St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1905-07-05
III.
MNHE first estate outside the coun-
ty Of London purchased by the
IL council was In Norbury. The

M@ cOuuC1l Was IA NOrDury 1uS
site Is thirty-one acres in extent
and 1t situated mile and a quarter be-
yond the county boundary. On this
tract the council is erecting 762 cot
tages with accommodations for $500
persons. The rents will range from
$3.50 to $2.75 a week. A..
The greatest progress has been made
with the Totterdown fields estate, In
footing. On this tract Of thirty-nine
acres nearly 800 cottages have been
completed and are occupied, and the
plans call for q total of 1.244 cot
tages. In this venture the London
county council Is investing $2.00O,0OO
The cottages are built of brick and
stucco, with the roofs and chimneys
surmounted with the inevitable Eng
fish chimney pot AS, Of course, you
know, there Is not wooden structure
in England.
The cottages Of footing are built to
stand for hundreds Of years, with little
or any external repairs. The streets
are paved, and when an Englishman
paves a street his grandchildren need
not replace It. Let us enter one Of
these cottages.
We will first inspect one which rents
for II shillings week, or $2.88 In our
money. This is a corner house, with
light on three sides. In the rear is a
yard and garden plot 80 by IS feet.
Garden truck grows all the year around
in this climate, and many Of the ten
ants Of footing have no difficulty In
raising the vegetables required for
their personal use. The housewife has
all Of the rooms needed In which to
hang and dry clothes, and her husband
can indulge his Unborn desire to keep
dog. All Of this space Is their own to
do with as they please. The clothes are
not covered with SCOT, and the dog Is
monarch Of all that he surveys
The cottage Is two story one, with
Eve rooms and kitchen. The living
room Is IL by 13 and the parior 8 by II
feet The kitchen is about by 10, and
the three bedrooms average 100 square
feet. The floors are Of hardwood
throughout, and the same is true Of the
other woodwork. The walls are pa
pered and the ceiling calcimined. The
interior work compares with that Of
New York or Chicago fat which rents
at from $50 to $40 month. All Of the
rooms have an abundance of light and
ventilation. 49,. 80 .N
John Jasper, blacksmith, and his
wife, mother and four children live In
this cottage 1t was q holiday, and
most Of the men folks were home The
blacksmith came to the door and babe
us welcome.
"How do you like 1t hereT' asked
when we had looked through all Of the
rooms and listened to Mr.. Jaspers
| plans for q combined dollhouse and dog
kennel.
II like it." he said, looking out to
where his children were playing in the
| open air. ITS all new to me, but it
would be like going to Jail to have to
| go back to the barracks where we lived
in Lambeth. Never knew what it was
| to be clean or to breathe fresh air till
we came out here"
docs 1t cost you more for rent than
it did when you lived In a tenement
house"
at costs Just the same" he said;
"but, bless you. look at what we have
now and what we had then. never
thought when was boy that the
time would ever come when I would
live in house all to myself"
The housing work Of the London coun-
ty council Is under the direct charge of
s. G. Burgess, who has served as man
ager since 1901. There is no civil serv-
ice-in the American sense Of the word
in England. Therefore when the
county council formed housing de-
partment and wished manager they
advertised for him. Eor twenty years
Mr. Burgess had been actively engaged
In the construction of middle class
dwellings. He had served with distinc-
ton as manager Of three great private
companies. The London county council
decided that he was the best man for
the place. They therefore offered Mr..
Burgess certain salary, and after due
consideration he accepted their offer.
He had just completed the construction
Of five large lodging houses for Lord
Rowton, designed for providing better
accommodations for 1880 men. These
structures are Of the same type as the
Mills hotels Of New York, which are
occupied by about 1900 male dodgers.
Mr.. Burgess is an acknowledged au-
thortty on architecture and construc-
ton, a man Of decided executive ability
and great energy.
He has never been active in politics.
He has no political pull Thousands Of
men work under him, but he Yields no
political influence. Millions upon mil
lions Of dollars pass through his hands,
but there Is not the shadow Of q suspi-
c1on that one penny Of it sticks to his
fingers. He receives $4,000 year In
salary. No partisan faction or individ-
ual aspires to supersede him. If he
chooses, the position is his for life. The
great municipal enterprises Of London
and other cities in Great Britain are
filed by men Of this type
! In the course Of a long interview Mr..