The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-18

and fire protection and all the elaborate and
| complicated mechanism of modern
metropolis costs money, and good deal OF
| it. If we dance, we must pay the fiddler.
But firmly believe that all judicious ex-
| penditures for such purposes are wise in
veStmentS and that they pay large divi-
dends in health, comfort, happiness and
| reduced death rate And in the last anal
! ysis they represent substantial additions to
| the wealth of the community / hope that
| Indianapolis will continue to follow lib
| eral policy in these matters only taking
| care that value is received for every ex-
| penditure that is made, and that not a
/ penny is wasted and not penny IS stolen.
Il have spoken thus far almost entirely
| of the physical features of our city, as it is
| and as it is to be. May l ask your in
| diligence for a few moments only while /
| touch upon some other aspects of the gen.
| eral question we are considering tonight?
| have spoken of the great material prog
| ress which we have made; Now. if all this
| only means that we have been getting rich
| er and spending more money upon our per-
sonal comfort and to advertise our city, it
IS all very well indeed, but it would be easy
TO magnify its Importance. To my mind it
has better and larger significance. The
| increased cleanliness and beauty of Indian
| apollS, our pretty squares, our new public
| institutions the variety and attractiVeness
| of our domestic architecture, our library,
statues and fountains, our grand monu-
| ment, speaking with mute but majestic elo-
| quence of Indiana's patriotism and Indi-
| ana's gratitude, all these things are to me
/ the outward and visible signs of advancing
| civilization They testify to the growth of
| taste and refinement and culture in this
community.
1.-The Good Book tells us that a city that
| is set upon a hill cannot be hid. Indianapo-
| lis must be set on a hill Be that your task
| and your chldren's. 1t was the glory of an
cient Athens, we are told, that she was the
| mother of arts and eloquence.' May we not,
| without presumption, dream of a somewhat
| similar destiny for Indianapolis. May we
| not believe that as she IS to-day in a very
| modest way, so shall she be in every in
| creasing degree as the years roll by, CEN
| ter of arts and letters, OF taste and refine
anRaf Of arrIfat nd orAla y6oro
| learning dweils and 'bright-eyed science
watches round'-an arena of lofty endeavor
and lofty achevement-the home of all the
| graceS and all the humanties which enrich
| and soften human life, which dignity and
| ennoble it, and make 1t better worth the
| living. 1t is the current european criticism
| of American cities, that while they
| busy, and prosperous, and enterprising in
| a material sense, they are also ugly and
| taWdry, built for use rather than enjoy
ment and wholly absorbed in the pursuit
| of the mighty dollar to the exclusion of the
| finer things of life. This reproach may not
| have been wholly unjust IN the past but
| believe it is now being rapidly wiped out.
| All over the country our cities are being
| embellished and beautifed. Parks, and
| boulevardS, and statues, and fountains, and
| museums and galleries, and libraries are
| being multiplied. 1t is upon these objects
that you must largely concentrate your eff
| forts if you hope to make Indianapolis a
| model city. If / learned anything during my
| residence abroad it was TO place higher
| value upon the decorative features of a city
| and a smaller estimate upon Inc strict utili-
| ties; to make larger account of the aesthetic
| side of urban life and smaller account Of
1 the mere commercial or practical side In
! Paris and the other great cities of the CONT
| nent, as most or perhaps, all of you know
| from personal observation, the street cars
| move more deliberately than with us. The
| elevators (where there are any crawl,
rather than soar, as they do here. The tes-
! tive skyscraper does not exist and the mad
| rush and wild hurly-burly of American life
| is wholly lacking.
THE ART SPIRIT.
but there are compensations. The art
| spirit is everywhere uppermost- The sense
| of the beautiful is very manifest. Wherever
| one turns there is something to please the
| eye to soothe the senses, to educate the
| taste and to captivate the fancy. 1t is this
which renders life so attractive in many OF
| these old capitals; so irresistibly fascinating
| L might say to Americans who have not
| taken deep root in their native soil. We need
| to foster the art instinct among us-to de-
velop the aesthetic side of Hfe-to encour-
age and sustain every institution and every
| movement tending to Increase our
opportunities for artistic enjoyment
and culture. In this category L
would place our art institute
| with its annual exhibit, our musical festi-
| val and our chrysanthemum show. By the
| measure of public interest in and apprecia-
! ton of these enterprises of high art you
| may accurately determine the level OF pub
| nc tasle and the extent to which the
/ higher and the finer things of life have
taken hold of the community.
| The Parisians, whose attachment to their
! beautiful city borders on fanaticism, are
| fond of calling it la Vile Luniere'' Getty
of light'D, City of Light, u city set on
| hill These beautiful figures of speech
suggest the ideals for which you must
| strive in your efforts to make Indianapolis
| better city. City of light-a city offer
ing. the largest opportunities for intellectual
and aesthetic culture, a city where the best
| possibilities of human nature find their
| highest illustration; a city where science
goes. hand in hand with humanity and
! charity; a city where there is work for
| every willing hand and bread for every
mouth. A model city is not the product
aione of capitalists and traders, of contrac-
| tors and builders, of artisans and laborers.
| 1t is in q far greater degree the creation
of the architect, the sculptor, the poet, the
painter, the composer, the musician, the
scholar the thinker the orator, the ac-
| tor-of all those gifted beings whose divine
| mission on earth it is to minister to the
hearts and souls of men and fill with beau
| ty and sweetness and light the rugged high
| way through which they are march
| ing, many with bleeding feet, towards their
| common destiny. 1t is city where talent
| is rewarded and true worth is recognized,
where he who has written a great book
| or painted a great picture or carved a
| great statue or composed a great oratorio
| or spoken a great thought or done a great
! deed is honored far above him who has
! heaped up great stores of wealth by wreck
| ing a railroad or grabbing a franchise
| "A Guy where the highest OF pub
| lie and private integrity prevail, a city
! where hearts are quickened and minds are
| broadened and souls are yipened and human
| lives are rounded in the warm sun
! shine of genius a city where civic virtue
and city pride hold ceaseleSS vigil over the
| rights and the liberties of the people. Such
is my dream of the twentieth-century In
dianapolis. Let us each do our little part
and who knows that those who come after
us-our children or our childrens children
may not witness the perfect realization of
this dream?
THE MAYOR TALKS PARK.
The absence of punctuation marks made
the menu and toast card read: How the
Commercial Club Can Help Thomas Tag
CART" This was discovered by D. M Parry
who laughngly inquired of the mayor
whether it was a political scheme Mr..
POSTMASTER, our honored guests and mem
bers of the Commercial Club" said Mayor
Taggart, when he was introduced by Presi-
dent Fortune, 1.-The menu card reads: How
the Commercial Club can help Thomas Tag
CART The mayor was interrupted by
there is anything left for me to say. From
what our guests have already said / be-
1eVe II has been demonstrated that Indian
apolis is now model city. We are well
supplied with railroads, we are the center
of population, geographically speaking we
all that goes to make the foundation of a
model city. 1 recently attended a Demo-
cratic convention. The platform mentioned
few of those things that have been sug-
gested to-nig ht-the municipal ownership of
the water plant among others. We have
Ossl y