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ll Wishing one and all The Compliments of The Season 0H0=0=0=0=0=0=0= 9:0 “ EFFICIENCY and ECONOMY” Electors of Markham Township Spirited Muflipal Contests in Markham Twp. To the Electors of Markham Township Richmond Hill Ladies and Gentlemenâ€"I wish to thank the electors of Markham Township for the honor they have conferred on me by electing me by acclamation as Reeve for the year 1928 I appreciate the honor and the responsibility of the office and assure you that I will in the future as in the past endeaâ€" vour to serve in the best interests of this municipality. Wishing you all the compliments of the Season. FOR 1928 and Wishes You All The Compliments of the Season Your Vote and Influence Respectfully Solicited for As Second Deputy Reeve (}eorge Electors of Markham Township ouncillor for the Year 1928 To The Electors of Markham Township Wishing You The Compliments of the Season For First Deputy Reeve Your Vote and Influence Respectfully Solicited TO ELECT Your Vote and Influence Respectfully Solicited for R. L. STIVER Delivered in Richmond Hill and vicinity WISHING YOU THE COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON To The Electors of Markham Township J. Sheardown J. R. CAMPBELL . A. SMETH Asks for Your Vote and Infuence Polling on Monday, January 2nd First Deputy Reeve For the year 1928 For Y03r1928 PAGE SIX W. C. GOHN L°=OI adget Prices Ontario for Ol=0 The Reeve stated that during the past year $47,114 had been spent on roads and bridges which was probably the largest amount ever spent in one year in the history of the township. A lot‘ of the expenditure was for perman- ent construction of culverts and brid- ges. Two of the large bridges were built by contract and the rest were built by day labor. On the work done in 1926 the full grant had been received from the Department of High- ways. The speaker noted that it was a significant fact that local material for road building- was fast disappearâ€" ing. About twelve miles of road was graded during the year. The depart- ment demanded that all roads be built a certain width and that proper ditch- es be provided and he was in favor of roads sufficiently wide to allow two cars 01' trucks to pass as he felt sure that this was a demand of present day traffic problems. Reeve Gohn drew attention to the large amount paid out this year for sheep killed by dogs. This was the first year in the history of the township when the amount paid 0:: had exceeded the revenue from (lop: taxes. He intimated that he was willing to give his services to the township as reeve for 1928 if such was the will of the people.‘ J. R. Campbell In his opening remarks J.R. Camp- bell who is a candidate for re-election as First-Deputy-Reeve paid tribute to the memory of the late Johnathan Nigh in whose death he said the town- ship suffered a great loss. He con- gratulated the township on its clean bill of health and expressed pleasure that the municipality had been notably free from any epidemics and practical- ly free of any contageous diseases. He urged the electors when they re- ed their tax bills to analyze it and as- certain just who was hitting him up 1a detailed account of County taxation explaining that the increase this year was due to increases in the cost of sec- ondary education, charity, mothers a1- lowance and good roads. He pointed out that one of the m0st important works of the County Council was the building of roads and he reviewed the changes which had been made in the system this year. In regards to the rapidly mounting cost of secondary ed- ucation, Reeve Gohn said that Mark- ham Township was fortunate in being served by Markham and Richmond Hill, both of which had a moderate rate of cost per pupil per day as com- pared with other schools in the County Clerk G.A.M. Davison made an ex- cellent chairman for the nomination proceedings ahd the meeting although interspersed with a few questions hurâ€" led at the candidates and some bright repartee was orderly/and well conduct- ed. Reeve W.C. Gohn was the first speaker and in awell delivered and thoughtful address he reviewed the work of the year in the Township as well as giving some interesting infor- mation about; County affairs. He gave There will be an election in Mark- ham Township this year when the e1~ ectors will be called upon to chOOse a first deputy-reeve, a second deputy- ireeve and two councillors. The annuâ€" al nomination meeting was held in the Township Hall, Unionvillc. on Friday afternoon last and the electors wore \present in such