The Republican journal., 1904-06-02
Town ard Village Betterment

Century Club rooms, Ashburton Place,
Boston, within the present month, a
conference, the object of which was to
bring together in an informal social
meeting the friends of every kind OF
civic improvement throughout the
Commonwealth for the discussion and
comparison of principles, methods and
results. Presiding over the conference
as president was Prof. Arthur c. Boy
den of the Bridgewater Normal School.
Henry T. Bailey is vice president.
The session continued two days, be-
ginning with an address on "Coopera-
ton for Rural Betterment" by Pres.
Kenyon l.. Buttertield, who said in part:
''The rural problem is distinctively far
mers question and the movement had
begun none too early. One third OF
the country is engaged in agriculture
and one half of the people are rural
people. A majority of governors and
senators are chosen by the vote where
farmers predominant. Gov. Flower OF
New York has said that one half the
people no own their houses on Fifth
Avenue once had stone bruises on their
feet. Four forces work for rural bet
terment: lst, communication, including
rural mail delivery, rural telephones,
good roads, trolley lines. 2nd, orgam-
cation Horticultural and agricultural
societies and oranges, which, While be-
ing secret societies, do not keep out
people who ought to be in. 3rd, educa-
ton Of the democratic kind: agrlcul-
tural schools. experimental stations,
nature study, university extension,
correspondence courses, home study
courses. Babcock test for richness OF
milk. spraying and scientific farming.
4th. religion through the \. NJ. {. A.
and social settlement work conforming
to the needs of the country. The coun-
try feeds the city and the tone OF the
country must be maintained. The PEG
ple must be fed and the best way is to
do it at home by intensive farming,
which means less land and more educa-
ton.
Mr., Butterfeld was followed by j.
Randolph Coolidge, Jr., on 'Publlc
Buildings as al Expression of Commu-
nifty Life" An architect himself, Mr.
Coolidge believes that standards of
taste may be raised by good examples
of public buildings ard he Illustrated
by stereopticon the intellectually
beautiful public buildings of the State.
He considered the public library prob
lem solved, but not public halls and
drinking fountains, and he has yet to
see a good band stand. His advice to
towns about to build was sound: eft
forts should be directed to get as beau
tiful buildings as the occasions will
permit, and professional advice to assist
the committee. A slightly building de-
bends Oh the site of ground, then main
tain them properly till you pull them
down"
Frederick Law Olmsted, il, son of
the best landscape gardener Boston has
ever had, read a paper on ''Motives and
Results in Village Improvement, -
which differed from the addresses i'll
telling us what not TO do. He depre-
Gated the pursuit Of beauty through
decoration and satirZed the spasms of
village Improvement which resulted in
Chaos. Real improvement is made for
Years, and must not be made iGlrriedly.
h improving upon nature the key note
must be the character of the work done
and it is well to pause before we go
ahead.
artistic Y illage Improvement was
the topic of Walter Sargent, Art Direc
tor of the State Of Massachusetts, who
said tile problem is to know what good
things are. ii we emphasize the work
with young people we secure the next
generation, and they will apply them.
He advocated boys club which will go
out with teams and bury tin cans and
root out the burdock spaces; and girls
clubs which will follow after, planting
seeds. lie approved of loan collections
of photographs of particular town
halls, the finest railroad stations,
churches, homes, parks and bridges,
that through association we might ap-
preach the true ideal. The school
which solves its own problem for re-
furnishing the inside and beautifying
the outside will care how things look,
materially and morally, and the expert
ence begets good citizenship.
The morning session, exempt from
the rain of the day before, taxed the
limits of the clubroom to accommodate
the audience and was devoted to a
Round Table conference with reports
from various societies.
The town of Montague reported the
New Clairvaux, named by Edward Ev-
erett Hale, from Clairvaux Abby in
France 1t is an arts and crafts socie-
ty with intensive agriculture, compos-
ed of the men and women of Montague
and adjacent towns, who do all sorts Of
beautiful and practical things, their
speciality being the manufacture Of