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I i J- REVIEW OF COUNCIL Government By Head two most outstanding members of the Aurora council recant have without question been J Murray and Councillor Wil liam Davidson Councillor comeback at the council meetings has added to the strength of independent background fcacfegrotiBd lately rein- and Stoddart forced Mr has had to contend against an increasing tendency towards rule The mayor has constant signs of ceasing to act as an in dependent chairman and to as sume instead the character of a potentate The mayor has a strong al most overwhelming personality If he does not get his own way he has shown himself to be a poor loser A poor loser is one who fails to congratulate his op ponents on a success against himself A good loser takes the opposite course He may express regret that his opinions were not all matters affecting the good of our town Reeve Cook may be relied on with the fixity of a stained glass window But all do not agree on what consti tutes the good of our town In the opinion of many the reeve does not represent proposals that make for good of our town Councillor Jones knows a great deal about council matters But he seems to us to have lost his former zest for the good fight He has supported pro posals that the more resolute defeated among them Old Home Week and the new park His hand has gone up in tune with the mayors with very rare exceptions Councillor is con cealed But he t on that account censure his J scarcely has anything to say He opponents by telling them that through council meetings with seldom a word for they will live to regret what they have done Murray and Davidson the record If brevity is the soul of wit then Mr is Almost without exception the wittiest of men mayor has been able to count on He made no levy in his budget the votes of Reeve Cook and and then Councillors Davis Jones and his own budget by voting on controversial sub- He f which he favored He has mer supported the new park not always been able to rely on the votes of Councillors Corbett and Moffat His strongest opponent has been DeputyReeve Murray who has shown no signs of being on the argument tfcat something should be done for posterity He thus earned the title of Pos terity Maybe thats why he seldom says a word in council other overawed by the opinions of the than reading his reports of the table The deputy- haps hes lost in the wilds of pos- has in consequence of his opposition had to take some rat- Nothing Outstanding from the mayor which were In spite of the fact that up to In extremely bad taste To be told that you are shortsighted and nearsighted because you disagree on a mat ter of public policy is not in the best tradition of good chairman ship The has taken quite a number of unpleasant comments from the mayor with out retaliation in kind But we dont imagine that this kind of thing will continue indefinitely Those who know Mr Murray are well aware that he can re tort in kind If he feels like it He is no docile cipher That there has been no first- class row in council during the past year is due almost entirely to the patience exercised by the deputyreeve For such patience he deserves to be congratulated the present there have been a record number of special meet ings in addition to the regular two monthly meetings we can not recall that council has ac complished anything of an out standing character thus far in While nothing has been ac complished that we can recall of a positive character a good deal of a negative character is on the record Among these are the defeat of Old Home Week new park project and the with drawal of the proposal to widen Wellington St East at an approximate cost of The deputyreeve is entitled to the credit of dismantling the or atorical structures of Old Home Week and the new park pro posal Credit however must be given to Councillor Moffat for Not everyone can submit to casting the deciding vote that deserved comments on their al leged shortcomings without some sort of protest For several months of the present year the only members of council with a voice on public matters were Deputy- Reeve Murray and Councillor Davidson In many directions it is the weakest council that Au rora has had in years On The Wagon On the mayors wagon from our observation and in our opin ion the following could invari- ablv be counted on Reeve Cook and Councillors Davis Jones put the new park to bed and to sleep In that she did not change her mind for she had been against it from the outset I It was Councillor Davis who changed his mind on the park Whereas he had formerly voted for It he suddenly appeared to realize that the taxpayers were already paying enough and said so Sometimes it can be a good thing to have a man on council who jumps from one side to an other like a Jack in the Box Usually he has voted in line with the mayor and others on the Yes wagon HELPING THE TAXPAYER Would Pay 300 If Council Motion Passed A motion brought before the town council by Murray and seconded by Councillor avldson was held over for later discussion It con cerned the payment by a into the town treasury for municipal purposes The motion was in the follow ing terms That a subdivider when opening up a subdivision be required to pay Into the town treasury for municipal purposes a of for each lot sold The brought thla at a previous meeting of town council when he se cured only two votes in its favor J3Plixpaf en we understand Mr Murray arguments in favor of this new and Express results classifieds condition applying to subdivides he considers it unfair that old resident taxpayers should be called on to bear new taxation arising out of new costs incurred for school and other purposes in consequence of the growth of population produced by new sub divisions The argument appears to be that the is reaping the advantages derived from a stable community and that he should return some small portion of his profits from the sale of each lot to help the taxpayers when new school and other services are re quired as a result of the new homes built The would thus be contributing in a direct way to