Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-08-11
THE CONGESTION OF LONDON.

What would William Cobbett, who in
his day thought of London as "a great
wen," say could he revisit It now, and
walk up Cheapside westward at about
six in the evening or along the strand at
almost any hour in the working day, or
attempt to cross Holborn In the late after
| noon His honest soul would indeed have
mourned within him as his body was
| jostled and damned and delayed in its |
slow and painful progress. AS far back
as the spacious times OF great Eliza
BETH" the growth of London was felt as
kind of public danger, and futile |
attempt was made 10 stop IL. johnson
was fond of dilating to Boswell on the |
infinite mazes of that congeries OF human |
beings of which he conceived Charing |
Cross TO be the centre; but the London |
of Johnson's days held much smaller
population than the Tower Hamlets OF
our own. When those historic walks
were taken down Feet street beloved
beyond all green iields) that renowned
thoroughfare was far different from the
crowded street of today, which few per-
sons, save those devoted to daily Journal
ism for many years, can regard with the
deep affection Of the great photographer.
In short, London is growing as fast as
ever, and London is more crowded than
ever. True, the figures Of the last census
showed that inner London does not in
crease as does the outer ring of suburbs
: Leytonstone, Wimbledon, Streatham, En-
field and others that might be named.
But the congestion increases, if the popu-
lation does not. Scarce week passes
but hitherto quiet suburb is invaded by
I new omnibus line which tempts larger
crowds of shoppers and pleasures seekers
! into the central, regions of this huge
I 80 l,rsA H. 81 IN
/, the last 20 years the centre of London
, has been transformed by the erection Of
i. huge hotels, each of which is almosta
8 town in itself, and all Of which are con-
q stantly filed. The growth of the new
] monster "stores" has entailed the carry
ing hither and thither of numberless
r articles in thousands of vans and wagons,
v almost unknown In London streets a
q generation ago. In addition to the native
Londoner and the resident are the
7 strangers within our gates, brought up
k almost daily by dozen lines of railway,
n and filling London restaurants and places
9 of amusement Every year, too, there
k seems TO US a perceptible increase in tho
j desire for out-of-door life, to which,
u spite of its fogs and rains, London is
10 well adapted. Parks are thronged, open
spaces swarm with life all the day long.
z In short, it is not necessary to show that
a London is crammed, and that, as dis
!. tances are SO great, London streets are
10 also crammed with an eyer.expapdine
u volume of traffic.
% From any ideal point Off view London
! is undoubtedly too large. Plato in. his
j "Republic" has sketched for us what an
10 ideal Greek mind Thought should be the
q dimensions and situation or an ideal city;
and certainly London does not, as the
IA |. Americans say, "fill the BILL" But we
cannot legislate against the increase Of
population, which is the one cause Of the
increase of traffic, because that increase
ne of population is due to the fact that Lon
don is gigantic centre of wealth. It is
re almost appoplectic with wealth. 1t is the
OF worlds great clearinghouse, the worlds
40 greatest port, IL is probably the worlds
Or greatest centre of amusement, 1t is the re-
o. sort, not only of the wealthy leisured
or class of these islands, but of the English
he speaking world. Where the carcase j.
10, there will the eagles be gathered together
n the magnet Of London's wealth attracts
co every month new thousands who fee
that they have a chance to share thi
ct wealth, or who will attach themselves Ii
er one or other capacity to those who possess
ey 1t. These are facts which we canno
on help, and which in their vide SWEEP
cannot be met by any petty legislativ
efforts. If we are to deal with the con
gestion of London we must attack it b,
other means. In one sense we cannot al
80 tack 1t at all, because we cannot get a
,as the cause which create II. But there ar
an two elements of relief, one of which ma
ly, 1--WE do not positively say wild be brough
he about by the progress of science, and tn
sde other of which can be applied now, IL W
ng are wise enough to take the needfr
~ measures. The scientific method 9
bs. dealing with the problem can only b
Of gradually worked out, but it yields tn
tal greatest hope because it may involve th
ter redistribution of population, which
es. obviously the one means of effeotuall
ma solving our problem. The method /
ton of electric for steam power in prt
duction. Roughly speaking, we may ga
that the huge modern city is the produ,
of steam industry, which, for its success
tic demands concentration of population
60 You cannot carry on steam industry
any other way apparently than by crow
uc- ing people together in large mills an
ire workshops, because the power cannot
pt. widely distributed through space. B,
| Of in the case of electric power it can be
distributed. The machinery and electr
ort lighting of the city of Buffalo are drive
i Ia by the current generated at Niagara,
ma miles away and there are many 9th
II. less conspicuous instances of the cham
'se which the substitution of electric +
steam power is bringing about. In shol
VII VI while steam is centripetal, electricity
70 centrifugal, and there seems no reast
why in process Of time the already cxis
dy, ing tendency to remove certain classes
at industry from town to country shou
not become universal; and instead of Of
iiah huge black centre of million souls ,
om- should, on this hypothesis, have
centres of $4,000 dwelling amid compar
ma. lively peaceful and healthy surrounding
,nt. AS we know nothing of the real law
,tb- population, we cannot say whether the
will be AN indefinite increase of our tot
a.. population, though there is some reas,
to think the present rate of increase W
'nse be permanent But, whether popul
=. ton increases or not in the gross. scien
VIII gives US ground for hoping that distrib
10y, ton Of population will be more ration
and less arbitrary than now. Such seer
iron to us the ultimate means of affordinp
q to permanent relief to London's congestio
But this will be a long process, an
ybt- meanwhile, what can be done for Lo
the don's crowded streets2 How can {
daily, hourly block in the Strand. Chea
coi side, Piccadilly, Holborn, the feari
'jam" at Knightsbridge, at the corner
-. Southampton Row and Holborn, %