Griggs courier., 1893-09-15
IN THE METROPOLIS.
CITIZENS CT NEW YORK MAKING
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.

Much has been said from time to time
of the absence Of public spirit, of local
pride and of neigaborhood feeling in
New York. Even the men who have
made great fortunes here do not seem to
have any regard for the city that has
given them their opportunities for
achieving wealth. "Men do not under
stand the causes of their success" said a
speaker Of the board of trade recently in
commenting upon the difficulty in arous-
ing public interest here in the movement
for the improvement of the Erie canal.
on which SO much Of the prosperity of
the city depends. The lack of public
spirit was signally illustrated in the half
hearted way in which the business men
entered into the movement to secure the
Worlds fair for New York. Chicago
was blaze of enthusiasm on the sub
ject. but New York entered into the
competition in listless, don't care sort
Of way, which naturally resulted in Chi.
cago carrying off the prize.
The fact is that New York is q city Of
markets, of ships, Of shops, of hotels and
Of tenement house,. but rot cf homes.
Ihc rich 1...c.l may have ri..aSMsons. here,
but their homes are in their country
houses. The people who live in flats and
tenement houses al engaged in a strug.
gle for bare existence, and have not tnc
time or disposition to give much thought
OF care for the city. The diversity of
races and languages represented in the
population Serves only to separate the
people more and make them regard tl.s
city with utter Indifference.
EUt there is reason for believing thar
this state Of things is gradually growing
better. There are eTidcaccs Of Increased
public spirit. of Il greater Pride in the
city and CT u larger interest in her dc.
vc,ccir:..cut arl i'>-.,.,-ovc.acat. Great
s-!.--c..-cs Of ri.blic ii1.pro ;;e::nent have
tcea projected or begun. Millions have
recently been expended in t. ac1uisi.
ton of new parks, and twice lately when
it Was proposed to 90 something that
would injurc Central park there WAS an
exhibition Of aroused public opinion that
prevented the outrages and woall have
done credit to a much smaller but more
enthusiastic city.
Rich Elcl arc now contributing q lib
eral portion of their wealth to enter
prises that will increase the glory of the
metropolis. Columbia college is being
rapidly developed into great universe
ty. A magnificent cathedral has been
started. A spacious botanical garden is
to be established. A fine aquarium is to
take the place of Castle Garden on the
Battery. A splendid speedway for horses
is to be built. The city is to erect an
immense municipal building, which it is
proposed shall be a notable architectural
addition to the metropolis. The present
city hall is to be given to the trustees Of
the Tilden trust and made tho home of q
$4,000, COO library.
The art and natural history museums
are being rapidly developed and will
soon take rank among the best in the
world. Monuments and statues are being
multiplied, and eight years after his
death the $500 900 tomb of General Grant
is approaching completion.
But in other and perhaps more inter-
ssting ways is the revival Of public spirit
in New York being manifested. Busi-
ness men are showing an increased inter-
est in the good government of the city
and in its improvement in little things
as we'll as great. Other cities might in
deed copy with advantage some of the
methods Of the organizations that have
been formed here for the public veal.
The City Improvement society has
been formed and has started out to in
vestigate the various complaints of citi-
zens aud to secure, if possible, better
pavements, better street cleaning and
similar improvements in parks, bridges
and streets of the city. Lately munic-
ipal art society has been organized by
leading artists, architects and others,
with view of making the city more
beautiful. They seek to improve the ar
chitecture of tho public buildings, to Sc
cure artistic decoration within them and
to prevent the erection of inferior stat
ues and other inartistic structures. An
other society is engaged in marking with
bronze tablets the places of historical
interest. Others of more philanthrop-
ical nature are endeavoring to better the
lives and condition of the tenement house
population.
The women have organized health
protective association, and are endeavor-
ing to institute reforms that shall de-
crease the death rate and make New
York better city to live in. The latest
reform which they have taken up is that
of securing health regulation requiring
the removal of the refuse of the sO, 900
horses in the city of New York. The
physicians comprising the Academy of
Medicine have lately been acting with
vigor and courage to secure improved
quarantine protection and purified wa
ter supply. The chamber of commerce
and the board of trade-the mouthpieces
of the merchants and bankers-havel late
ly exhibited increased activity and exer-
cised wider influence. All these things
certainly indicate that New Workers are
beginning to wake up and to show q
ivelier interest in the welfare of the city.
Perhaps the fact that other cities are
getting closer to her in the competition
for business has something to do with
this. It is beginning to dawn upon her
citizens that unless she can unite with
| ro orH +,,v,,o1 Tho N,,.%1,