THE MAYOR'S WAR WORK

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2572, 21 September 1915, Page 4

THE MAYOR'S WAR WORK

"On behalf of the people of Wellington, the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) gave a hearty welcome to the Maori Contingent." This or similar paragraphs have become a familiar feature of local newspaper reports. It would bo interesting to know how many of these war functions the Mayor has presided over. It is surprising how he finds time to do all that he has done "on behalf of the people of Wellington." Citizens have goocl reason to be grateful to Mn. and Mns. Luke for tho zealous and highly successful manner in which they have performed the numerous duties which the war has thrown upon their shoulders. The occupant of the Mayoral chair is naturally expected to play a leading part in all tho public functions connected with the dispatch of oar Contingents for the front and tho home-coming of the siek and wounded, and we have also grown accustomed t'o take it for granted that the Mayor and Mayoress will associate themselves with all, movements for providing comforts for .the troops, for tha raising of patriotic funds, and for arranging meetings and entertainments of various kinds. There seems to bo no limit to the encroachments rnado upon the time of Mr. and Mns. Luke, _ and equally tliere lias been no limit to their good nature or to their enthusiasml. It has been a year of desperate hard work for them; day after day and night after night assisting at this or planning'that; always keenly anxious to help forward any worthy movement; and yet everything has been done so cheerfully ancl ungrudgingly that most of us have been too much inclined to accept it all as a. mere matter of course. ; Wo do not always realise how much steady thought, careful preparation, attention to detail, and personal effort is required in order to ensure the success of the many undertakings in which _the_ Mayor is called on to take the initiative. He has not only to bear more than his share of the •actual work and worry; he must also direct the . work of others, smooth over differences, and do his utmost to kindle and encourage tho spirit of service. The complete success of tho various patriotic demonstration's which have been hold in Wellington is in a great measure due to the energy and enthusiasm of Mb. and Mns. Luke, who have sacrificed their time and leisure to a>i extent that no previous Mayor and Mayoress of the City have ever been called on to do. The Mayor understands human nature as well as most men, and under the stress ancT strain of these strenuous days has developed unsuspected. qualities of leadership. He is not the slave of convention. He has that happy faculty of entering into the feelings of others, young and old, which often contributes very materially to the enjoyment of a social function. It is these useful personal qualities, combined with sound common sense, a high ideal of civic duty, and an almost unlimited capacity for work, that have enabled the Mayor to perform so satisfactorily .the multifarious tasks which have fallen to his ; lot as Chief Magistrate of the Capital City of the Dominion in these stirring, times of war. It is well that citizens should realise how greatly they are indebted t'o Me. a.nd Mrs. Luke not only on irecount of the personal sacrifices the Mayor and Mayoress have been called on to make in carrying out the very- numerous duties attached t'o tho Mayoral'office, but also because of tlio. splendid success which has attended their efforts.