Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 7 March 1909, page 6


Moré Tomfoolery:-'^^u^¡í¿^ #

t ïi!E PAtRÏ-STREEÏ BUNGIE- MN

RSsemg- that "The Sunday Times" Okas been taten to task, -both in Par

|Kainent and in the stodgily-written, Ibâges of tlie daily sttp-pre»3, for its fjplleged one-eyed partiality in blaming ÉBwginecr-in-Chief James Thpmpsbn as §Èbe responsible party"~for~*tb\e höwling pblunders and ' the frightful catasfeophes vperpetrated in connection with. She City Sewerage Scheme, ve pro

Ipose to calmly and frigidly debatfe the

igbsition, /witb-out-bias of prejudice, §and decide whether Works-Minister llPrice or Engineer-in-Chief Thompson Ishôuld- be beld publicly responsible. foV jJbe ^unending series of disastrous was

^ges and the unparalleled calanjiiies'

'"which have dodged the footprints of lib* PubUe Slnrks ever since the ini-tiation o E. the undertaking. .*

mt*,* *., -rn ' *.,; *

fer:--""- . - '. . .

f We haven't, hesitated to speak* j ia.

|pattty plain language to Mr. james

^Koce on several occasions respecting ¡?fkbfi shiftless policy of drift and-driv*! j |wbich has marked . the , Pnblic - S^sa-fc*-, pnánñnistration for several years,' anil

"^"tre haven't-been so' personally -»ehe- : virent in our criticisois of late, rt, is

ly because we .heure come to rer, isé that, the xesponsiMe Minister ' rnôthmg else "but » a^^bodnp-faced j

drâ^ure-head, whose- chief duty it is to i l*rarbie like a loquacious cockatoo;

ywaid repeat, parrotlike,, the sentiments j fand the opinions of his chief profes- j Saonal ad «ser s-not because he (Çrice) .ff^ïieves xvhat he is told, but simply be

pSanse ho has no. deparemeutal pretext . Spit,-justification to act,', think, decide,

l^r orate otherwise. . It is . a most .EÛT Î rmarknble' position to be occupied- by

IR. public man. And it suggests a'-cu-j

-rious conrmeutary on "the value of a

ÊMînister of independent views and j ideals 'whose. personal ; opinions are

^nckled and gyved by the hidebound. -\

fc*eDresenta tiona. of Iiis chief responsi

gbïe adviser, wHo bas only to solemnly i t^wsert that "Black is white,and s "'wlnte no color *at ail," for the Minis-ter to rise up anet repeat that ¿the

^R3LC. has struck lb/* kernel of a-mag-1 ä pífioent rroposa] which musÍHbe as; it ; is represe tited tr» be, simply because ? the 23.I.-C. definitely expresses it"- that

?* * * * . .. ? .? ". .'.

Six months ago Mr. Price told the ? House that there was hôtKng -parti- ; 4caïarly wrong with. th«r íremantia ¡ 'septic tanks, and even if they "Were »not so hale and hearty as they might

f be. everything would be blooming ia j ? the floral landscape in a month dr j

two. Things -may hare been that way rat the time mentioned, but thev bear a totally different complexion to-day:'

tTne F.S T have been as silent as the j

?tomb for several months past. Whilst

Parliament sat,7 they were left ia tte .j charge of a caretaker, and the dogs of mir-i.e., the engineers and their ser

angs and laborers-were called off, : and chained up, or their «nergies ex- ' -pended in ether directions. But when Parliament rose from its expensive jaw-wagging ' fantasia, the Public -Shirks got a move on, and süddenly remembcred the existence of the hope-lessly-^ aterlogged and ocean-ecouréd septic tenks - at the rear, of Sam Cop- ; ?ley's bull-slaughtering abattoirs. Serangs Bickson, Galley and Co. accord-ingly garbed themselves in diving

dresses-the " very latest thing, by ? Jove, oid chapple', for "engineers of j standing'' - to don in times ,of danger, ^don'tcherknow !-abd dove deep into 'the octopus-infested . waters of the i tanks. Having discovered absolutely I nothing, except, that , the .tanks were filled to the brim with salt water, and that the ocean ebbed and flowed

:wîihJ.'the rise and - fall of every tide, Sicksozi, Galley and Cb. started to

lower the level of the water to the

bottom of. tiie tanks. Por . some rea- j «on, however, the pump-motors con-tracted an attack of staggers, and re-fused to work. and finally burnt themselves completely out, in a fit of furious indignation.

