Evening journal., 1908-03-23
THE CITY BEAUTIFUL
By Virginia D. HenkeI.

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The question often arises in the
minds Of citizens, MAY our city be call
ed beautiful?" II so. how can we make
it stin more attractive and how can
we take the first steps towards beauti-
flying It? The President Of the Ameri-
can Civic Association says: "The first
requisite toward community attractive
ness is 20 realize that home and town
beauty are true economy and that COLI
lective ugliness is sheer waste"
A beautiful city acts as an enchant-
ing agent to attract population of a
permanent and desirable character.
Let us then look at our own city In
the light Of a stranger, visiting it for
the first time. and 50. naturally critical
! ana observing all the little defects. II
he should land at the p, B. and w
/ Railroad. his first impression would be
/ favorable. but as he leaves the station
and travels a short distance out Front
/ street we cannot. with justice say that
! he would be particularly impressed
with the beauty Of our city. Staring
| billboards on buildings. fences, posts
and every other available place, an.
nounce that a circus is coming, or some
/ other news lust as uninteresting To
/ be sure these naring pictures attract
the attention OF the children, and in
many instances. even of their elders
But on the other hand. would not the
children be far better off II their
Imagination and interests were directed
In another channel7 Turning away
from this spectacle the stranger notices
loose scraps Of PAPER littering the
/ street. and further on he comes TO lots
/ covered over with tin cans, ashpiles,
old shoes and every other imaginable
| kind Of refuse. II he were selecting
a home city, he would certainly not set
tie in one whose first Impressions were
! distasteful- Thus Wilmington would
lose a desirable citizen through her
carelessness in civic matters.
The question then arises. How shall
we get rid of these uns'ghtly and dis
/ graceful things which serve TO make
/ our city uncleanly? The beautifying
Of the city depends in a large measure
on the aid OF the individual If each
] one would do his or her share i'm .he
great crusade against ugliness, It would
not be long until we should have in
! deed a city beautiful. And yet, when
we contrast the conditions now. with
I some years ago, we feel that civic i'm
provement has shown itself in a mark
! ed degree. II we picture the neigh
borhood Of Tenth and Market streets,
as IL was a year or two ago. and COM
pare it with that locality to-day, where
stands the modern dupont building
and nearly completed Y. NJ c. A
/ building one win see a decided mani
festation Of civic Improvement Especi-
] ally will this part Of the city be inn
proved by the widening of Tenth street.
/ This movement was also shown dur
ing the past summer, when the grass
/ nlots, surrounding monuments on Dell
aware avenue were cared for and made
more beautiful by flowers and care
fully moved grass. Then what a de-
light is such an avenue lined with fine
old trees which afford not only shade,
hut add much TO the beauty Of the
street
Yet how few Of these rare old trees
are left. In many instances their
place has been unsurped by poles and
wires. The preservation OF trees should
be controlled by authority. just as the
paving Of streets is controlled. In many
instances the roots are exposed and cut
in order 10 place deep curbs. Yet the
life Of the tree could be saved by leav-
ing an omen space of about three or
fo'~ feet around the bose In some
cities, on narrow sidewalks, where so
much room cannot be spared, the space
! around the tree is filed with a wide
! squared iron grill work. which admits
air TO the roots OF the tree Where
the room can be spared it is beautify-
ing to the street 70 have the trees set
in narrow grass plot between the
curb and the sidewalk
Next, let us consider the factories
Of our city What is their influence
upon those who are employed in them?
We must acknowledge that in few Of
them II is for good. II they were To-
Gated on the outskirts instead of be-
ing In the heart of the city, as many
of them are, there would be great inn
provement not only IN the SURROUNDINGS
Of the buildings, for there they would
have room to improve the outside %
pearance, but also in the moral condi-
uons of the employees. for Il is an
established fact that people, no mat
ter from what class, are strongly in
huenced by environment If our fac
tories were surrounded by neat. WELL
kept grounds and some measures were