The Republican journal., 1902-06-26
OUR PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.

NO. l.
OUR PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.
As soon as man has made place
habltable, it is woman's impulse to
make 1t beautiful. In the garden prime
val, while Adam busted himself with
the yam and the banana, doubtless Eve
trained the roses, and seeing there the
promise of a wardrobe bestowed some
thought upon the budding hg-tree. 1t
was Tor the pleasure OF Babylon's
queen that the hanging gardens were
made: and indeed, the Old World IS
dotted With wonderful creations, monu-
mentS alike to woman's love for the
beautiful, to the gallantry OF man, and
10 the abundance and cheapneSS OF hu-
man labor.
he new woman dreams not OF an
eighth wonder of the world, but OF the
widest possible distribution OF comfort
and beauty And to attain her end she
WORKS III ways quite unknown TO her
prototype OF ancient history. She or
ganlZes a society. She drafts conStltu-
ton and bylaws. She elects officers.
" hen She needs a stronger ann and
longer purse than her own, she depends
not only on the gallantry OF man but
makes him eligible to membership.
Then she descends upon the waste places
OF the town and makes them bear some
thing, II that something be only sweet
peas aud nasturtlunis. She tries, with
with varying measure OF success, to
improve unseemlV places: tor she Is
still Hi spirit the Yankee schooLma' am
following the pioneer with a spelling
book in one hand and a cake of soap in
the other" She builds side walks and
provides hitching posts in public places.
She remembers j. Sterling Morton, and
the day which should be more widely
observed. She encourages nature studies
in the schools. She also encourages
the study of art, even of undraped art,
| and decorates the school rooms with
pictures and statuary All these things
the woman of to day is doing. 1t is
said that in Tewksbury, Mass, her eff
forts have been so far rewarded that
the town might almost be considered a
female paradise-except for the scarcity
! of men. Perhaps TeWksbury had no
board of trade to try to keep the men
| at home. When an Improvement So
clety is about to begin operations, 1t is
well to have place with good natural
advantages to operate upon. In this
particular the Belfast Society is favor
ed. We have fine harbor, an abund-
ance of water power, fertile outlying
! farms, streets whose beautiful shade
trees make us feel grateful to some
body's grandfather, good schools, and
an excellent Free Library. Here are
SIX good reasons for expecting Belfast
to grow. | refrain from adding to this
| list the fine view we have from every
hilltop. lest some of my readers may
agree with that worthy old citizen,
who, on being reminded, by the asses
| sors. Of the pleasant view from his Win
dows, remarked dolefully but you
| can't live on the view AS matter
Of fact. though, the view has a money
value for artists and summer hotel-men.
Now what is to be done in support of
these natural advantages? In the mat
ter OF roads there is scope for the
/ energy of the Society. Some roads
leading ont of the city are terror to
WAeel-men, and some of the suburban
sidewalks are traps for the unWary.
# there are unoccupied lands at the
, disposal of the city would it not be
we'll 10 allow any man who will to cul-
tivare such tracts? | think this has
been done in a large city with good
results. There is room for more trees ;
and would suggest that on the next
Arbor Day we pupils of the b. H. $,
WI h the advice and consent of our
teachers, plant the best one we can find
in memory of Mr.. Morton, the man
who was saying plant trees"
The Belfast Improvement Society
has eyes sharp enough to find many
things yet to improve. and | wish it a
long lite and plenty of money to sup
port its wise and generous work.-Ruth
Brown. 'O4.