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FERGUSON ST. WILLIAM8TOWNNo. 5046R**tsterW u. tli* General Poet Office. MeJbourne. lor transmission by post u a ocwapapeiESTABLISHED ism.Friday, July 13, 1945NINETY-FIRST YEAR OF PUBLICATIONKeig’sQual'tyDrapersFERGUSON ST. WILLIAMSTOMNPrice lidHeavy Losses in Council Enterprises,Ferry Down £20,000; Quarry £6,000Private Enterprise'msiis Council ManagementQuaiTy Loses £6,000 Since War BeganAMATEURS OR PROFESSIONALS IN CARNIVAL FIELD.Whether a municipal council can manage a commercialproposition as efficiently as private enterprise was once again debated at the council meeting on Tuesday evening. The matter came forward on a recommendation of the special finance committee that in view of the fact that an investigation of quarry operating costs indicates that it is an uneconomical proposition, the quarry should be closed for the present.It was stated during the discus- ate the quarry* at present, but it could be kept tn readiness.Cr McDonald opposed the closure of the quarry Dealing with a statement that the average wage at the quarry was over £8 a week, he said thnt It included overtime. The engineer he said, had made suggestions to ennblc the works to be carried on He believed that If a committee were appointed to go into the matter, a scheme would be evolved for the more economical running of the plant. He favored the building of bins, also the slilft-inu or the plant os advocated bvThe Mayor supported the closing of the quarry as recommended on the ground that the council could buy cheaper In the private market. What business man. he asked, using his own money, would buy on the dearer market? The same principles as applied In a private business should be observed In tne conduct of the ratepayers’ business The quarry had lest £400 this year of the ratepayers' money. No plant could be got for nine months and the building of bins at a time when timber was scarce and then leaving them to be twisted and warped by the weather was not a business procedure. -‘U, ■ftp *e efitf TMiy~YrtnteV!aTas good, at cheaper rutes we are doing something for the ratepayers I am told that a local quarry Is ready to supply screenings at the ordinary commercial rate. I am not a quarryman or a contractor, but we should be guided by our experts.Playing Father Christinas.I am ulso told that the high ccst of our quarry material Is In part due to our employees having been granted a working week of 40 hours. The proper tribunal haslon that £6,000 had been lost since the war and €400 during the present year. It seemed mat one of the causes of the quarry's inability to compete with private enterprise was that employees worked only 40 hours a week as against he 44 hours of private quarries. Consequently, when council quarry employees worked 44 hours they were paid for 46 hours Cr. Paine, at a previous meeting, mentioned another phase of management lien he alleged that carters re-I.'ed ticket* for 4 yards of terinl when as a ’ Vfact, they carried only j yards.Cr. Paine, however, on Tuesday night, came forward as a protagonist of council management, and nvivcd that he recommendation be deleted from the report He believed. he said, that the council should operate the quarry A com-niitee should go into the matter and bring up n report The plant should be shifted to !u proper position, bins erected and if that was done, working expenses would be cut.Cr. Dobbin In seconding, declared that the quarry would be more needed than ever in the postwar period; other councils tti be busy and mutermi hard to obtain. WUllamstown was tacky to have a quarry.Cr. Deacon moved a* an amendment that the recommendntion be adopted Costs were 25 per cent above those of private quarries, and it was cheaper by several .shillings a yard to obtain supplies from privately run quarries. He pointed out that the recommendation was not to close down the quarry, but merely to cease O|ora-tlona for the present owing to the high costs. If It became necessary . .the quarry could be started again, fixed the working week at 44 hour* Cr. J T Gray seconded the mo- and our quarry working 40 hour-lion for adoption of the recomrnen- has to compete with quarries Work-tianon The council had lost £8000 ing 44 hours. If our employees since the beginning of the war work 44 hours they have to ge. when there should have been paid for 46 hours. We can’t do itSty of work. That loss, he re- It Ls all very well to play Father led them, was the money of Christmas to the employees at the the ratepayers It would cost an- expense of the ratepayers, bur other £1.500 to put the plant Into there Ls a limit to that. The com-gwxl working order. The council rrlttee recommends that until we should not run an uneconomical approach normal times, the quarry venture at the present time; when shall cease operations We can In happier days dawned. when things the meantime get the plant ready ‘ same normal, they could star* to workCr Paine nlleged that a former resolution of the council had Instructed the engineer to proceed with the installation of a plant.The Mayor said no steps had yet been taken to obtain a plant.Cr. Paine said that IF the quarry operated efficiently It would pay. The