Hickson, Galley and Co. are appar-ently able tb realise when they are up against a heap of trouble, for they abandoned the attempt to pump the Tertian Ocean into Sam Copley's abattoirs through several small cracks and crevices in the bottom of the tanks, and decided that a vast sum roi money would be saved to the State if they permitted the Indian Ocean to remain in the holes and hollows it has occupied for the past billion years or so. Consequently, the E.S.T.'s still consist of large quantities of the indian Ocean, the only portion which isn't the LO.- being the retaining walls and roofs reared by Thompson, Hick-son snd Go. for the express purpose

bf preneatxag the LO- from rising be-yond its narama! le*«1 °f ^t. above the flotMrtgof -the-tanka. Tba chief «foesíÍOT -à#*t will obùwôe itself at ïïuajpeà$ íí . "Siíe ï St&J&BL Kinaster ÏÔMwir/' of ? 'ÎSàS' " own knowledge six. «ao*&s aga, - '^áddetf ParRawenC ^fe ft b**«* of "«ùfcwnsad hypoeeiv,** ike tanks Troro àbaofattiuy wimft^iH for tba gaiEpose for wkkà £bqr «ere ccxi^acd ? de, if he

didn't 'toowK'áid yét made the state-ment;. atí¡ppi&b& the ËJ.C í -^e^iSonsñi^f for the kypürcritical e^^ca,Sô^|*ï^dch niade out the position 4fe ' be^ sÄisfactory as. skill* «d én^iné^ing supervision could make

ii*-?'. .;iin-;^iöjr *,of the ; position oí the' rFrem&tíleíl^ indeed, bi

lots of ¿-sijmhHg, ;/engineering .catas-: «írfciáieSjiri^^

.take his*gru^ugV ly$Bg:;$o!*f¿1 v-Óf' .lè-hp going ióT:ilse'-sttp;inlfcus righteous;

:Wr^h,,atid»^dy^ bn~

JÉm'elv jThoí^Jsbn bèîng|/dealt ¿ síithi : .^iaek7:s|D^|ËEYei^' ^|í^isa«3S^-4nÚ^

hisÍ'idesc-r'ts'-? v*-!:-'.' '-,".'.'' ""*'- '

? ?-..» . -j^.m'. . .; -i.,T ?"

-Further,- Slr. James Thompson- * in

-spíred a '.'ábÜLtí^^bf în a recant Issue', ^?'^^^?i^^^y'^^^j,'' to ti% -effect - *Bat- ^faW;)é^hpn-pipe acrdss:;, the''

-Swan-'&v43!áisél3ro<& wásyis .sound as * ;-3oéHí'!;. 5eáfwg£^ v*¿ ; af f^pikgf';-. jpihí .:m-.tBerwdlksr pf th? 3ne." This; wa&-.«i gw^sb/î-^nawîarafe - Jst&teñsentíí

;is. aus. ¿«eábteé-^^áecfc- ii ^le^syphc^bat" '«|ÍBX$^jn.'^Bv beÚef, :*¿Tfaé/,ifún' 'da^^iu'es'í'^^ówé^Táníí.-' -J¡Sfi£r. Th&ïÇhï^ ßon-.shp^d siso^ paäd" . à

?fié', depâiMânë&i í%nder Än^röl^ tuât /s^Vie^'^.f^s^

aiè# . loipw rtto^ ^herrâpe = is - cracked'" I *iod;;$$*ar^ ,. "and :

j;-wiHv. i^qulre'í ^> ,'|jé'?; rehewedr^ndfjrenp-:: I -ÄteÄ;1b^<Hre .;i%w^ '.convéy'-anV.ountM' i :<^¡¡»^TO^,4B^:q^:--'' eeim-subniér^ed

^éé£táí$?|¡^ ??

