The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-27
STOUT PLANS FOR
A CITY BEAUTIFUL
! MENOMONIE WILL De
MADE A MODEL TOWN
Noted Landscape Architect Will
Garry Out Scheme of Mil
+ lionaire Senator. -.
Stecis. to T;ae Journal.

Stecia, to T:.e Journal .,,.e y #
=; ! Menomonie, Wis, May 26.-Menomo-s
ME-, a lumber town of northern Wiscon-
! sin, just emerging: from its lumberJacks
! days, is to be made the model town of
America, thru the munlticence OF its
wealthiest citizen, State Senator James
II. Stout, a millionaire lumberman
whose one fad is public schools and per-
feet citizenship.
Menomonie, tho having a population
of only about 5000, is well known thru
out the country to have the finest sys-
tenn OF public schools in America.
. Other cities, founded and owned by
great corporations, have been called
model towns, but Menomonie is not such
a. place where the corporation can force
the citizen to do its will in regard to
the building of houses in conformity
to a general plan, and so on. Menom-
,onie s development into a model town
rs to be thru the agency OF IT'S own
votes, supplemented by Senator Stout s
wealth.
Engages Manning.
Warren H. Manning, noted Boston
landscape architect, has been engaged
by Senator Stout to lay out a seheme
on which Menomonie may be perfected.
Senator Stout is to take all the pre-
i1iminarv steps, and the votes Of the
Menomonie citizens will bind the resi-
dents to build their Houses according
ito the common plan, devised so that
the business district will blend harmon.
jiously into the residence portions, and
the front yards of the residences De SO
decorated with flower beds and other
jadornments that Menomonie will be one
great garden, with the houses so hidden
iby vines and creepers as to remind one
of an ancient English estate. The
;plans are not complete, but the city
council and business mems and clt!-
zens' associations have pledged acqul-
iescence in the scheme. y:
Finest Schools in the Country.
Senator Stout does not take credit to
himself for his investment for the city 8
|Cain. He saws that Menomonie was
The city whose lumber industry made
Ibis fortune, and it is only fair to the
town to return to it some OF the ad-
vantages thus cleaned.
Mr., Stout was the pioneer IN intro
,ducing manual training INTO the p unIl.c
schools Of the state. Before Nh:
waukee had such department, that of
iMenomonie was famous. The school
which Senator Stout provided for Me
,nomonie is without doubt the finest I'D
the country, excelling the instltu
itions of even New York and Chlcago
Except in the size Of the ~:bulldlngs.
The equipment is more complete Than
that in any other city.
the public school system, and are headed
by the best educators in the state
For instance, L. D. Harvey, former
state superintendent Of public in.
struction, upon completing his term was
at once engaged as city superintendent
here, at a larger salary than that paid
in the state office. re refused an
H. ~
schools of Cleveland to remain here
Other instructors are of the same high
grade, and draw better salaries thar
can be secured elsewhere. The work
in manual training includes suct
branches as wood and metal working
Including forging, foundry and machine
shop practice: ~
departments. The girls are not ne
elected, the manual training schoolhay!
Ing an extended course in domestl'
gcience, the equivalent Of the course IL
most colleges for women.
Hardly a national gathering O.
teachers takes place that does not IN
wife Senator Stout to tell OF the manua
training and physical. culture WORK ;s a a
his school. He believes as well Il |:
1nnnicinal improvements, and one of hi
activities has been the building o
+ model roads around Menomonie. H
secured a governmental crew to shoy
the farmers Of his county how to bull
roads, and then kept up the agitat1o:
until once-rutted country highways be
came as boulevards to the ordlnar:
roads in much older parts OF the state
|. Follow Menomonie's Example.
2 M ["-f--r=.s,.*s
Senator stout's agitation for .cleas
and modern cities has taken root in th
state, and this spring has been 'marke
bv a movement in dozen cities Of til
state for better-looking and cleante
towns. -, :
Wausau and Kenosha have bee
appointment in the work Of cleaning u
s, and improving. -.