Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1904-08-25
THEIR HOME A PARK
RHODE ISLAND FACTORY EMPLOYEES
HAVE HANDSOME SURROUNDINGS.
Omcials of the Company Give Cash
Prizes Annually 10 Those Who In,-
prove Their Homes the Most-Rush
Cfty's TRANSFORMATION.

prove Their Homes the Most-RusI
Cfty's Transformation.
Village improvement societies work
ing In towns where large factories ar,
located may get some points from
Rush City, Il. l., and may induce th'
factory owners TO take up the plar
adopted there for beautifyIng th,
homes Of the employees. The workers
In this Rhode Island factory live In O
park. They are not squatters on public
property nor relatives OF political
boss. They have simply made the park
themselves and transformed the yards
around their houses into picturesque
gardens. Mornings and evenings the
men folk" are seen carefully groom
trimming shrubbery and watering
flowers. On Saturday afternoon, too
when the looms Of the mill are still,
the lawn mower and the pruning
shears are busy.
Strangers to the town Of Thornton,
where this cooperative park IL stu.
ated. just outside the city limits OF
Providence, wonder what strange Inn
pulse actuates these factory workers,
says the New York Tribune.
"ABe they all landscape gardenersT'
Are they getting ready to sell outT'
| These gre some OF the questions a
visitor asks himself.
The factory people themselves call
their series OF gardens by the prosalc
name Of Rush City. There are forty
one double cottages In all, with their
yards divided TO furnish separate
approach 10 each door. In one street
live the oyerseers Of the factory, and
In the rear, facing IN another street,
are the homes Of the operatives.
Rush City is owned by the Pocas-
set WOrsted company, and for many
years the officers OF this corporation
had sought to encourage their em-
ployees to beautlfy their homes and
surroundings.
"A man who lives amid neat md
pleasant surroundings" said one Of
ficer, "ls superior Intellectually to one
used to filth and squalor. He Is more
orderly In his habits. He takes better
care OF his machine. lie turns out a
better product As soon ns persons
become careless with their homes or
their personal appearance they become
careless with their work According
ly our desire that our employees should
have beautiful homes was not alto
gether altrulstlc. II has proved alto
getber practical"
But until last year there were some
residents OF Rush City who preferred
to live as the average mill hand
lives, where things are thrown down
instead OF being put down, where the
clothesllne Is stretched between the
whether they are In front or behind
the house, ana where the washtub Is
put out to dry ON the sunny stoop. no
matter II visitor has to stumble
over II to get Into the parlor
One plan after another was consld-
cred, and finally the factory officials
decided TO Offer prizes to those en-
ployccs who improved their homes
most For the reason that the opera
tives were nj some disadvantage be
cause Of living In the rear street the
prizes were classified I'm two sets. one
for the ovcrscers and the other for
the operatives The first and second
prizes for the oyerseers were $50 and
$40 respectively. For the operatives
there were ten prizes, with $50, $50.
$50 and $l5 for the first four and SO
for each OF the next six. All the prizes
for both classes thus amounted to
s2l0.
The announcement OF the prize
scheme had magnetic effOct on the
Inhabitants Of Rush city. A friend
ly rivalry sprang up between nclghbors
ms TO which had the best looking yard.
When one operative started violet
bed another villager would whisper II
about, and soon other violet beds
Gprang up along the street To encour-
age such gardening enterprises the
company distributed In proper seasons
six packages of seeds, various kinds OF
shrubbcry and different sorts OF trees.
Each seed and plant was fostcred with
II maternal care, and with the coming
Of spring the yards bloomed like long
series OF gardens.
Some OF these amateur landscape
gardeners grew more ambitious than
their fellows. and, not content with
simple lawns and flower beds, they
planted towering shrubs according TO
certain designs and twisted vines aud
trimmed evergreens into fantastic
shapes. In one yard the flowers bios
somed out into the shield OF the state
OF Rhode Island. with the anchor in
the center and the word Hope" over
archIng above. The officers OF the com
pany are highly satisfied with the re-
suits OF the competition
Some who did not enter fully into
the zcst OF Il this year" said one OH
Ger, Twill take hold now They see that
n man is doubly benefited by having
II beautiful home. lie is not only hap
pier himself, but he makes his family |