Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1900-07-20
LYNN'S FIFTY YEARS.
LIFE is PLEASANT IN THIS NEW ENG
LAND TOWN.
An Industrial City That In Not Too
Busy To Neglect the Beautifsi
Splendid Public Library aud .
Wonderful Forest Park.

Splendid Public Library aud .
Wonderful Forest Park.
The fiftieth anniversary OF the city
of Lynn, which was Incorporated In
May. 1880. has recently been celebrat
ed. Lynn is very frank and com
plete product of modern American in.
dustrialism. Before the manufacture
of shoes was begun there In a system
attic way, after the invention OF the
sewing machine, between 1910 and
1880. it was no more than a country
village surrounded with great tracts
of forest. marsh and rocky fell country
II was practically no more than a rus
tic calling station on the road between
Boston and Salem.
Elias Howes machine and the es
tablshment of shoe factories soou
changed all that. The town was built
up almost wholly on the factory sys
TEN and has become as complete a
product as may be of that factory sys
TEN of which 1t has been said by d
popular economist that ii Is ugly, dis
agreeable. mechanical. Injurious tC
public health and Il danger to the ma
tional existence"
This application of the factory sys-
tenn. indeed, has resulted in some
things which are highly desirable and
which tend to make the life OF a poor
man, and particularly the life OF the
poor mans child more agreeable and
fortunate than that of the vast ma jor,
ity of the poor people Of the world. II
for instance, the poor boy of Lynn
coming from his barely possible tene
ment house home-there are few tene
mrnt houses In l.ynn-to public
school, is sent out to obtain statistics
ns TO the comparative cost OF his edu
cation, he goes to u sumptuous publ,
library for the purpose. There. sitting
at massive oak table, an origina
work of art. especially designed and
carved to suit the architecture of the
hall, he turns the leaves of documents
which are placed before him by an at
tcndAnt and ascertains that he Is ia
N"red auuhs all the school children IN
the world in point OF the annual eI
pcndture for his education
He glanccs up at beautiful decora
tion, painted ny gifted artist tof New
York, by the way. at large cost, rep
resenting tie awakening OF lgno
rance" and representing the angel OF
universal enlightenment pointing som,
"A, a.
Ideal modern city looming above the
clouds. The child, impressed by these
things. goes back to the school where
he Is being so admirably educated, but
If he is a healthy boy his mind proba
bly, will turn away from the expensive
instruction which Is being bestowed
upon him to the unexampled facilities
for open air recreation with which this
badly induStrialzed community has
provided him. His mind wanders tC
the great Lynn woods, that noble pub
lie forest. or, II the weather Is warm
to the farreaching Lynn beach. which
Is really very remarkable ocean side
terrace where the municipality has
provided him with free bathing and
general recreation facilities.
This beach quite equals that at Co
ney Island, and it is rounded out a,
either extremity by much finer nat
ural prospect. The Lynn woods art
worthy of letter by themselves. Jus,
behind the city, within half mile OF
some of its most important structures
there stretches great expanse of nat
ural and rocky woodland more thar
1000 acres in extent. Within 1t the
sites Of former swamps are occupied
by pretty lakes. There are evergreen
glens, footpaths winding along rocky
slopes and smooth drives, where, II
the poor boy possesses wheel, as
most Of the poor boys of Lynn do, ht
may ride 1t amid sylvan solitudes fol
hours.
TO provide this great recreation
ground for the people and preserve
forever the natural beauty of the for
est, where the ancient wolf pits Of the
early settlers still exist intact, the city
of Lynn several years ago not only
gave vast sum outright, but decided
to forego the opportunity for expan
sion and it's well to do citizens the
chance of profitable real estate invest
ments and dedicate the whole space
to the people. There Is not noblel
or more beautiful public park In the
United States than this one provided
by an enlightened public policy In this
highly "industrialized" city Of 65,0Ol
Inhabitants.
Between the municipal ocean side
terrace in front and tue municipal pub
lie forest behind this little city OF
Lynn extends in thin gray red line
1t Is not at all remarkable for the
beauty Of its architecture, but 1t Is re-
markable for what we are not suppos
ed to expect in factory town-the
number of Its modest and thrifty
homes. The tenement house system
is practically abandoned. AS for that
matter, it is abandoned throughout
New England. may remark, paren'
thetically, that in Fall Rivor, which
has been in the past one Of the worst
examples in America of the factory
and tenement house system, the mill
corporations are tearing down their
tenements for the reason that they
cannot get anybody to live in them