Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1905-05-02
IN 1875 the most squalid district In
England lay like fostering sore


Birmingham. 1t was thus de-
scribed by Counselor White In an elo-
quent plea before the town council for
improved conditions:
at is not easy to imagine the dreary
desolation which acre after acre in the
very heart of the town presents to
those who will take the trouble to Wis |
1t it. Little else is to be seen but bow
ing roofs, tottering chimneys, tumble
down and disused shops, heaps Of
bricks broken windows and coarse
rough pavements, damp and sloppy. In
one case found a house of only two
rooms, about nine feet square and six
and half feet high, and In this howell
lived husband, wife and four children.
Amid such deplorable conditions H.
600 of our fellow townsmen are spend
ing their lives, with no bright thing
about them and nothing Of Joy or glad
ness in their homes"
Of Birmingham, and the city had not
yet attained the proud distinction OF
the metropolis Of midland England. nor
had that brilliant young man climbed
far toward his present fame. He had
evinced marked talents in municipal
affairs and was an enthusiastic advo-
cate of public ownership-so much SO,
in fact, that his political enemies de-
clared him Socialist. 1t was due to
his efforts and energy that Birming-
ham had purchased the gas plant and
the waterworks from private owners,
and the success which followed these
ventures gave him prestige of which
he was not slow to take advantage.
The desolate tract populated with thou
sands Of miserable persons aroused his
lsympathy, but he was more than so
cial reformer; he was one Of the
shrewdest business men in Great Brit
ain. he surveyed the field as gen.
eral does one Of coming battle. He
formulated plan, one 30 startling in
its originality, so radical In Its scope
and SO stupendous In its magnitude
that his friends and supporters hest
tated when he proposed 1t to them.
Mr.. Chamberlain urged that Birming-
ham proceed to purchase every foot Of
land in this contaminated area, and he
included in it fifty or more acres prac-
ttcally in the center Of the city. He
proposed to ignore all existing street
lines and to devote large percentage
of the land to broad thoroughtares. He
proposed to demolish every house II
this district, to lease part q the sttt
to reputable landlords who woult
erect dwellings under the supervision
Of the city authorities and to lease the
remainder Of the land for business
purposes. He admitted that for year.
this investment would impose burder
on the taxpayers, but contended tina
In the end 1t would prove splendk
= investment. More than that, the Grad
ication Of the slum area would increas'
the value Of every foot OF property IL
. the city.
i The future statesman formally intro
e duced the matter to the town council
C and, in one Of the most masterl.
t speeches Of his career, urged its adop
8 ton. He claimed that Birmingham
!. could never aspire to the commerda
supremacy Of its natural territory o.
= long as it permitted thousands Of it
townsmen to live In misery.
e 81 believe" he said, that the tow
= and, above all, the next generation
e will have cause to bless the town cour
j Gil Of Birmingham II it carries on
"a this scheme and exercises what ven
= ture to call sagacious audadty. W
know how from time to time upon on
= coast vast operations have been u1del
/ taken by which large tracts Of Ian
y have been redeemed from the sea, an
o what was formerly the sandy bed 9
y the ocean has been converted into snd
" ing fields. say that no less nerttt
rious and no less necessary 10 the wor
which we are undertaking In this II
70 land city by which we hope to wres
= from the fell grasp Of disease, mteer
d and crime whole populations whtc
n would otherwise be abandoned 70 then
J. the position Of these people was the
;e own fault. Their faultf Yes, 1t Is /
e, sally their fault II they steal and whe
~ they do we send them to Jatl, and
they commit murder we hang them II
It, But II the members Of this counc
had been placed under Similar cond
. tions--lf from infancy we had grow
re up In the same way-does any Of ;
10 believe that he should have run no III
n Of the hangman or the Jail? For N
" part have not sufficient confidence
s. my own inherent goodness to belle,
m that anything can make headwa
against such frightful conditions as
have described. The fact 10 1t is Z
more the fault Of these people TIT
they are vicious and incorporate tina
it is that they are stnnted. deformet
debilitated and diseased. The one
j. due to the physical atmosphere. I'll
e. moral atmosphere as necessarily an
10 surely produces the other. 1t is IL
" only occasion for which ever wish
- live beyond the ordinary term Of b.
az man life In order to see the results {
!, these improvements and to hear I'll
- blessings which WIN be showered Q
~ these who have the courage to bsgi
II them"
Il The above is brief extract from
ut speech which aroused the statd Bt
u mingham councillors and aldermen
bit enthusiasm, as by unanimous 70,
q they Endorsed and adopted the plan {
1T their youthful colleague. This was