Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-10-07
IN THE METROPOLIS.
CITIZENS OF NEW YORK MAKING
 PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.

ed-Hundreas of Millions of Dollars to
 Bo Spent In Identifying the Chief City of the Continent.
 Much has been said from time to time of the absence of public spirit, of local pride and of neighborhood 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- 1 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 a blaze of enthusiasm on the sub ject, but New York entered into the competition in listless, don't care sort ! cago carrying off the prize.
 The fact is that New York is city of markets. of ships, of shops, of hotels and of tenement houses, but not of homes. Tine rich men may have mansions here, but their homes are in their country houses. The people who live in flats and tenement houses are engaged in a strug- 1 gle for bare existence, and have not the 1 time or disposition to give much thought or 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 the l city with utter indifference.
 | But there is reason for believing that this state of things is gradually growing | better. There are evidences of increased | public spirit, of a greater pride in the l city and of a larger interest in her de- velopment and improvement. Great schemes of public improvement have been projected or begun. Millions have | recently been expended in the acquisi- | tion of new parks, and twice lately when it was proposed to do something that would injure Central park there was an | exhibition of aroused public opinion that | prevented tine outrages and would have done credit to q much smaller but more enthusiastic city.
 Rich men are now contributing a lib | eral portion of their wealth to enter | priscs that will increase the glory of the metropolis. Columbia college is being rapidly developed into great universi- | ty. A magnificent cathedral has been | started. A spacious botanical garden is ! to be established. A fine aquarium is to 1 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 notable architectural | addition to the metropolis. The present 1 city hall is to be given to the trustees of l the Tilden trust and made the home of a l $2,00O, GOO library
 | The art and natural history museums ara being rapidly developed and will ! soOl. 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 i'll other and perhaps more inter- esting ways is the revival of public spirit 1 in New York being manifested Busi- ness men are showing an increased inter est ill 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 Thc City Improvement society has been formed and has started out to in vestigate the various complaints of citi- zens and to secure, if possible better 1 pavementS, better street cleaning and similar improvements in parks, bridges and streets of the city. Lately nunic- 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 the public buildings, to se- cure artistic decoration within them and 1 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 q more philanthropy ical nature are endeavoring to better the
 lives and condition of the tenement house i 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 a better city to live in The latest
 reform which they have taken up is that of securing a health regulation requiring
 the removal of the refuse of the 50. 00(
 horses in the city of New York. The
 physicians comprising the Academy oi
 Medicine have lately been acting with l VigOr and courage to secure improved quarantine protection and a purified wa
 ter supply. The chamber of commerce
 and the board of tradc-the mOuthpieces
 of the merchants and hankers-have late
 ly exhibited increased activity and eXer
 cised a wider influence All these thing,
 certainly indicate that New Workers art
 beginning to wake up and to show 2
 liVelier interest ill the welfare of the city
 Perhaps the fact that other cities arc
 getting closer to her in the competition
 for business iias something to do witt
 this. It is beginning to dawn upon hel
 citizens that unless she can unite witt
 Brooklyn, bridge and tunnel the Nortf
 river, throw more bridges over the Eas-
 river, get rapid transit from city hall tt
 Westchester county and institute othel
 measures of public improvement, she i
 liable to lose her commercial supremacy
 New York Cor. Baltimore Sun.
 Many of the South Sea islanders be
 lieve that paradise can be inherited onl,
 by persons of perfect physical forms
 Where this belief prevails man will di
 rather than submit to amputation
 SIander From the Pulpit.
 A preacher at Lafayette, Ind, is re
 ported to have about broken up hi
 church the other day by saying in a ser
 mon that ..God made the earth in si