PRIZE ESSAY.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2505, 24 October 1924, Page 9

PRIZE ESSAY.

“WHAT CAN IDO FOR MY CITY AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL.” Following is the second of the two first prize essays .by F. Cutler, who won the From VI. competition In the Lunch Club’s' contest at the Palmerston North Boys’ High School;— We should always remember that the prosperity and general welfare of any community lies with those who make it, and undoubtedly keen'ness and willingness to help it will dp much to make our city take its proper place among the great centres of New Zealand. But what are the essentials of a good citizen?

Probably the way, in which we oa*a most show ourselves worthy of the name is by taking a lively and active interest In Its administration and Institutions. First of all, it Is the duty of every person over the age of 21 to exercise the privilege he has of voting on different municipal questions. But before one can intelligently do this, one must know something of the matter concerning which one is helping to form the consensus of public opinion. Therefore it should be the aim of every good citizen to have a Arm grip of the affiairs of his city and its finance. Ask the average voter who complains of the highness of the Borough rates what those rates are, and he will probably be unable to tell you. In reality if he looked into the matter he would find that his rates, though seemingly high, compare very favourably with those in other cities. It is really amazing how apathetic people are in borough affairs. Many ratepayers grumble and at last reluctantly pay up. They do not take the trouble to attend the meetings called to explain why the demands are necessary. It is on record that at one meeting held in Palmerston North to discuss a loan proposal one ratepayer out of five thousand turned up. The rest did not worry—or else wrote anonymous letters to the papers criticising the scheme. A good citizen should also be prepared to give his services willingly on the different boards and committees in his city. This may often entail con•siderable sacrifice both of time and business, for our Government wisely decrees that no one holding a'n administrative position may supply any goods or receive any contract from the board or committee of which he Is a member. But anyone with the welfare of his city at heart should not mi'nd this.

There are many bodies in our town which help to make an up-to-date community, e.g., the Chamber of Commerce, the Plunket Society, the Orchestral and other musical organisations, and last (one of our ‘greatest assets), the A. and P. Society. No one can deny that,, as a publicity agent, this body does an Invaluable service. When we think of the thousands of people who are attracted to Palmciston North by our groat Show, it is at once evident that the A. and P. Association does a great work In our midst, and it is, 1 therefore, worthy of our membership and active co-operation. The above paragraph suggests a further way in which we can help to increase the prosperity of Palmerston North. As a local paper persistently reminds us—

“Though early to bed and early to rise, You’ll never bo rich till you advertise.” There is absolutely no doubt that advertisement plays a great part in the welfare of a city. IT we were in America we should find every citizen, whether he lived in a city of a million Inhabitants or in a village of four or five hundred, always eager to ‘‘boost" his home town tp the best of his ablity. It is precisely this civic pride which requires more encouragement in New Zealand. It should be the aim of every citizen to do his best for his city in the way of distributing pamphlets setting forth its' attractions. But where are the pamphlets? In their absence every citizen ought to know something of the history and geography of the locality, but how can the average man set forth the attractions of his city to such advantage as a well-got-up pamphlet? In our public gardens the following legend often attracts the eye: “Citizens, protect your own property.” Do we sufficiently recognise that we are all part owners of. our beautiful parks and reserves? Probably not, or we should take greater care to prevent unnecessary litter and to stop wanton mutilation and destruction which often goes on In them. In our larger cities we occasionally hear of cases of hardship and suffering, of slum areas beginning to spring up, which are just as bad as those in the Old Country. Surely In so young and prosperous a country as New Zealand conditions such as these should not exist. Happily our city is, as yet, almost free from these,, but even so we are occasionally shocked to hear of the circumstances in which some unfortunate families have been found. Every citizen should try to prevent further happenings such as these, to see to it that no buildings are allowed to exist, or bo erected, which would bo a menace to public health. Poverty and squalor beget ill-health and crime, and no city can hope to be well spoken of when it is notorious either because of its death list from preventable disease, or because of its record in crime.

Open crime is not the only kind which will retard our progress. Crooked business methods and shady transactions do not give any city a good name. Therefore we should endeavour always to be straight in our dealings with others. We should try always to avoid any deed likely to cast a reflection on the fair name of Palmerston North, and alw'ays by our conduct we should show that we are worthy citizens of a coming metropolis.