large numbers as to more than tax the capacity of the spacious hall. Keen interest was manifested in Township affairs and although there was considerable critic- ism of the year's activities Reeve W.C. Gohn was returned by acclamation. First Deputy-Reeve J.R. Campbell is opposed by Deputy-Reeve R.L. Stiver who is conducting an active campaign taking as his slogan “Efficiency and Economy.” This will prove an inter- esting struggle as both candidates have municipal experience and are well known throughout the Township. George B. Padget is out to knock the stuffings out of the old saying “they can’t come back” and“ is seeking elect- ion as second deputyâ€"reeve. ‘He has had eighteen years experience in mun- icipal affairs and has a wide knowled- ge of the affairs of the township which he is ambitious to represent. His op- ponent will be former Councillor J.R. Honey. Three are seeking the seats in council namely Councillor Coakwcll R.J. Beatty, and R.A. Smith. It is rather a difficult task to define the is- sue in the different contests but there appears to be a great body of public opinion behind the candidates who are in the field which will provide a very interesting election. Contests For Both Deputies and For Two Seats In Council. Reeve W. C. Gohn Re-Elected By Acclamation for Year 1928 EHEALVIBERAL, RICHMOND BILL, ONT. _ R. L. Stivcr Deputy-Reeve Stiver was given a good welcome by the gathering and in a Spirited address he discussed town- ship and County affairs in an interest- ing manner. He lpointed out that the county rate was increased this year from 6.6 mills to 7.5 mills due to the increase of $85,000 in the cost of roads $2000 increase in the cost of the Chil- 'dren’s Aid. $4,000 in cost of Agricult- ural grants, upkeep of County proper: ty $2700, $4000 increase in interest charges, $6500 increase in Mothers alâ€" lowance, $10,750 increase for Munici- pal government and salaries, $15000 increase for Charity, $1000 increase for Industrial Home and an increase of $36,858. in the cost of secondary education making a total increase of $114,308. He pointed out. that the cost of secondary education in the county advanced from $156,493.65 in 1926 to $185,408.07 in 1927. The East York High School built this year cost, $300,000 and the one at Vaughan Road cost $350,000. He 'was in favor of a standard being fixed for High Schools and if any district wanted a better one with all the frills he believed in lett- ing them pay for it themselves. 9 Con- tinuing Mr. Stiver said that in Town- ship affairs he had always tried to practice the strictest economy. He re- ferred to the appointment of a road superintendent at the first of the year‘ for which position there were eight applications ranging in price from $900 per year to $1500 per year and applicant to find his own convenyance. The argument at that time was that We could not afford to separate the offices and a resolution was passed combing the offices of Road Superin- tendent and Constable. Mr. Thomp- son was the only applicant and there- fore I asked that the matter be laid over until the next meeting. At the next meeting it was moved and carried that all the applications be read but I objected to this as in my estimation lthere were only two applications for 'the combined offices, that of Mr. lThompson and that of Mr. John Fish- }er. ‘that two separate appointments be made which was carried and wisely I ,think because I am of the opinion that gno one man can occupy both jobs and ido justice to either. Mr. Thompson ,was then given an opportunity of ap- plying for the position of Road Super- "intendent which he refused to do. When the appointment was to be made I moved that Mr. John Fisher be ap- pointed as his application called for 8900 per year and he agreed to find his own conveyance but my motion was lost. Mr. L. Middleton was apâ€" pointed at a salary of $90 per month and 10 cents per mile for his car. Al- though I opposed the appointment of Mr. Middleton on those grounds I am glad to say that he has filled the office with credit to himself and to this mun- icipality. My one reason for consentâ€" ing to the purchase of a tractor was that we owed $340 rent and I thought it good business to pay $160 more and .own it ourselves. I opposed the use of the road maintainer for dragging the roads as I contended that it was too costly for all the good it was doing but the council continued to use it. When the question of purchasing a motor truck was under discussion 1 0p- posed it as I was against the purchase of any more new machinery. We bought a rock