taxation incurred by his specula tions Some municipalities have already adopted the measure pro posed by the deputyreeve and it remains to be seen if eventually the Aurora town council will take similar steps i J hi a- ANiNUNeiEMENT For The Beat Deal In ALUMINUM DOORS and WINDOWS PA J SINCLAIR Editor OFFICE HALL AURORA TELEPHONE PA PAGE ELEVEN THURSDAY THE TWENTYSECOND DAY OF JULY NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTYFOUR EDITORIALS A DEFENCE OF DAVIDSON In its July 8 issue the Aurora Banner indulged it self in a series of reprimands of Councillor Bill David son under the editorial heading of No Need of Class Distinctions Here Although as most people know Aurora reeks with class distinctions and has a Four Hundred with some members possessed of surfaces as smooth as a saccharine tablet were not going to dis cuss such matters here at this moment We have something better to do in defending Coun cillor Bill Davidson against implications and emanating from a source which could do worse than copy some of his directness From what we have seen of Bill Davidson at council during the past months we would defend him anywhere To defend him against a Banner editorial is not work but peanuts William Davidson is the type of Englishman who does England credit in a new land He would be the last man to claim that he was brilliant He is neither brilliant nor exceptionally clever He has other and more enduring qualities There is nothing cheap or shoddy in his makeup He is a man on whose word you can depend He is honest through and through Hes the sort of man youd like to have in a tough spot If he finds he is wrong he admits it without any shillyshallying He puts on no airs of selfimportance and bigshot stuff He would rather run away from a microphone than grab it to make his voice heard He is a modest man who prefers a seat at the bottom rather than at the head of the table Above all he is a sincere man who is doing his best for the electors who placed their confidence in him to the extent of nearly votes Auroras Class Distinctions would make a good subject for discussion We may deal with it later In such a review we would necessarily have to include the Aurora Banner BANNER I As an example of distorted reporting by the Aurora Banner the case of Mrs Zimmermans appearance be- fore council may be cited After telling Mrs Zimmerman came before town council decision with regard to land which she wishes to open up for housing the Banner then pounced on Councillor Davidson as follows Her request however brought some Councillor William Davidson who declared that were going to have Kennedy St surrounding our town when he objected to Mrs Zimmermans lots being approved for foot width Healone of council was the only one who voted against the proposed plan for the lots all others approving The Banner did not explain to its readers that the reason Mr Davidson voted against the foot lots was because he considered they were much too large for the ordinary homebuilder He urged upon council to stick by its previous decision to allow the building of homes on foot lots on Mrs Zimmermans subdivision Councillor Davidsons vote against the foot lots was a protest against interference on the part of the planning board and the department of planning at Queens Park The town council had unanimously rec ommended foot lots and the recommendation was turned down by the higherups Councillor Davidson was trying to put some back bone into council by insisting that it not an outside body should decide what was best for the town of Aurora The Banner report said The town planning board it was said had agreed to the foot width and would try and have this approved as being of a suitable size for the area in question Note the words would try and have this approved More cap in hand busi ness Mrs Zimmerman fully understood why Councillor Davidson voted against the foot lots and thanked him for his remarks that he regretted the long delay which she had suffered regarding her subdivision But the Banner did not report that However biassed it may be against Mr Davidson at least it might try and play fair with him MOVES OUT Most people in Aurora who follow local sport would hear with regret that William had resigned from his positions as assistant director of recreation and assistant arena manager to take up another and very different kind of business A hometown boy was very popular in sporting activities There is little doubt that he was deeply disap pointed at being passed over for a joint position for which he was well qualified The certificate which he recently won on merit for recreation activities is a proof of his qualifications He had youth on his side and was an enthusiast for sport it will be unfortunate if his departure adversely affects interest in sport at the arena It will be unfor tunate but understandable for a great deal of resent ment was expressed at the failure of the powers that be to give him a trial However regrets are useless ftjjw every success in his new COUNCIL REPORT Murray Attacks Official Plan Stirs Cook Into Heated Reply A regular meeting of the town council was held on Monday night July 19 A variety of subjects were dealt with and it was a quiet meeting until towards the close when Reeve Cook suddenly flared up after Deputy- Reeve Murray had presented a calm and logical state ment concerning the planning board WHAT THEY ARE SAYING No Grounds For Suggestion Cancel Aurora Horse Show The suggestion that the Aurora Horse Show might be moved to another municipality in view of the decision of a majority of council not to buy a new park was ridiculed by an exhibitor at the show Whoever thought up that no- Shew which has been held at turn said the commentator was Richmond Hill for the past two talking through his hat For all years an officer of the show told years the Horse Show has Aurora News Page that the held in the town park and to move it resulted from sev eral reasons chief of which was the failure of an Aurora sponsor ing organization to provide mar quees at reasonable cost It was not a question of insuf ficient space said the officer but