CITY MAYORALTY

Evening Star, Issue 18257, 23 April 1923, Page 6

CITY MAYORALTY

CR TAPLEY’S ADDRESS. Cr IT. L. Tapley continued his campaign on Saturday night, when he addressed an appreciative audience in the Oddfellows’ Hall, Stuart street. Mr Rossence presided. The Chairman remarked that it had often been said that most of their commercial men were not able to take themselves way from their business, and that an industrial and commercial city like Dunedin needed such men. Cr Tapley was a. leading commercial man. and he made time to devote himself to the affairs of the city. In addition, ho was still a young man. The fact that he was a young man had been charged against him, but Cr Tapley, like all of them, had no influence over the year in which he was horn. The hope of Otago was in its young men. Cr Tapley extended his opening address ns delivered at the North-cast Valley. Relative to the Rnslyn trams, lie said that the council, through lack of export advice, was not aware of the conditions of the system when it was taken over. When the rope broke, resulting in the stoppages that aroused the residents, no other rope was available, and one had to be procured from Melbourne to keep the system going. Mr Hunter had furnished two reports. One report, which was given to the public, did not matter much. The other report was not published. He (Cr. Tapley) asked the committee to publish that report, hut it decided not to do so. In the matter of extensions the speaker dealt largely. He believed that extensions .should ho pushed ahead. "Where the cars went, the population would eventually follow. The Opoho extension would ho the first takcivin hand, and others would follow. An extension towards Anderson Ray Cemetery was needed, and this would also servo to link up with Tomahawk. Ho was out to see that the tramways wore extended in every direction that was justified. There should also he various depots—car sheds at the several termini. This would result in keeping the system going in case a tire interfered with the operations from ihe main depot; also, tlio.se car sheds would prove a groat boon to tired tramwaymen at night, and lie a great saving of time and labor in the mornings. The speaker seriously considered there was something wrong in connection with supervision in our public works department. The Drainage Board brought out a motor tractor last November, the chassis of which cost £’6oo, and it was still lying in a local garage. The asphalted portions of their streets should ho hosed down every night, and this would freshen up the city a lot. Such midnight washings had long been successfully done elsewhere. The asphalting of the streets should ho extended. It was a very wrong thing to stop such works because the gang had to be removed to the Southern Reservoir. There was any amount of good labor available, and gangs as good could have been formed. Dunedin needed to bo aroused into more civic energy. One thing that certainly would do that would be the exhibition, a project which ho entirely favored.

The mooting terminated with a unanimous vote of approval for Cr Tapley and his platform.

Despite tho inclement weather Mr G. S. Thomson’s meeting at South Dunedin Town Hall on Saturday evening was attended by fully 100 electors, including quite a number of ladies. The chairman, Mr Brooks, in his opening remarks, explained that the Labor Party was a reflex of the stage of education readied by the working class; while the Communist Party was the advance guard of tho Labor movement, taking part in and helping to lead the wnvkorj in their daily struggles for the betterment of their conditions. On rising to speak Mr Thomson was greeted with applause. During the course of Iris address, which lasted for an hour and ahaif, the candidate fearlessly attacked the present councillors, and from a business a.s well as from a workers’ standpoint he showed tho necessity for the workers of Dunedin “ plumping ” solidly next Thursday for none other than the Communist and Labor Party candidates for the council, Hospital Board, and Harbor Board. Ho explained that our reserves should be free to all in the interests of health and of the physical and mental development of our young people. Pie showed up the unbusinesslike way in which Lake Logan bad been dealt with, and advocated that

the filling—in of this recreation ground should be completed immediately. At the dose of his address he answered about a dozen questions to the satisfaction of his audience. While doing so, Mr Thomson stated that, if elected as a councillor, he could lie, relied upon to fight solidly against any suggested reduction in the workers’ wages and working conditions; and, further, that it would be part of bis work to break up the secrecy at present prevailing in connection with onr council affairs. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the speakers.—[Published by arrangement.]