THOSE CIVIC PROBLEMS Auckland Council and Tramway Nuisance BUT WILL VOTERS PROTEST?

NZ Truth, Issue 1212, 21 February 1929, Page 6

THOSE CIVIC PROBLEMS Auckland Council and Tramway Nuisance BUT WILL VOTERS PROTEST?

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Kepresentativejf : / A large number of Auckland citizens are living m hopes of two clean sweeps, both of which they feel are well overdue.

IN May they anticipate a clean sweep at the polls of the municipal election, when a number of "the old gang" may be expected to lose their civic heads at the blade of the ratepayers' vote. Provided of course that the long-suffering citizens definitely decide that they have had enough of the incompetence, muddling and extravagance which has distinguished the long reign of the members of the council who have become known as the city stepfathers. But while that much-to-be-desired "sweep" is pending, " there is another which would b c welcomed by those who are still compelled to travel m the Queen City's .-■ tram-cars, and that is the tram-cars themselves. • ' There was a time, we believe, when the trams were swept out at the termination of each journey, but this custom has long since been abandoned, and to-day any person unfortunate enough to make use of the city's vehicles. of transport has to put up. with a state of things* which is little short of disgusting. Towards the end of the day, the floors of the cars are a filthy litter of every conceivable sort of rubbish, some of the filth being of a nature reflecting no credit on the citizens themselves, but there nevertheless.

Trams Littered

Prominent citizens who have travelled abroad come back to say that this city has nothing to learn from the rest of the world, . and possibly they believe it. * But there are times when this paper has reason to believe that such statements are more eulogistic than veracious, for /we do not call to mind any city worthy of the name which pays so little attention to the sanitation of the interior of its public . vehicles. . It was only about a year or so ago that it was made a punishable offence ■ ■ to expectorate m

♦he trams, and up to that time their condition was ' fifty per cent, more ob- ■___ jectionable than it / is to-day. Such a condition of things as indicated reflects no credit on the Queen City or on those who are responsible for it,. and it goes a long way to prove the soundness of the oft-repeated sugv gestion of "Truth" that either , the councillors are short-sighted or apathetic, perhaps both. The tram service is now under the control of a transport board, and it Is sincerely to be hoped that the errors of the City Council will be remedied and that steps will be taken to remove the blot on the city's name caused by insanitary tram-cars. V