Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1876-10-09
'ilLASg IaPRovEM ENT
sNrIETlES

winch an eruinary country village is a
pleasant place to dwell in. W from
May to September. The muddy Araots
and sidewalks of autumn and spF,s
aud the icy aud snowy ways of winter,
render it uncomfortable for walking or
driving. The foliage aud herbage of
summer cover mp the ugly spots, and the
grcenery of the growing months trans
forms the homeliest details into the
pleasant and picturesque. The moment
the greenery disappears. dilanidated
fences. broken down sheds. unkept CON-
mons, neglected trees, and all the toler-
ated ugliness Of the village assert them
selves. The village is beautiful no
longer. There are thousands of villages
scattered over the country in which there
has never been public spirited attempt
made to reduce their disorder to order.
their ugliness to beauty, their discom-
forts to comfort. Every man takes care.
or does not take care. Of his own. There
is no organic and sympathetic unity, and
the villages. instead Of being beautiful
wholes. are inharmonious aggregations.
Some paint aud some do not paint
Some keep their grounds well. and others
do not keep their grounds at all. I'm
slightly wrecks of vehicles, offensive piles
Of rubbish. are exposed here and there.
and every man apparently feels at liber-
ty to make his belongings as unpleasant
to his neighbor as it pleases him. No
public sentiment of order is developed;
no local pride is fostered there is ap-
parantly no desire for beauty or conven-
fence that goes enc step beyond ones
home in any case.
1t is. therefore, with great qualification
that we notice here and there the organ
ization of village Improvement societies,
and the beautiful work which they are
accomplishing. Wherever these have
been in existence long enough to accom-
plish anything shade trees are planted
by the side Of highways; old neglected
commons are fenced in, graded and
planted; sidewalks are laid in all the
streets, and public interest in order
and beauty is developed, which makes
every man more careful Of his own.
Twa villaaas ,f --hs.L - l-rr~- -
know, have been.quite transformed with
in two or three years by the operations
Of these organizations and their bene-
fcient and beautiful work, already done,
win insure TO their localities certain
amount of beauty and convenience for
the next hundred years. They have not
been met by the public apathy that they
anticipated. and they have been enabled
by subscriptions, fairs, and festivals. to
raise sufficient money for the work they
have instituted, while individual citizens
have co-operated with them in their
schemes
There is no good reason why every
considerable village Of the country should
not be made convenient, healthful. and
beautiful. by the operations Of such So
cieties as these. There is no good reason
why public feeling Of pride should
not be engendered by them, and an earn
est purpose developed to make each viii
lage more attractive than its neighbor.
Selfish interest is all on the side Of the
societies for improvement in beauty and
comfort means improvement in value
Emulation between neighbors and be-
tween villages is excited. and niggardly
property holders are shamed into efforts
10 contribute 20 the popular desire for
harmony. This Is not a theory; it is
experience; for. wherever they have
been tried, these societies have done the
work and exercised the influence we
have stated.
Again. these societies are agencies Of
culture. Developing public spirit and
a feeling Of local pride, they cannot fail
to bear fruit in other aud higher direc-
tions. Public and domestic architecture
will be the first to feel the effect Of the
new sentiment. Men viii build pretty
houses. in tone with the new order Of
things. New ambition will be developed
with relation to public buildings and
their surroundings. The new town ball
will be better than the old. The new
church win be an ornament aud glory.
which the old one was not Lyccums.
reading clubs. aud libraries. are Just as
natural an outgrowth Of public spirit
engendered by these societies. aud a
public culture nourisbcd BY them. a.
they are. themselge. the outgr0wth of a
public necessity.
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