crusher in 1925 at a After some discussion I moved ‘ l l for the increase. He said that the muncil very often got the blame for omething over which they had no con- rol. It might be due to the County ate or to the rate for the school sectâ€" on. Mr. Campbell said that as a ouncil they had laid out too extrava- gant a program for the past year and he was Willing to take hisshare of the blame for it. In a recent survey of the roads of the township he found many of them in bad shape due to truck traffic. He favored closer co- operation between the road superin- tendent and the council and he also favored having someone responsible in the different divisions to keep an eye on the work. He felt that a lot of good work had been done during the year and that a lot of culverts and bridges had been built which were a credit to the township. He criticized the grant given by the County Council of York to the widening of the Hamil- Jton Highway through Mimico & New Toronto. He did not favor the grant and did not vote for it but said that Deputyâ€"Reeve Stiver had supported the motion. Robert H. Smith Robert Smith a former member who is seeking re-election to council de- clared that the township overhead was too high. The road work should be done in a shorter time. - One member of the council admitted that too much work was laid out for this year. Why didn’t they stop when this was found out? In the section I live the conditi- ons are a disgrace “he said" I have to drive miles out of my way to drive my children to school.” He thought the council of 1927 used very poor judg- ment and that the ratepayers of the township were demanding an election. Our taxes are going up he said and we have still our mud roads. Where is our money going?” asked Mr. Smith. If elected he promised to work in the interests of the taxpayer. Robert J. Beatty Robt. J . Beatty who lives on the third concession just north of the Elg- ‘ Mr. Honey Mr. J. S. Honey who is a candidate for the office of second Deputyâ€"Reeve congratulated Reeve Gohn on his' ex- cellent review of the years work. He felt that the council had used the mon- ey of the taxpayers as carefully as possible and he was of the opinion that next year the expenditure could be reduced. “I am well satisfied with the Road Supt. and the work he has done” said Mr. Honey, “he has been right on the job all the time seeing that the men did good work.” Mr. Coakwell Councillor Fred Coakwell who after two years ih council is seeking re_elec- tion pointed out that the demands of the public to-day was the cause of the higher expenditure. The'work done during the year was done with an eye to the future and much of it was of a permanent nature. He compared the conditions which existed under statute labor when 1000 yards of gravel were put on the township roads with the 4000 yards of gravel and 1000 yards of crushed stone put on in the past year. George Padget A veteran municipal legislator thanked all for past favors and asked for their support for the coming year. He felt that the taxpayer was destined to see a mounting county tax rate; the debenture debt was going up and there were improvements coming along in the future whibh the ratepayers would be called upon to pay for. He criti- cized the increased pay for County Councillors and said that apparently the sky was the limit. When the sal- aries were raised he thought the sess- ions would have been shortened but such was not the case. Eight dollars a day and mileage was pretty'big pay for about an hour and half of work at a committee meeting. The only way to reduce taxes in the Township was to reduce the overhead. He thought the ten cents a mile for the Road Supt was too high and should be cut in two. “I’d drive a Ford car night and day at that price” he said. He favored doing the work in a shorter time not extend- ing it over the whole summer and pay- ing foremen seven months in the year. He was not in favor of buying any more machinery as he felt the town- ship should wear out what it had now first. He criticized the buying of a second hand tractor after a rent bill of 3340 had accumulated. If elected to i office he would serve the township to the very best of his ability and he ; wished one and all the compliments of l the season. cost of $2800, a tractor, grader in 1926 for $2165, and a tractor and road maintainer in 1927 for $500. In my opinion we should try and usg'our pre- sent machinery and get more material ‘ on our roads. I also do not favor J grading all roads 24 feet wide unless traffic conditions warrant it, as it is almost impossible