bad organization and some lack of interest with too much there it is likely to stay In the opinion of the speaker who said he had attended the show since boyhood it have been against the best in terests of everybody concerned wit Auroras annual event to have moved to such an out-of- theway location as the proposed work being expected of one or i Cut-Up- Chicken asked lor special attention to the road leading from Yonge St to their premises in view of what was described in a letter as the mag nitude of their services to Au rora No action was taken On the question of paying Wil liam a weeks salary as a tribute to him for past services DeputyReeve Murray said a weeks salary was owing to Mr so in reality they were making no gift to him but mere ly paying what was his due Mr Harold Graham and Mr Seston appeared on behalf of the Traffic Safety Council Mr Graham was understood to say that Aurora Banner was donating some posters for the cause Mr J Bolsby chairman of the arena board and Mr J Buchanan chairman of the re creation commission came to council to introduce the new arena manager and recreation director Mr Jack Robinson The mayor extended councils good wishes to him County Assessment committee Reeve Cook report ed on the bad condition of the town truck which was bought in It was resolved to auth orize the committee to go ahead and arrange for the purchase of a new truck at an approximate cost of 2200 Street Signs The mayor as chairman of the police committee made a full report on his personal inspec tion of the streets which he said were badly marked even worse than Newmarket where he had trouble in finding his way around- There were 32 named streets he said and from to 80 signs were needed After some reluctance on the part of members of council to give the goahead a confirming motion sponsored by Councillors Jones and Stoddart found approval Subdivided ByLaw Further to his arguments that should pay the sum of 300 into a pool for municipal purposes on each lot sold coun cil approved the preparation of a bylaw proposed by Deputy- new park A great many people perhaps the majority who attend the I show are from Aurora and the town park is central for them To have moved it to a point so far out of town would in many cases have killed their interest in the affair as they would have had to walk too far How The Rumor Arose The idea that the show might be moved to another municipality was promoted by a paragraph which appeared in a report of councils decision on the park proposal in the Aurora Ban ner issue of July In the the Banner reporter interjected his own opinion as follows Whether Auroras famous old horse show may now the Discussion arose on the previ- Reeve Murray on the action council had taken in deciding to appeal the county levy Councillor said it might prove a costly business without adequate return and Councillor Jones said Aurora was the only municipality ap pealing Reeve Cook said if they won the other municipalities would have to pay Deputy- Reeve said they should go before the judge and ask for that where individuals claimed were overassessed they and Aurora was in a position regard to the After further debate Council- lor Jones moved and Councillor Corbett seconded a motion that the be dropped and it was carried New Town Truck Chairman of the property of which the subject will be further discussed Changing Meters Councillor Moffat further en quired on the feasibility of changing the meters having re gard to early closing It was left for the bylaws committee to make further investigations of the matter Planning DeputyReeve J Murray presented a considered statement regarding planning and the need for repealing the Official Plan after which Reeve Cook made a bitter attack on too much knocking around and on what he described as dlsgiacerul pub licity A full report on this and other council matters will be given in our Council Side lights in next weeks issue Editor J fate of the dog show which the town lost to a neighboring muni cipality two years ago remained uncertain after the meeting Of ficers of the Agricultural Society were not in a position to com ment as to whether the show on account of insufficient accommo dation would have to cease or would be moved to another muni cipality The question is If the officers of the agricultural society were not in a position to comment then why was the Banner reporter in a position to threaten the possible loss of the Horse Show to Aurora Such a nebulous comment ap pearing in the Banner was cer tainly a stroke of bad publicity for the Horse Show and its offi cers and sponsors The opinion of the exhibitor whom we have quoted is that the town park has always been large enough for the show but that more space could be provided for spectators if the organization con- corning the event were improved One method of improvement would he the exclusion of all cars from the town park itself all parking to be done outside of it The Dog Show With reference to the Dog two people It was felt also that a change of location might pro mote greater interest in the show which is not strictly a local affair as the name Aurora and District Dog Show implies It was pointed out that when arrangements at Aurora were not found satisfactory consideration was given to the idea of holding the show either at Newmarket or Richmond Hill An approach to Richmond Hill was found in every way satisfactory The sug gestion to hold the show there not only welcomed whole- the costs were much less than was the case at Aurora some of the real reasons why the convenors de cided to change the location of the Dog Show at least temporar ily and the results have been most satisfactory Aurora News Page was informed Anonymous Letter Recently we received an un signed letter from a Newmarket reader who asked a question about the Aurora Horse Show There was nothing wrong with the contents of the letter but it is a fixed rule of this newspaper that all letters must be signed though not necessarily for publi cation In these circumstances we regret that we are unable to answer our correspondents let ter which had it been signed