WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 11 May 1925, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

LABI)I'll AND FREE LANCES. DANGER IX .MrxiCII’AE POLITICS. (Special to “Guardian”.) WELLINGTON, .May 7. .Mi- I). .Mel.uren. liio secretary of ill,. Wellington Ci\io I .onotic, occupies a <-<ili■ 11 ■ll and a half ol the rending space of tile “Evening Rost" i:i demonstrating. to his mvn entire satisIcation. that l.ahour did not do so well as the puhlic i' assuming it did, at thi; recent Wellington municipal elections, and that there is no tear of it seizing iho reins ol local government in the near luture. “I have

panic into the figures of the election fairly exhaustively in comparison with those of the election of l!l23,” he states, “and l find as the main feature that thi' chief danger to organised effort on the part of the moderate citizens is the free lance intrusion of groups who apparently consider only themselves. They may seriously upset the nio-.t carefully-laid plans ot the organised citizens.” .Mr .McLaren admits that while the number of voies polled for l.ahour candidates at the city election declined by o.titil. cem-p-a red with the number polled in 11)23. from 1 2ti,liK!> to R21.32K the votes polled for the Civic League’s eaudiilalcs declined by 12. did from 172.(M2 to liiL.TJ'.h lint i.i this lie see- no men-

ace to the principle- for which Ids League stands. “The explanation.’’ he says, “is to he found in the large expenditure of votes upon these whom I call free lance candidates, who seldom ever lind eleel ion. This year il 1.Ml voies were east for live of these candidates, none ol whom were elected.” The total “tree lance” vole, il seems, showed an increase of 2th | fb. COI.I) COM LOUT. Mr .McLaren conveniently assumes that, the great majority of these votes with the free lancers out of the held, would have been east tor ( ivie I,eap; ll e candidates, and that the victory of “law and older’’ would have been overwhelming all along the line. “‘I lie les.-on I draw from these figures is,” lie savs, “that if the groups attached to the non-party candidates insist on sporadically entering, the held at election times without considcrat ion tor tiie permanent, organisation existing, the effect must Tie largely in the direction of placing the parly candidates in office on minority bases ol representation. as the votes cast tor free lance candidates draw away considerably more from the Civic League ticket than from that ol the Labour Party; it is very doubtful il the Labour Party loses anything worth speaking of in that direction.” 'lbis all is pure spoonful inn for P c purpose of bolstering up an extremely rickety case. The free lancers were mu in the held for the purpose of assisting Labour, hut for the purpose, as was

I lain from their speeches, ot expressing dissatisfaction with the present

In their ab-eiee a very large proportion of the votes they received would leave been east for l.ahour. end probable the proportion would hat" been siiflicictii to materially change the complexion of I lie elected Council. Ihe mayoral election, with only two can dinti's in the field, was a plain demon, strntion of the growing strength of Labour, and no amount of juggling with the figures will change Its sigoiii-

IIOAI! DT.XG A DV EKTISIXG. Yesterday the lion .1. «L Coates, the Minister of Railways, made his “considered” reply to the depulal ion I rum the ('is ■.* Ciuim-.d, Automobile ( !:t". Cite League and Motor Cycle Club which waited upon him recently to protest against the erection ol advertising hoardings on railway property along the llutt road. the .Mini-lei had told the members of the deputation at the time of their inu i view with him that he could remember ion It ing oh;eci lona hie about the hoaidiugs. hill lie would look at them again and eoimimnieate with the pnU est an I - later on. Ilis letter addressed to the Civic League yesterday v. a-, ids redemption ot this incidentally he had mentioned th.nl the City Council, at any rale, might consider the character ol some ol toe hoardings displayed ill its own streets and s.-puires while quest inning the propriety of llies >to which the deputation had taken exception. Public opinion was with the Minister so far and he returned to the point, yesterday by I saying tlmt the Railway Department had been frequently complimented upon the superiority ol the advertising schemes il permitted on its property, tint setting aside odius comparisons, Mr Coates gave it as: his opinion that I.I;,- imaiditigs lor which tae depot tiiicii! was responsible along the Hull mad should oll'eiid neither the moral ne.r the nest he! ie susceptibilities of any reasonable person, and that as Ihe rose, nubble Minister lie would nd he qualified Lv foregoing the revenue they brought to the r l rensury. I’rnbably (here will he no outburst of public indignation at his decision. SOAR AXI) WATER. \l the annual banquet ot the Wellington Chamber of Commerce las! night the Mon C. .). Anderson was the gm.st of honour, as the representative of Hi,. Government, and v.lide speakino of the need for generously adv-r----tishng the attractions of the Dominion had a word or two to say concerning hotels. “Cut alter we have advertised Xcw Zealand's scenic beauties throughout England and America.” he asked the assembly of business men. “what are you going to do about yum hotels‘g I am going to talk to you verv plainly on this subject. I am a man who travels a good deal, and to all intents and purposes I am aMhev Zealander, seeing that I was brought here when T was two years old. I am not a sybarite, hut there is one thing | do like, and that is cleanliness, and there i- no excuse for dirt anywhere - not even in the oldest ramshackle hotel i,, Xew Zealand. Soap is cheap, and

there is any amount <>l water in Net Zealand, hut what do you limit •■Cockroaches,” a voice interjected am aroused loud laughter. “And in som cases Inn's,’’ observed .Mr Anderson

"I could tell you an amusing story about that. But that is your job; this i- not a Hoverniiionl job. W>u have L „,t to clean these places up—and you can tin it. H is the duty of the Incensed Viet nailers Association to see that no matter how bumble the hotel may be that the place is clean. 1 here is a little hoarding-house in a country district itt my electorate, so old that it is just about to fall down, but you can go in there, gentlemen, and find it so clean front one end to the other, that you would he delighted to have a meal, or sleep there. And that should he the same everywhere.” Soap and witter formed the Minister's text.