The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-02-22
Clinton Rogers Woodruff De.
Ilvered a Message of Civic
Improvement to CONNER
ClaI Club Last Night.
"ClTY BEAUTIFUL" WAS
ADVOCATED By HIM.
Public improvements Are the
Greatest Advertising Medi.
um for Any City-CIeveIand
Cited as Example.

Richmond business men were urged
to advertise and boost the city by ad-
opting a practical plan for public i'm
provements, when the Hon. Clinton
Rogers Woodruff addressed the Com
mercial club members last evening i'm
the Masonic hall. There was a large
audience, many of them women, and
everyone was greatly impressed with
the statements made by Mr.. Wood
ruff. He is a recognized authority on
municipal affairs and is a practical
advocate of the city beautiful"
Mr.. Woodruff was introduced by the
Hon. William Dudley Foulke. After
his presentation he stated that he was
greatly pleased TO be in Richmond and
then launched Immediately into his
subject. For a time, Mr.. Woodruff
stated, he found many people inter
ested in the fundamental principles of
public Improvement but this interest
died out when it came to applying the
principles locally. However at the
present time. he stated, there is now
general movement to advertise and
boost" cities and towns through the
medium of public improvements.
The speaker cited Cleveland, Ohio
as city which had gained world wide
advertising because of It's good city
government and it's adoption of a uni
que plan OF public improvement which
is now being used as model by cities
all over the United States Mr.. Wood
ruff stated that it cost the city of Gle
veland s16,000.000 to make these i'm.
provements but that the advertising
they had given the city had more than
reimbursed the municipality for this
amount. Civic competition is no long
er based on population" stated Mr..
Woodruff but by good city COVER
ment and public improvements"
Speaking of the public improve
ment plan adopted by the people of
Cleveland, the speaker stated that
this plan originated among the mem.
bers of the board of commerce in that
city. Cleveland needed a new CITY
hall. new county building. a new lib
'otss new GBdIHDGT OF commerce
building, a new federal building. and
new terminal station. Instead OF
having these buildings erected one at
time and In various parts of the city
the business men of Cleveland hit up
on the plan to group all of them and
TO erect all OF them at the same time
Today one of the buildings is compile
ted and the others in course of con
struction. This group" plan has not
only beautified the city but has add
ed greatly to the value of property I'm
the business district of Cleveland
Between thirty-five and forty cities
in the United States have now adopt-
ed the Cleveland group plan. II has
caused Cleveland to be talked abou,
all over the country. Some cities.
many of them far western cities are
spending hundreds of thousands OF
dollars in advertising. Cleveland haa
spent its advertising money to i'm
prove the city and has obtained bet
ter results" stated the speaker.
Mr.. Woodruff stated that nofrith.
standing the fact that some peopIe
could not sympathize with Mayor Tom
Johnson of Cleveland either on ac-
count of his economic theories or be-
cause OF his politics. 1t would have TO
be admitted that he had governed
Cleveland in splendid manner. I'm.
der his administration the parks and
boulevard systems had been extend
ed. the play grounds increased and
other improvements made Today. he
stated, Cleveland was one of the most
beautiful cities in America.
Mr.. Woodruff stated that great
many cities in the south had found
public Improvement 70 be a paving in.
vestment. This plan was advertising
these cities broadcast and was attract
ing to them both capital and labor.
4 IND all over the country he
stated that hard-headed unsentimeu-
TAI business men, are erecting beaufi-
fui buildings and they find them 10 be
rare business assets" He appealed
to the business men of Richmond 10
join in the work of making Richmond
city beautiful and promised that
the result of such work would be OF
lncrediIable value He said that he
knew the men in the audience were
practical business men and that fhev
operated their businesses along care
fully prepared and intelligent lines.
He said that the plan for the improve
ment and government of the CITY
should be prepared and carried OUT
along the same lines In the citv or
Washington plan for public improve
ments which would be made there in
the course OF the next one hundred
years had been prepared and was al
ready being carried on. The era