we would have been pleased to do MAN OF THE PEOPLE Defends Womens Rights To Equal Pay In Labor Market In its editorial chastizing of Councillor William Davidson the following Banner charge was laid against him His opposition at various times during the year to industries which employ women has already been com mented on by this newspaper The impression that the reader would derive from such a charge is that Mr Davidson is opposed to all industries employing wo men From what we have heard him say at council such a charge is absolutely untrue In order to get at the truth one must go back to the first appli cation made by Mr A Lome Cousins for a permit to build a chicken processing plant on Cous ins Drive Councillor Davidson was opposed to granting the per mit for the reason that the pro posed site was too close to resi dential property petitioners protested against the location of the plant Later he went on to say that if such a chicken plant were estab lished the likelihood was that it would be largely staffed by wo men working at lower wages than would be required by men He questioned whether in view of the cost in services which the town would pay for and the probability that outoftown em ployees would be put on the pay roll such an industry would prove of any benefit to Aurora Tickling The Surface The Banner editorial merely tickled the surface of an econ omic problem which either its author did not understand or pre ferred not to investigate The tickling process appeared to be intended to stir up a feeling of prejudice against Councillor Davidson probably with a jaun diced eye on the next municipal elections For there can be little doubt that the Banner would like to see Councillor Davidson out of council One reason could be that he refuses to kowtow to it and is not afraid of it Getting At The Facts Not once have we heard Coun cillor Davidson say that women should not have an equal chance in the labor market with man But he would like to see them paid the same wages as men for equal service He does not want to see them used as pawns in the labor market employed at cut rates Any student of industrial his tory knows very well that ex ploitation of women workers even in the heavy industries was a common practice among employ- Women labor was cheap and in order to survive men were forced to take what employers offered The alternative was starvation Less than a hundred years ago women were employed in the mines and even children of ten der years were so employed It was out of such bitter economic injustices and privations that unions came into existence to stamp out these inhuman prac tices and to raise the general standard of living conditions uni versal Sound Economic Conditions While Councillor Davidson has never within the hearing of this reporter expressed opposition to women in industry he has ex pressed the opinion that their services should not be exploited In so doing he is to be congratu lated on his defence of women workers At council he has shown con cern for sound economic condi tions existing in the town of Au rora Our understanding of his arguments is that he wants to see small progressive industries established here What he does not want to see are more or less temporary employments set up at cut wages Time Will Tell Whether or not the new chick en processing plant on Dunning Avenue will prove of economic benefit to the town of Aurora time alone can prove Its has cost the town or Aurora a lot of money in pro viding services It will be interesting to see what happens in regard to em ployment of labor at the plant Will it mainly be staffed by wo men workers and if so at what wages And will they be local or outoftown employees These speculations are fully justified having regard to the fact that the taxpayers of Aurora have been called on to help pay for services required for its estab lishment In view of the assistance given in helping to make the plant pos sible by a majority of council it seems reasonable to assume that the taxpayers should derive some benefit from the industry in the employment of local Will Survive Attack Recently Councillor Davidson made a charge at council which the Banner did not report He said that the Banner had often misrepresented misquoted ami twisted his words at council and he had not complained This newspaper believes that Mr Davidson is doing much too good work on council to allow misrepresentation of himself to pass unchallenged He has con stantly defended those who are not in a position to defend them selves The Big Fellows can lake care of themselves They usually do The little fellows need a man like Davidson to stand by them Councillor Davidson can suc cessfully survive any attack made on him by the Banner however it feared to report his attack on it AURORA AURORA Social News Miss Constance left this week for Baltimore Mary land where she has accepted a on the staff of the John Hopkins hospital Mrs J Crabtree and Mrs A are home after a weeks trip to England and Eur ope Mr and Mrs John Willis and family have returned from a va cation at Lake Miss Jean daughter of Mr and Mrs has made a rapid recovery from her recent illness and wilt shortly return to business Mrs Parsons of Texas visited friends in Aurora and Richmond Hill last week Mrs J Murray daughter Donna and Miss Jean Murray have returned from the cottage at Belmont Lake Miss Anna Smith has returned from a vacation Mr and Mrs Roy Allen and daughter Susan have returned from a vacation at Lake Miss Wood has left for a two weeks holiday at Mr and Mrs Charles and family have returned from a vacation Mr and Mrs Doug Wilson and family have left for a two weeks- holiday PO Dale King who has pass ed his baste administration course with distinction at Lon don gaining the highest possible honors He will now proceed to take an advanced administration course Mr Jack Robinson and Mrs Robinson and their two daugh ters have moved to Aurora Mr Robinson Is the new recreation director and arena manager at Aurora Tore nospini Needs Tow Will Our Valued Customers Kindly Note That Our Plant Witt Be Closed For Staff Holidays From July 24 to