Reminiscences of Rotherham
by G. Gummer, J.P.
« « prevcompany of Rotherham citizens. I felt all that Aid. Winter so beautifully expressed when returning thanks: 'Though my words may be comparatively few in number and feebly expressed, I beg of you to believe that I deeply, and from the bottom of my heart, appreciate the great honour you have bestowed upon me, and that in honouring us the town is honouring the whole body of local administrators' .
THE R.R.A.
The inception of the Rotherham Ratepayers’ Association, which created so much stir in 1912, was mainly due to Messrs. T. Briggs, J. Crowther Cox, William Wormald, and F. R. Brown. At its first public meeting, the president, Mr. Briggs, told us that a strong independent organisation, influenced by no political motive, having economy with efficiency as its watchword, was greatly needed in the town, Mr. Crowther Cox, overflowing with pessimism, said 'rates that were 6s, 2d. in 1881, were now 9s. 6d., and the ratepayers were alarmed. The roads were worse kept than any in the country; we have to trudge through mud in winter, and were blinded by dust in summer. Salaries of head officials were too high; we could not afford to pay them, and instead of giving any further increases, the applicants should be allowed to go to another town and Rotherham procure cheaper officials. Thousands of pounds were spent on so-called street improvements. What better off were we for having Pigeon lane opened out or for that path down by the Don (these remarks referred to what are now known as Howard street and Corporation street) . No firm would come to Rotherham when the rates were going up. They would steer clear of it, like sensible men' .This and much more of its kind was the food offered to what the RRA, termed the suffering ratepayers To belittle and depreciate your town in this manner is a bad habit to get into. We have had far too much of it. What should be done is to take it up and not be continually crying 'stinking fish' . No doubt Mr. Crowther Cox has long ago changed his views, and with him many, if not all of the late members of the now defunct R.R.A. will to-day entertain different opinions. We should be badly off now without 'that path down by the Don', known as Corporation street, or the despised Pigeon lane, now called Howard street. The street improvements which came in for much criticism from the R.R.A. have received the wholehearted support of the few, yet useful members which that body returned to the Council.