The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-02-29
civic
IMPROVEMENT
MR.. H. L. WEBER TALKS IN
OPEN CHURCH ON
IMPORTANT TOPIC
A Well Written Paper by Our City
Engineer Entertains Many
People.
IMPORTANT TOPIC

The development of Public I'm
provement from an aesthetic point
of view is not always an easy matter,
but from this view point observa-
tions should always be made. There
is no public improvement made, but
that some Art could be introduced
into its general makeup, even if it
is only the laying of a cross walk it
is entitled to some consideration
from the artistic view point, or If
not, the work should not be done. A
thing worth doing is worth doing
well; worth doing artistically as well
as economically, for all little things
go towards making up the one great
whole, and when the little things are
well done the whole will be work
of art, of more or less beauty, de-
pending of course greatly for its
attractiveness upon what the object
You may say HHow can Art be
applied to many Of the public i'm
provements ?" True, it is hard in
some cases, but work well devised
and well executed will always pro-
duce satisfactory results. | have
seen more Art exhibited in the con
struetion of a flush tank for our sew
er system than some persons have
used IN the building of a residence,
but we must be considerate and re-
member that not all houses nor even
sewers are built by artists, but they
should be. In the building of the
ideal city an ideal plan must be de-
vised and ideal improvements must
be made, and for this it is very es-
sential that the inhabitants should
be idealists The greatest task is not
the building on a New Ideal City,
but the making Of an ideal city out
of a place that may not be so for
tunately situated as Richmond. The
regeneration of many cities would
present far the greater task. Rich
mond possessing great natural re-
sources, ideally situated, with a pop
ulation appreciating all these, pre-
sents no difficulties. We are now well
started on the way to being an ideal
city. This is the verdict of all visit
ors so it must be so. Tt is up to the
Civic Improvement League. which /
interpret to mean the People of Rich
mond, to make her the ideal city.
When the people undertake to do a
thing it is going to be done. The OBJ
structionist and the kicker might lust
as well stand aside
As the Irishman said, "When the
bulk of the population is made up
Of the masses of the people. the priv
ileged few are not in it,
Richmond is on the ascending
scale; let us all put a shoulder to the
wheel and help, and it will be seen
that "she does move"
I'm any city the first consideration
should be paid to the sewerage sys-
tenn but in many cases it is last. In
designing and constructing a sewer
age system, the highest degree of art
IS required to make this obnoxious
necessity an agreeable and harmless
nelghbor. We are blessed with both
kinds, the artistic and non-artistic.
We have work to perform along this
line and expect your assistance. Sec
ond, comes street improvements, of
which the first essential is a reasona-
Bile, pleasing, harmonious grade. In
the laying out of the ideal city, this
can be accomplished with ease. but to
make an ideal grade in the recon-
struction of city requires not only
art but the highest grade of engineer
ing skill in connection with diplo-
macy to avoid conflict with some one
who may desire to take a fall ont
with the artistically inclined enri-
neer. From an artistic as we'll as an
engineering standpoint the grade of
a street should be established before