"i-X'^^Ä^.. ííJHv-* ,*;-K-^*V,' .^Í-:^'V¿1'."':. ^ it-""w^r3;°tTÍ^\;ypu'-' '.personaHyj;'-'MrJ.; I. .Jamela Thompson, '; -isy way . pf -.-^ári^---.

tíou. Mr.?.;tóce. :#ha¿" . 'y^ur'^^S^ch/C si^è^hëapï 'I wouM^Sè-. move: all û»r.i:c<^le 'y <)î ,sç^%^^.e|^$v:%iil>. íste/foflob^ thé /finieff íí^mv^iále - to, -overflow, -?re> j i^i^Wá^f^^^fA-the rlBÖst^'to,I. knW ' - ; jthai^yo^^oíessio^^bpb^nii

?and-i blxthä^g _^^d^öiash.v j^lut> ^SÍíf"»: .'1^r^f'S*^'l?l'^P^^ß'' W&s&*£. .?í'^0'.-'

should _"kúpw . wliehj :you\ are being bull; ? do??ed> 'tíittt'í i%¡^#^^-.'Jb&:'-4Kre <in the: ' pink of, «ffi^ency^lwe* naturally espect

.ybu»- ;^ig, ^vfclâffiy isee-;i&o^h.i:.tiieiri

shbtérí%es~

them ¿cepr^ináp Juthiac nüsdeeds. - SVhy haveu't you idon^' so 1#by dd you 'Éera^tr', yoiw^>:to...>¿b> '.target oí the brjckipats bf ^

tanes t Ts:-that famous backbone of

yburs,v^dí:.-to'^|e' i^'lhnbçtC'ahd-' 'duc-': ti^ as " ti^ vértebra of W deceased: 4eîly-'fish^vposîtitfely incapable of-tnaui-' ?ÍQSmág\a*¡j^ the. face bi

official dodgery j&ñd ¡ihcbmpetency ? (jr U\^^x^--^'4íg» been alleged, tha^ . you are responsible, ior the whole box ^^äs»7^^tj:jK^Br. flowing signataire

ngûres as' aa endorsement of. the eh~ I*^^tire ^*eräge .sitheme as it has been carried- out ^ «ïibordinates f

fi. -:- . . ''

.-And, sír¿ «0.7 ¿coniiusion, -. a wordabout the ;,S& hpufees 'wrecked in Moir and Bropkm&n streets by. ^the. operataons- of íhe Paííy-street contractors: ' ?it on? ybur advice, sir, tha* -the Mnister agree?!';'U> pay the Colonial

Consolidated Pinance Co.. the - better par^-oT\£TöiöQö7;the cost of rebuild-ing and -repairing the ; wrecked dwell-ings ? Assnming~that you' did, sir¿ ,. did

you first examine thc buildings ? Ii

not, why not ? Andris it true, or is it not, that some of the cracks and fissures o& which the Ç.CzP.C. based its claims for compensation are seve-ral years old, and were primarily in-cidental to the weak and flabjby condi-

tion of the foundations ? Other houses

right on the line of the sewer have not budged or cracked an inch. Upon what - data^ "then, did you base your recommendation Y Before committing thé. State, to an expenditure of some £10,009, don't you think it was your bounden duty to ascertain the true facts, and to satisfy yourself as to the -? reasons why the dug-outs of the C.C.F.C. cracked and crtaoabled r to their very foun-dations, whilst . well and faithfully erected cottages on the sewer are just as. good tó-day as the day on which they passed but of the hands of the contractors ? *And, lastly, as they say in ecclesiastical circles, did you ascer-tain whether the C.C.F« Co.'s little bill of costé couldn't be squared for about one-tenth of -the sum the State is now' compelled to pay ?

And, finally, -sir, will you tell "The Sunday Times'' and a tax-tortured populace what-the deuce you really do in the way of protecting rthe State from reckless bungles in exchange for your splendid salary of i £1,200 a-year? We can mention the names of a dozen men who would willingly do your work a 'hundred times more efficiently for 23 per cent, of the salary you re-ceive from-your, bleeding country, sir !

Tom.'Humphries conducts the Com-mercial Hotel, . Fremantle. Visitors will find excellent attention to. their requirements.

= _ fdTi rCirild an*. Co., Paddy's Market. pçrtfi, ¡have Jthe largest floor space

'available in- thc State, so can conve

?Ksnüy handle any consignment sent

MMsÁ^'i^^i:,':'^.:. ? ";,.:.;,.:'