PALMERSTON'S MUNICIPAL MENAGE.

NZ Truth, Issue 143, 14 March 1908, Page 4

PALMERSTON' S MUNICIPAL MENAGE.

The lown of wind and dust, ol boom and slump, the erstwhile paradise of the land-shark, is at present enjoying a municipal "situation." The ordinary Palmexstonian who only wakes up .to regard town politics at an election time, or when • there is a breeze on, may think that all the trouble ie about septic tanks, reserve curator, library, drains, Gas Company, or what-not, but theje are others who think that the real trouble is over the question of who is going to own the town— the Palmerston citizens as a whole or a crowd of long-nosed, Hebraic, butter-fat merchants and land-grabbers. Up to last April the Cohentingent crowd had had a pretty good run, and managed to get their friends on to a few real soft things, but about that time the game was becoming altogether too transparent, so when Dick Essex stood for Mayor, to the surprise of the fat men he knocked the oily Cohen out, and he, with another longnose at least, found themselves right out m the cold. The superior push, however, did not think that Dick had the necessary "culchaw" and social position to be Mayor of such a high-toiied township as Palmierston, but as Dick, himself -put it, "if it was a. figurehead they wanted they had got th© wrong man." Dick reckoned he was there tq earn his. screw, and has ' worked hard at the job, and this has so surprised and flabbergasted the push that some of them recently recovered themselves sufficiently to gasp out their protests and call ; on him to do less, as it wasn't dignified for a Mayor to work or earn Iris screw. Reside, it was so damned uncomfortable to have the Mayor know all. -that was going on, so ,% much so that a councillor couldn't even get selling unsound drain nipes 'to the Council without, the Mayor ... interfering and telling people abput it.. Well, Dick, has his rough corners, there is ho doubt,, but a course of him has done as much good as a packet of salts after a' lonp drunk. Fat, however; does not like the cleaning-out process,- it shakes him up too much, besides he t lose_i weight, so now he is looking round and hanging on to anything bandy to boost out the Ma--'yor wii-th next month, when the .election is due. The handy thing at present is the poor devil of a, curator of reserves, whose name is Smith, ' and his abilities m the direction of making deserts blossom are far less common than his name; He was doing all right until an interfering 'individual named Park, who aims to be cock o' the walk, tried to convince him be had grievances. -Maybe he had, but if so he should have : applied to the Reserves Committee, but the said rooster, not being on speaking terms with the boss of the reserves committee, found an opportunity to ignore him and get one on to the Mayor at the same go. So' the curator fell m. and was induced to write a letter to the Council smiting the Mayor. On the motion of his Worship the letter was not' received, and i then the next thing was- the resignation of the curator. This, of course, was too good a chance for the fat push to miss and so, they rose and howled at Mayor Essex to apologise, otherwise they would lose the curator. Now this seems to be a clear case of finding "any stick good enough; to beat the do£ with." The curator resigned because his letter, was not accepted, and the fact that Mayor Richard was only a member of the Council that refused to receive Smith's letter was lost ' sight of. Tbe fact remains i>ha<t the Hebraic mob had the hide to ask the Mayor to apologise, which is just about as ridiculous an attempt to put dust m the electors' eyes as was ever conceived by this push. Palmerstonians are used to getting dust thrown m their eyes, • but "Truth" thinks they'll soon scrape this lot out, or enough of it to clear their vision and perceive the fat man m all his greasdness. Next month m any case will tell a tale, and then one Will see what the people of Palmerston North, by their votes, think of their Mayor and his progressiveness. The others have been challenged to resign and thus give the ratepayers a chance to tell them what they think about them ; but fat isn't taking any chances.