to maintain them i and the government does not even re- commend them in all cases. The de- partment also advised that we grade I no more road than we can re-surface 1 each year. The speaker stated that in his opinion the roads could be main- tained cheaper with the old drags than with power grader. He reviewed the i work in Doncaster Park and pointed out that at the outset he had oppOSed this proposition but was the only member of the council to do so. He now favored that all Doncaster expen- ' diture be kept in a. separate account so the ratepayers could tell exactly what was spent there. Mr. Stiver drew at- . tention to the seriousness of -the chick- _ en thieving operations in the township . and pointed out that at the June meet- ing he had moved for a reward of $100 to be offered by the township for the apprehension of guilty parties. He stated that he was a candidate for the office of first deputy-reeve. “I have ‘ served you to the best of my ability for the past seven years and if elected to this position I will continue to do my best” he said. EURSDAY, DECEMBER 29. 1927 son. For lst Deputyâ€"Reeve, J.R. Campbell by Ross Nichols and Geo. R. Cowie; R.L. Stiver by Jno Mortson and H. W. Pipher; Geo. B..Padget by J.H. Bracken and Wm. Bond. For 2nd Deputy-Reeve, R.L. Stiver by H. C. Reesor and J.S. Wideman; J. S. Honey, by Thos. F. Walker and W.L. Hopper; George B. Padget by Alex. Douglas. and R.J. Nash. For Coun- cil, F. Coakwell by A.R. Burkholder; and George Cowie; R.J. Beatty by Chas. Hoover and RE. Perkins; R. A. Smith by R.J. Nash and T. Walker; George B. Padget by Alex. Douglas and J. H. Bracken; J.S. Honey by R. J. Corson and W.H. Johnson. The nominations received were as followszâ€"For Reeve, W.C. Gohn, by Ross Nichols & Alex Douglas; George Padget by P. Forsyth and W. E. Risebrough; J.R. Campbell by Clark Young and A.E. Milner; R.A. Smith by H.M. Warriner and Jas. Thomp- At this distance it looks like a merry fight. May the best men win and may the losers work just as hard for the good of the Township of Mark- ham as if they were elected to office. Whoever the 1928 Council in Mark- ham may be, they should lay aside all differences as soon as they take office and work shoulder to shoulder for the best interests of the Municipality. A little more co-operation from the rate- payers throughout the year‘would also not be amiss. A “Honey” in the race should at leastfisweeten the troubled waters. All the aspirants in Markham Town- ship seem to talk reduction of over- head. Its an important item; a good business man is one who keeps his overhead expenses at a minimum and after all the township is just the peopâ€" le’s business. Mr. Stiver voted with the majority of the County Council in giving a grant of 50,000 to the widening of the lake shore road in Mimico and New Toronto. His opponent Mr. Campbell voted against the grant and this is an issue which will no doubt have some discussion before polling day. Someone at the Nomination meeting credited Reeve Gohn with the boast that there wasn’t a man in the town- ship could lick him. He advised the Reeve not to put himself to the expenâ€" se of needing a new hat. Mr. Gohn denied making such a statement but said that he had remarked that he guessed someone would run against him if he thought he could lick him. Doncaster Park is quite an issue in the campaign. Mr. Stiver claims the council has spent too much money in this sub-division. He was the only member of the Council to oppose the move. Notes From the Firing Line All the candidates are busy as bees out on the hustlings. It looks like a real old time scrap with contests for all the offices‘ except that of Reeve. Reeve Gohn said he couldn’t find much of a constructive nature in the criticism levelled at the 1927 council on Nomination Day. George Padget who is an entry in the race for 2nd Deputyâ€"Reeve is well versed in Municipal affairs and is well and favorably known throughout the Township. He is no novice at the game and will put up a stiff fight. in Mills sideroad is seeking election for council on the solicitation of a larâ€" ge body of the ratepayers of the town- ship. There has not been a repre- sentative in the council from his par. ticular section for a great many years and if elected Mr. Beatty promises a square deal to ratepayers in all sect- ions of the municipality. He said it was not his intention to knock the act- ions of the past council but if elected would do his best for the township in 1928. W. C. GOHN Re-clected Reeve of Markham Town-‘ ship for the year 1.928, byuacclamation