MR. SEIVEWRIGHT’S PLAN TO IMPROVE CITY’S STREET SURFACES

Wanganui Chronicle, 10 November 1950, Page 6

MR. SEIVEWRIGHT’S PLAN TO IMPROVE CITY’S STREET SURFACES

“Everywhere I go, great interest is being taken in my proposal to purchase up-to-date machinery for laying down modern streets,” said Mr A. C. Seivewright, Citizens' candidate for Wanganui mayoralty, speaking at. Wanganui East in continuation of his campaign.

“My opposition, of course, are as busy as bees saying that it will cost too much money and that the ratepayers cannot afford it. They are also saying that the purchasing of modern machinery will put City Council employees out of work. “Both these silly arguments always take place when any forward move is planned. I am reminded of an employer I once worked for. He was a very fine man so far as character was concerned; went 1° church every Sunday and was in every way a good citizen. As a business man he was just the world s worst. He shut his eyes to progress and his shop was a perfect example of old-fashioned methods. “I remember trying to get him to buy a modern cash register; to alter his shop around, to buy modern display stands and counters; to do some advertising and dress his windows better. His answer was always, ”l’ve always done it this way before, and my father did it before me.” Soon two modern chain stores opened in his town, one on each side of him. They had the last thing in shop fronts, fixtures and modern lighting. One by one my employer's customers left him; they were attracted by the more modern methods of his competitors. It was only a matter of time before my poor old-fashioned employer had to shut his doors and go out of business.

EQUIPMENT OUT OF DATE

“The equipment the City Council uses is completely out of date, and to say that we here in Wanganui canno afford it is rubbish. The fact ot the matter is, the less we can afford it tbe more we need it. The more we can afford it, the more we can make use of it, and we are paying for it all the lime until we get it. “Then the time-old bogey that men will be put out of work through purchasing modern machinery is such an old argument that it is hardly worth combating. There will be no men put. out of work through the purchas-, ing of modern machines. The council' cannot, handle all the many jobs to be done now. Modern machines will speed up work and make available] added manpower to handle greater: production. “I am quite certain of this, too,”, said Mr Seivewright, “that the men; of the City Council staff will be a lot ' happier handling clever machines that, take away the drudgery of heavy; handling and slow production. I won-] der if Bob Semple was put in charge > of the City Council works department] whaj, he would do. 11l guarantee he 1 would soon have some new machines] around, just as he declared war on ; the thousands of wheelbarrows and' shovels used by the Public Works; when he took over the job in 1935. “I know, from the hundreds of people who have spoken to me, that] the citizens of Wanganui are com-, pletely fed up with their pot-holey] streets. They are fed up with the dust that, flies around on dry days; ! they are fed up with the mud on wet days, and they are grimly deter-] mined to support, me one hundred per; cent on my progressive move to have 1 the streets done efficiently with the aid of modern machines. I “Will those who are opposed to me tell the public what, they have to of-: fer in the way of better streets and ' how they propose to handle the job? Will they tell the electors what sort ' of plant is used now; when it was bought, and whether or no( it. can match up Io modern mechanised equipment ? “Furthermore, if my idea of mech- '

. anising the City Council plant * s wrong, why do overseas cities and towns buy it, and why are other New Zealand cities like Invercargill and . Wellington, as well as other places, also adopting it ? ’