When it was time for
newly-inaugurated Mayor Walters to speak, he responded ably, dealing with the
numerous civic problems he and the Council would face in 1915:
“Gentlemen of the
Council:
“In entering upon
your important duties today, I am sure that you appreciate the great honor
conferred upon you by your fellow citizens in electing you to manage the
affairs of one of the largest and most important cities in the Province of
Ontario, and I desire to express the hope that the year 1915 may be to each of
you a happy one because of the success
which, I trust, will attend your efforts as Controllers and Aldermen.
“I am deeply sensible
of the high honor done me by fellow citizens in electing me to undertake the
duties of the office of Mayor, and in accepting the position to which I have
been assigned, I wish to declare most sincerely that the task would be above my
powers were it not for the fact that my fellow citizens have elected to support
and advise me as C0ontrollers and Aldermen, a body of men who will, I believe,
prove to be men of merit and integrity.
“It is appropriate
that some mention should be made of the task that confronts you during the
coming year, and for this purpose I wish to bring to your attention some of the
problems to be dealt with.
“Considerable
improvement has been made in the accounting system now in use, but the system
should be extended and perfected as far as possible.
“The question of the appointment
of a permanent auditor will probably come before you, and in making the
selection of a proper official it should not be forgotten that the duties of
this official will be not only to check accounts and verify the correctness of
books and statements, but it will also be his duty to consult with and advise
the members of the Board of Control and the City Treasurer as to the general
financial policy to be adopted. The auditor should be invested with authority
which will enable him to not permit appropriations being overdrawn without the
special consent of the Council, and he should be in a position to oppose and
forbid the charging of expenditures to debenture accounts that properly belong
to current appropriation accounts.
“The Board of Control
will, it is hoped, realize as never before the great responsibility resting on
each and every member, and it is expected that they will take it upon
themselves to personally inspect at all times, when necessary, the various
departments of the civic organization. To accomplish the desired results, the
members of the Board of Control should consult with each other as to the many
questions affecting each department, and by co-operation, assist and support
one another in order that the interests of the people may be best served.
“Special attention to
the department under the Commissioner of Industries should result in attracting
additional manufacturing industries to our city and thus assist materially in correcting
the unsettled business conditions and minimizing the problem of unemployment.
“Every individual
citizen of Hamilton, by purchasing from the merchants of this city, insofar as
possible, made-in-Hamilton merchandise, can do a great deal to bring about
improved conditions, and by so doing will give encouragement and assistance to
the manufacturers and employees located in the Ambitious City.
“In taking up the
duties of office, let me say that I rely upon your wisdom and experience to
assist me in carrying out successfully the duties which we have to day
undertaken, and I hope that when this year comes to a close, we will have the satisfaction
of having served our city honorably and acceptably.”1
1 “Elaborate
Ceremony at City Hall Today : Mayor Walters and the 1915 Council Inaugurated”
Hamilton Times. January 11, 1915.
Controller Thomas S.
Morris made a few remarks in which he congratulated Mayor Walters and urged his
fellow Controllers to work hard, perhaps by holding meetings every day. His
remarks were fairly standard and were well-received and uncontroversial, except
for his final words.
Controller Morris was one of Hamilton’s
loudest and most persistent temperance advocates:
“ ‘I think the caliber
of our Mayors is improving,’ he finally added. “The last two mayors have been
abstainers, and our new one is, I believe, a teetotaler. I can remember the day
when fter council meetings the members were invited into the Mayor’s office to
have a little whiskey and water (Laughter). That should not be.’ ”
An interesting
character at the ceremony was Charles Smith, the long time veteran city
employee. Charley Smith had been the city messenger for many years, the 1915 inauguration
of Hamilton City Council was the fifty-seventh he had attended.
Once the inaugural meeting was over,
one of the invited guests on the podium became very vocal in his reaction to
the speech by Controller Morris. M.P. T. J. Stewart was a former Hamilton mayor
and he objected strenuously to the criticism of former mayors who were not temperance
men:
“The statement made
by the controller was that the caliber of chief magistrates of the city was
improving, inasmuch as the last two mayors, George Lees and John Allan had been
abstainers, and the new one, Chester Walters was a teetotaler.
“Ex-Mayor Stewart,
who was seated on the dais with Mayor Walters and ex-Mayor Allan, immediately
took objection to the controller’s statement, and declared that, in his
opinion, such criticism was unfair to all mayors other than the present that
the two before him.
“Out of justice to
some ex-mayors, it was stated that Controller Morris referred to magistrates
some twenty years ago, although some of more recent date had been known to carry
a stock of liquor at the City Hall”2
2 “Regarding
Ex-Mayors and Whiskey Habit”
Hamilton Times. January 12, 1915.
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