VERBOSITY CONTEST

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 502, 3 November 1928, Page 1

VERBOSITY CONTEST

TRIANGULAR CONTEST

SOUGHT SPORTING PROPOSITION An unusual element Has entered th>e contest for the vacant seat on the Auckland City Council. Mr. Harold Schmidt, one of the candidates has accepted the invitation of Mr. J. R. Lundon another candidate to a verbosity contest on the platform. The third candidate, Mr. T. Bloodworth has refused to participate. Mr. Schmidt writes as follows to THE SUN regarding the offer: “Since I replied to Mr. Bloodworth’s letter in yesterday’s Sun, Mr. Lundon, who is a rival candidate, has invited me to his meeting in the Town Hall on Monday night and asked me to extend the invitation to Mr. Bloodworth. It is a real sporting offer, and if Mr. Bloodworth cares to take on a triangular bout of three quarter-hour rounds of verbosity we should attract an overflow meeting at the Town Hall. After Mr. Bloodworth bemoaned the hundreds this by-election would cost the city I telephoned both him and Mr. Lundon, and stated that I was prepared to come to a mutual arrangement between the candidates in the matter, but Mr. Bloodworth pointblank refused. I was surprised at that, because he stated that he was so very sorry that the city should be put to the expense of this by-election. My idea was that the three candidates should submit their names to the first seven pedestrians met, to vote upon, and that the two unsuccessful ones then pull out. This would have saved the city about £SOO and would have been a kind of concentrated popular vote. It is a pity Mr. Bloodworth stood out, because Mr. Lundon was quite willing to take his chances. However. if Mr. Bloodworth likes to accept Mr. Lundqn’s invitatibn, I’m sure we all would have one of the best attended meetings any politician could wish, and if Mr. Bloodworth is a sport he ought to jump at our rival’s invitation. HAROLD SCHMIDT.