The Amman Valley Chronicle and East Carmarthen News

Election Notes. I At Ammanford, on Monday, there was a miniature General Election without half the fuss that is being made by the Ulster people, and al- though there were no fewer than four- teen candidates for five seats on the Urban District Council, the scramble was got over without any heads or hearts being broken. Those who got to the top did not get high enough to turn their heads, and those at the bottom were not so low as to break their hearts. Some of the candidates worked hard to try to get in; others worked very hard to keep friends and opponents out. But the hardest worked of all was the Returning Officer, Mr. T. M. Evans, who had to organise and super- vise a staff to disentangle the puzzl- ing twists of the cross-voting. It must have been quite a unique experi- ence even for him. Yet, by midnight, after a poll carried on until 8 o'clock, the intricate figuring and allotting and arranging had been completed, so that the result of the mighty" count" could be announced. Into the details of the declared re- sult we need not enter here. They are given in tabulated form in another column. It is more to the purpose to glance over the day's doings. They were many and various. To begin with, there was absolutely no excitement. There was no election cry. The "leading lights confined their wall literature to simple-very simple-posters bearing the pathetic phrase, Please vote for So-and So." So simple was it that it seemed to be an echo only of the street arab's parody- Please give me a penny, sir, I haven't got half enough My father wants tobacco, sir, And mother—she wants snuff." Perhaps the greatest surprise was the failure of Labour (with a capital L) to return more than one candidate. And yet there were many reasons for the failure. Three of the candidates were from the Ammanford Collieries. Was this wise? Four miners' candi- dates when there were only five seats vacant was rather a tall order. Standing on his own merits, each of the four was an excellent man, but they were collectively "roped in" by the L.R.C., in whose ranks or at whose heels there are some very blatant Socialists and Syndicalists whose arrogance and froth would spoil the chances of an Archangel. Moreover, the "solidarity of Lab- our" has, on this occasion, as on others, been undermined by wire-pul- lers who exploited the workmen in order to try to split their ranks—and succeeded. The object was, not so much to prevent Labour Representa- tion as to revenge upon sturdy men who refused to accept dictation from the wire-pullers and their sycophants. i it will be No doubt the lesson taught will be taken to heart, and—other seats other times. A nod is as good as a wink. The only consolation which the de- feated candidates themselves can draw is that the two new members are men who, only a year ago, were thrown out of the same Council by tactics still more despicable that both Mr. Fletcher and Mr. John Davies have only come back into their own and that what has now hap- pened to these two old mem bers will some day happen to Mr. J. E. Jones and Mr. D. George—both of whom were highly respected on the Council. Mr. Evan Evans did well-as usual; Mr. Fletcher increased his majority and, even in a hurdle race of fourteen entries, made a better show than he had previously made—securing more votes. Mr. John Davies, without can- vassing, but by simply pointing out that he had no axe to grind (a phrase which Mr. W. N. Jones applied to, and claimed for, himself on Monday night), got in by a majority of one over Mr. W. L. Smith. Mr. Smith's racy remarks after the declaration of the poll showed that he could accept with good grace and good humour a defeat so narrow as to encourage him to fight another time. And, taking the same cue, Mr. John Davies, when asked next morning how he had managed to get in, exclaimed- Mr. Lock Smith came after me, and locked me in." Mr. W. N. Jones, who headed the poll, did so by securing the votes of about two-fifths of the ratepayers whose names are on the list of voters, or about one-half of those who voted. So, if he really considers that it was his policy on the Sewerage ques- tion that put him in, he is still in a hopeless minority both inside and out- side the Council. We, however, pre- fer to believe that it was his personal popularity that placed him where he is, for, strange to say, he forgot to I mention a word about the Scheme in his election address, and he confined his posters to the sad and simple little plea already alluded to. As was anticipated, the only repre- sentative of Pantyffynon, Mr. D. Jones, the genial stationmaster, was returned, and, as chairman, financier, and man of details, he got in second. It would not have mattered one whit if he had got to the top, as Mr. W. N. Jones suggested he ought to have done. He is just as well off. We congratulate those who were thus returned, and have no doubt they will do all they can for the ratepayers —according to their lights-and con- sciences. Some excellent men are out. But it was impossible for all to get in, and there was no middle course open to them. They knew that before entering upon the contest; and we shall doubtless hear more of them at some future election. A few of them certainly helped to make this contest a little livelier than it otherwise would have been. Mr. J. L. Williams, for instance, considering the lateness of his appearance on the scene, did well, and went about his candidature with more business-like methods than any of the others. Mr. Smith can give points in canvassing to them all. Mr. Morgan Thomas, with his epigram- matic appeal-" I have fought for Labour; 1 have suffered for Labour" —was striking; Mr. Tom Evans was unfortunate in having been selected at an inopportune time; Af r. T. Grey might have been a Labour man had he had some organisation behind him; Mr. Owen Madden and Mr. J. Joseph constituted themselves the only real champions of the Council's defeated minority on the Sewerage Scheme, and got placed at the bottom. If the contest had been at Rustic sports, like the old-fashioned Donkey Race-the last to win-they would have been all right. Still, even those two have taken their beating like men —fair play to them. In the speeches delivered after the declaration of the poll, there was an element of spice which helped to wind up the proceedings for the swing of the pendulum-at midnight—the witching hour when, before the Eight Hours Act had turned night into day and day into night, the bwcci and the "ladi wen" used to stalk abroad. Even now, it is a good time