. He described a visit of his with a concert party to a place which he left nameless, where he caught a glimpse of a number of aged women being served with a meal. They were grouped along a board table, he said, and there were pannikins in front of them. Everything was spotlessly clean, certainly, but he felt ashamed when he returned to his party and joined with them in an excellent supper served in dainty china. He did not wisli to be associated with any such form of charity as this.