New Britain herald., 1920-03-31
OUIGLEY REVIEWS CIVIC AFFAIRS
Mayor Answers Critics at Second
 Ward Rally

The second ward republicans had an old fashioned dinner and rally last evening in Bard eck's hall. There were members of the city official fam ily present and in all there were about 200 voters who sat down to test the meal that J. Willie Mills had been authorized to furnish. Toastnla ster Arthur N. Rutherford started off the speech making by tell ing of his experiences in City hall and said that he was exceedingly glad to see the young men of the ward taking ao active interest in politics. His ad-
 vice to the young, men was to study conditions watch political progress, and then go for a, position.
 Councilman John Gill. candidate
 for alderman, was called upon first
 for a song. The request was com piled with and the audience would
 not let him rest until he had respond
 ed to several encores
 Arthur Crusberg, a candidate for
 the council. was called on next to
 give an idea of his working platform
 for the coming campaign. MT. Crus-
 berg said that he could make no
 promises and if he went to the coun- cil he would go as 8 free agent and work foI the Lest interests of the city and the ward.
 Councilman Reginald Towers, a candidate for reelection, spoke brief ly about his past record in the coun- ciI and expressed his hope of seeing
 Mayor Quig1cy back in City hall after the election. Councilman John Gill when called upon got up, and gave g. laudatory oration in favcr of Mayor Quigley. MT. Gill said that he him. self is practically new man in city politics but the game fascinates him and he is sure that he can fill the berth of alderman and do credit to the ward and city.
 Mayor Gives Talk.
 Mayor Quigley, the speaker of the evening, was called upon last night to give his views on the present situa- tion. in starting off, the mayor said that his voice was a bit ragged, and it reminded him of the story of Will liam Jennings Bryan. Brysn, when asked why his, voice was never rag ged, replied that he never said ragged things. The mayors excuse for a ragged voice was that he was forced to say ragged things to ragged op- ponentS and critics.
 In speaking of a fourth term, Mayor Quigley said that no mayor of
 
 consecutive times, and ,' ly two or three times ir succession, and that he would not have tried it if it were not for the fact that some of his critics had put the administration under fire. The main criticism. according to the mayor,.- was that the administration had wasted money. In answer to this the mayor said "A dollar today has the purchasing power of about fifty cents compared with the purchasing power of the dollar of 1914. Your tax in 1914 was 1s F mills. Today it is 25 mills, yet the dollar of today has less than half the purchasing power of the dollar of 1914 You pay twice as much for food today com pared with 1914 prices. Your shoes cost three times as much today as 1 they did in 1914. This being 1 true how can the city be run on the ! fifty cent basis any more than your 1 home can\be run. Think it over and l ask the critics of the Quigley admin l istraticn how they can make fifty cents do the work of a dol1ar.'' 1
 Tn a general attack on charges of ] wasting money, the mayor said that l the city today was ssO,ooo less in dept l than it was in 1914, and over a. mill 1 lion dollars had been added in assets, l such as new schools, motorized fire l department, municipal slaughter house miles of pavements and addi- 1 tions to the subway system.
 Answers His Opponents.
 Speaking of his political opponent, 1 he said that Alderman Curtis claimed ] credit for numerous things that he 1 hardly had anything to do with. The 1 mayor WAS especially indignant over 1 8 staten ent ln an evening paper that ! his opponent was a friend of the !! service man. In answer to this the l mayor said That man did not do one 1 thing for the service man. and fol- 1 lowed up with a review of the Bos- 1 ton trip dispute. The mayor claimed ! that he had the resolution introduced ] in the council calling for an appro- loriation of s1,000 in orGer that the 1 wounded men in this city might go to Boston and greet their comrades. Al derman Curtis blocked it on the | grounds of legality, and the mayor said that he was forced to raise the 1 money by popular subso ription.
 The speech was concluded by summary Of the administration during war time, and a description of New Britain during the flu" epidemic