for "yarn- ing," and the man who can spin a yarn can hold a crowd. After waiting a little while in the playground of the Schoolroom, and leaning on the wall to cogitate, Af r. W. N. Jones, roused to action by loud cries of "speech, speech," complied with the demand. Taken through and through it was not a bad speech, but, for that of a man of thirty years experience of public life, it might cer- tainly have been more concise. There was no need to repeat the same plati- tudes three or four times, when there were other speakers to follow, and still others who might have spoken if the time had not been taken up. We thought at first the speech was intentionally long, but, on reflection, fancy it was merely a trifle thoughtless. There were things said-a few—which would have been better left unsaid. Of course, that is merely a matter of opinion. It was the victor's hour, and lie made the most of it. To take credit to himself and Mr. D. Jones for having been returned at the top of the poll as a reward for the attitude they had adopted on the Sewerage Scheme was scarcely fair. Such a statement did not do justice to either of them, for, as we have ex- plained, the really outspoken cham- pions of the changeful minority of "five" on the Council—Messrs. Owen Madden and J. Joseph—were not at the top of the poll, but at the other end of it. Mr. W. N. Jones did us the honour of referring to "a paper 'called' the Amman Valley Chron- icle' and complained that we had reminded him last week of his defeat after his action on the Water Bill. Well, we were only quoting words which he himself used quite recently in the Council Chamber—that he had known what defeat and victory were, and why should he complain? But to say that his present 595 votes showed that he was right even then is a little too far fetched. And, as one of his warmest admirers declared on Tuesday morning-" He said it in the flush of victory, and, upon reflection, would not have said it, I am sure." Possibly. But Mr. Jones did not do us or him- self justice. Did we not last week give warning of the danger that might arise from the competition of other popular candidates? and did not sixty supporters consequently plump for Mr. W. N. Jones? Of course, we did; and equally of course, they did. The funniest portion of the speech, however, was the slip-shod manner in which a gentleman of thirty years' ex- perience of public life used the word "called" when there was no need for it. This is just how it looks in print:—A gentleman called Mr. W. N. Jones, called a local auctioneer, living in a house called Dyffryn, near a place called Tirydail, in a county called Carmarthen, made what he failed a speech on what is called a Monday night in the course of which he referred to a paper called The Amman Valley Chronicle." It is exactly like the old chestnut: "I say, James; I hear you have been telling people that I say I say after every word I say, but even if I do say I say I say after every word I say that is no reason why you should go and tell everybody that I say I say after every word I say." Of course, it is called the Amman Valley Chronicle," because it is the Amman Valley Chronicle," just as Mr. W. N. Jones is called Mr. W. N. Jones. Probably it was only a bit of affectation on his part; but the day for superciliousness and leg-pulling is past, and no-one knows that better than Mr. Jones. And he must take our criticism in good part, as we did his. The newspaper has generally the opportunity of the last word in these matters. Now let us come back to facts and figures :-Some past results, especially those in which the names of several of Monday's contestants figure, will prove interesting. In 1910 there were seven candidates, all the retiring mem- bers seeking re-election, and the poll resulted thus:— Elected. *William Evans 493 James Darby shire 471 *Thomas Fletcher 471 *George Robling 462 *John Davies 392 Non-elected. *W. N. Jones 385 J. E. Jones 378 The following year eight were nominated for six seats, and the poll was declared as under:— W. N. Jones 550 *David Morris 525 *Evan Evans 491 *David Jones 454 *J E. Jones 426 David George 314 Non-elected. Geo. W. Davies 207 *John Lawley 171 Ten entered the fray in 1912 for five seats:— Elected. *Erne Hewlett 737 *J. Morgan 564 *J. Harries 417 *B. R. Evans 402 J. C. Shaw 374 Non-elected. *J. L. Davies 339 Sam Roberts 220 D. Ll. Lloyd 194 Geo. W. Davies 192 Joseph Joseph 117 Therefore, it will be seen, Mr. W. N. Jones this year, with his majority of 595, has increased his poll from 385, when he was defeated, and from 1911, when he scored 550; but has secured 142 less than the majority of 737 obtained by Mr. Hewlett in 1912. Last year the following proved to be the result:- Elected. Evan Lewis 526 *James Darbyshire. 495 Martin Davies 444 *Wlllitim Evans 406 D. Griffiths Davies 403 Non-elected. *T. Fletcher 376 *David George 360 *John Davies 341 R. W. Davies 298 G. W. Davies 206 Arthur Rees 5 This last was the election to which Mr. Fletcher referred when he spoke, on Monday night, of the deliberate lies which were spread to his own detri- ment and that of Mr.. John Davies. The suggestion that there had been interference in that election was evidently a reference to wirepul- ling and other methods which were now either frustrated or had failed. There is no need to particularise. Let us hope we are entering on a period of healthier public life, with less acri- mony in it, fewer cliques, and greater co-operation for the good of the whole district. It may be explained that in a bye- election which the death of the late Col. Morris necessitated in the course of a few months, Mr. David George was returned to the Council. Finally, let us glance at a peculiarly interesting set of figures bearing upon this week's election. There are on the registers 1,369 voters, and of those 1,131 made use of their franchise on Monday, but there were no less than 152 plumpers, distributed amongst the candidates, as follows:—W. N.'Jones, 60; David Jones, 11 T. Fletcher, 14; Evan Evans, 1; John Davies, 19 W. L. Smith, 3; David George, 9; J. E. Jones, 1; Morgan Thomas, 5; J. L. Williams, 8; Thomas Evans, 8; Thomas Grey, 8; Owen Madden, 4; and Joe Joseph, 1. This review of a miniature genernl election has taken up more space than we anticipated, but as it is an event which forms the begining of another chapter in the history of the Amman- ford District, we make no apology for its length. We have simply tried to do it fairly and fully—"on principle," and "without interest "-keeping before our minds Nothing extenuate nor set down aught in malice.