council should have a plant capable of crushing 50 to 60 tons a day and provide bins The recommendation should be referred back. There was plenty of work to be done, and the council could do it as well as private enterprise The amendment for the adoption of the recommendation to close the quarry for the present was then put and defeated, the voting for udoption was. Crs. Deacon. J T. Gray, W. G. Gray. Long and the Mayor; against. Crs Paine. McDonald Ducrow Dobbin. | Digman and Armstrong Cr. May Briggs was absent The report was referred bark 1 and will again come up for con-1 slderatlon.The council could buy Its supplies cheaper outside than attempt to produce them. It would better to rlose now than to lose ither £6.000 The fact was that the quarry was not doing enough Hoik to reduce the overhead to the iroper proportion It was not In he Interest of ratepayers to oper-The Mayor told Cr. Long that it was competent for the council to call for tenders for plant as, so far. no order hud teen given.The engineer said material was costing about 14 a yard whereas they could buy for 10 or 11 a yard; the quarry mast be run full time to run economically.Mens Seasonal Underwear at| : at Reduced Coupon Ratings $WOOL AND COTTON SINGLETS8.8 Winter Weight . . Min. 7/3; 38ln 7/9; Win. 8/6 03 COUPONS EACHWOOL AND RAYON PANTS 536In. 38111., Win . 421n 9/11 pair j4 COUPONS EACHHEAVY BROWN COTTON PANTS36in 38ln.. win......... , 7/6 P4 COUPONS EACHWOOL AND COTTON PANTS. YELC.A36in 10/1; Min. Il/J: 40tn 11/104 COUPONS EACH.FLANNEL UNDERSHIRTSAll Wool Men's and OS. 10/3; X.O.S.. 11/5 3 COUPONS EACH MEN'S KNITTED HALF HOSEAll Wool. Ncvashrinlt. BlacK. Navy. Grey 101, 11. Ill 4/- P3 COUPONSC.T. KEIGCo.Feruson Street, ^ illiamstownVVkX%VX%%XNVXXVXX%XXVN\X\\\\\A\XN\\XN\%\X\XXVCarnival Committee DefunctNOVICES v. PROFESSIONALS.Asset^ of the Carnival Committee on the WlUlanutown Beach could only be described as Junk, and the best thing to do with them would be apply a torch and burn them all. even the merry-go-round was a source of danger So said the Mayor lt;Cr. E W Jackson» when discussing the apathy of the Carnival Committee and the general public tuwards beach Improvement. Tuesday evening, at the council meetingCr Paine referring to a public meeting.” which had been called by the Mayor to consider matters in relation to the carnival committee, wild thnt only ten persons had troubled to attend He expressed surprise, in view of the importance of itiie meeting ihut so few coun-frllfcr.'. were present The trustees •Jlfff-ied ihf committee and the council, and as long as they were permitted to hold the money and the war bonds, they didn't seem to care. No nominations were received for the committee, anti drastic action was necessary He moved that the council take steps lo ter minute the activities’' of the carnival committeeThe Mayor said that It seemed there was a tight between the committee and the trustees, and as no nominalion.s had been received at Lite meeting there was now no committee operating. Lust season the only members of the commit-ee Interested were Cr Armstrong and Mr Percy Ward, the hon. sec., who had worked Into and early to make the committee effective He suggested that a committee of four councillors .should bo appointed to go into the whole matter and bring back a report at the next meetingCr McDonald moved that u public meeting be called.Thp Mayor I am not going to receive that I’ve already called a public meeting and ten turned up. although it was well advertised and circulars sent out.Cr Digman said that the meeting should have been called In Jcne but it was not called until July.The Mayor: I am the first mayor who tried to call a meeting near the date; its it was it was two days lateCr McDonald The circumstances were abnormal.The Mayor: Yes. but when you break one law you can't go on breaking them all the time.Cr McDonald said that the beach which should be a thing of beauty was now an eyesore Citizens of Mordlalloc by co-operation made £11.000 out of their last carnival. and Wllllamstown with more* advantages could do the same He forecasted the wiping out of beach assets and snid that public spirit should be worked up.Cr Dobbin hoped that the committee would bring back a report favoring a public meef'ng Democracy meant getting as ninny as possible interested in public affairs and thnt could be done here. Tire assets were dilapidated because they were not Used; there was no reason for despondency because people did not turn up at n public meeting Hr was opposed to huncllng over the work of the carnival committee to n private contractor; one had offered £400 for the privilege and he would make more than that out of It.The Mayor Yes. he understand the business and would run it on business lines.Cr. Dobbin Do you say that a committee will not?Tlir Mayor: You cannot expect amateurs to have the knowledge of professional showmen and you cannot expect to get tired men to provide voluntary labor, and there’s a lot wanted.
Newspaper Details
Williamstown Chronicle
Williamstown, Victoria, AU
Fri, Jul 13, 1945
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Dominique H.
AU 09 Dec 2023
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