Daily Republican., 1881-10-10
Building for tn q Future,


q proportionate increase in population
the first aggregating in round numhe
1900 and the latter 5000. Wtlmin!
ton is assuming metropolitan inlpor
ance, and no subject is Of more interes
10 Wilmingtonians THAI the study {
her growth and her possibilities for til
Iuture. lu the same proportional
growth, making no allowances for pa
MICS and backsets, in 1890 the popula
tion will be in the neighborhood OF 20,
900, probably exceeding those figures
No lesson can be taught with NOR
earnestness than the proper methol O
extending and developing the cit,
which is now the metropolis of tn
STATE, and is numbered amongst tn
leading third class cities in population
in the Union. Every year we becon
more and more familiar With the mis-
takes of the past, and we learn by tn
experience of civilization, the substanc
of what large cities must be to NEE
the wants OF An absorbing aud ermin,
population. In the development o
large citi the mistakes Of past year,
come crowdIug home and We have now
to pay up for past shortsig and
lack of Judgment. There are bu; lew
cities that have more natural advan-
tages of climate, air, manufacturing
and commercial facilities than Viii
mington, and yet we have in the past
made a rather poor use Of them. Will
mingtou has never had the advantage
of having been laid out for grea: city,
and hence, although the streets run at
right angles, yet they are no. regular
in width nor in distance from each
other. This mistake has caused much
expense and trouble, and has been a
serious bar to the building of large
manufactures. We have the bes. OF
facilities in the Union for perfec, sys
tenn of drainage and yet We have failed
~ sohO az VA ~ Gnu ONOiS l-dl
is now telling more feartully than the
preceding year hat this is one OF the
greatest mistakes we have made. The
health of a city is of the utmost import
ance and demands the first consiiera-
tions of medical science. Before a dis
trict or ward is jammed up with dwell
ing houses, sewers should be regularly
laiA out and constructed We see the
consequences Of this neglect now in
many sections of our city. Instead of "a
large sewer down Poplar street which
would eff4ctually urain and carry Oft
the noXious refuse of large section OF
our city, there is only au uncover d
ditch meandering along the back yards
of the dwellings, and every little Hood
that occurs it overtiows, fills the cellars
along its course and sows the seeds of
fevers and malarious diseases. We
only mention this one sewer as sam
Pile of the neglect Of our fathers to buiId
wisely AS they went, and this is but
sample of many other neglected points,
As our city is growing in population
and importance we are beginning to see
the great necessity OF a large natural
public park, to which our citizens can
resort to catch breath of fresh, pure
air and drink in the beauties of the
natural scenery for which the banks of
the Brandywine are noted. This of
course is equiva ent to saying that there
should be public park up the Brandy.
wine This is exactly what we mean.
Many of our citizens 60 Oft on summer
tours to spend few weeks amongst
the mountains, to enjoy natures scene.
~ and pure balmy air, while the grand
est scenery and the purest air are found
along the banks Of our own Brandy
vine, but a few moments walk from the
heart of our city.
Had our city fathers built wisely the
city would by this time have been in |!
possession Of both banks of the Braddy.
wine as far up as the Augustine paper
mills on the east side and Riddles |
mills on the west side. The most OF the |
primitive beauties of the place yet re-
main, and there is sufficient time in
winch to retrieve the errors of the past,
but wilmington is growing rapid y ana
every year that purchase of the wild,
natural land and scenery of the Brandy.
wine for public park is postponed the
more expensive and difficult will it be
to purchase. We can look back over
period OF twenty years ago, when some
forty acres could have been purchased
for he same numb5r of thousands of
dollars, hut in our penuIiousness and
false notions of economy we have left
The opportunity slip ty and now the
tract would cost probably twice that
amount of money. Besides this en-
are being made by persons
purchasing lots by piece meal and
81 Getting houses thereon. Every year
the property grows in value, and every
year our population increases and still
have no public park, such as we
'hould have with the natural faoili.
lies at our haids. If the purchase Of
his property is neglected for a decade
,r two more, those who come er us
will have the samA reasons to regret our
hort sightedness as we have to regret
hat Of twenty years ago.
There is no Disgusting the fact that
Wilmington is to be large city in
i1e, and that time is not 80 far in the
atnre as many might suppose, and in
'iew of that fact we shoul1 build for a