"THE CITY HORRIBLE."

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1440, 15 May 1912, Page 6

"THE CITY HORRIBLE."

UGLY DISPLAYS ON HOARDINGS. It appears that (lie city authorities ore fully alive to the desirability of bringing tho law to bear on persons who stick bills and posters upon unauthorised places or upon regular hoardings without having first paid for their use. Both acts constitute offences against the city by-laws, nnd the inspectors in the employ of the corporation arc constantly on tho lookout for offenders.

The trouble i.s that it is sometimes difficult to sheet liome tho offence. It is not enough to show that a certain person's wares have been advertised in ,'l place which has not been allotted for that purpose. It is also necessary to show that ho authorised the display, or, in-tho alternative, to catch, the bill-sticker in the act. The Mayor (Mr. D. M'Lnren) spoke stronfcly upon the subject when it was mentioned by a reporter, "At the present time," he remarked, "I am going into the question of the indiscriminate posting of bills all over the city, which is making tho place look hideous. This sort of thing is not only undesirable from tho aesthetic point of view, but might almost be said to offend from tlie standpoint of common decency. I think that we should show some little concern for the beauty of. our city," continued Mr. M'Lnren, "and not allow coarsely-inartistic placards and show pictures to bn scattered in «11 direction* until they become an affliction to anyone with an ' appreciation of the beautiful. Some of the bills that have recently been shown on local hoardings might just as well be complained of as the kin.emntoRraph pictures to which exception lies been taken. . ■ , .. "We hear some talk about tlie city beautiful," , remarked the Mayor, but to judge by some of the displays one sees, efforts are beine made to create 'the city horrible.'" Finally, he expressed the opinion that ttiero would have to be a. 'stricter enforcement of the by-laws relating to the use, or abuse, of hoardings.