Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1909-04-25
MAN RUNS TAXLFSS TOWN
|ty Without Cover nment, Graft or Politics. bger Fixes Front G ates and Chases Off Preda- Dogs-Established by Early Merchant Prince
 |rovide Homes for Employees it has Become Fav-
 Residence Place of Wealthy and Fashionable
 Hstery of Founders Remains

.-.'fs ;ssfa ssi;s1 II complaints lodged in this way have any foundation they are acted upon without any delay or discussion. From it's very foundation the town mas been unique among American communities. It was established by 1 Alexander T. Stewart, the first man to whom the long-abused title of fmerchant prince was applied. Stew art intended it to provide homes for the thousands of employees of his great retail store and his other enter prlses. His idea was to have houses at varying rentals, all moderate for every class of workers in his estab- lishment from the heads of depart pents down to foor-walkers and hum- ! town with the a;d of the best lang scape architects, allotted to each house a yard space which anywhere, 1 else would have been regarded as enormous, planted trees and in many other ways made the locality attrac- tive. With his death, however, the personal enthusiasm being gone and the business of the great merchant ;, passing into other hands, the town without a government lost it's pris- ] tine character. Instead of becoming a community of department store en- i ployes it soon began to find favor with the wealthy and fashionable who sought homes on Long Island and to whom it's aristocratic restrictions ap- pealed.
 i In spite of the changes that have occurred in the character of the place. it still retains the Stewart imprint, notably ill some of it's famous insti- tutions and in the method of which it's affairs are administered. The St. Paul's school for boys and the St. ] Mary's school for girls were both founded and endowed by Mr. Stewards widow. More famous still is the great Garden City Cathedral. in which centers one of the strangest myster- ies of modern times. In it's crypt the body of Stewart was inferred and from it his remains were stolen more than thirty years ago by persons who demanded ransom from Mrs. Stew art for their return. Whether the return was ever made is still nlys- tery. Some persons say that the body now lies in the Cathedral; others, that it does not.
 As part of the great estate which Stewart left, Garden City has been developed and operated solely through the medium of manager He attends to everything and is responsible for everything and whether he is Re publican, Democrat or Socialist, no- body cares. With few exceptions the buildings in the town belong to this single estate. Occasionally house or a piece of land is sold. but the great majority of it's residents are simply lessees.
 This condition of affairs is only an amplificatiOn of the relation between the landlord and the single tenant, but when the idea is applied to whole town it's operation becomes 'fmore interesting As a result per sons who live in Garden City are re- lieyed from many of the troubles (which affect the residents of other Iplaces..s For instance there are no }taxxesss,t;' The manager likewise, be- cause of the fact that the animatns spirit is cooperative and not political is able to do much to make the place attractive. One of the finest hotels ill the country, named af- ter the town itself. is owned and leased under the supervision ot the estate. and every attraction for out door and indoor entertainment, ln- cluding tennis courts, casino and one of the best known American golf courses, have been made posslDie without extra expense to residents through this anonymous form or government.
 There is no red tape in the admin istration of affairs in Garden City II a residents front gate gets off it's hinges or the kitchen plumbing goes wrong, he simply telephones the man ager who has it attended to- The re re quests that come to the towns basi-