Putnam patriot., 1909-09-10
Widening Elm Street Needed Work.

A "Eeaufifu1 Chicago is The Out- cry Of that unaftractiye city. Its na- turaI situation l. well fitted to meet the demand, but much that man has done will have To be undone. The houses on both sides Of some of the streets will have t9 De torn down to carry out the plan New York had 10 tear down houses in tac same Way to widen streets to meet the needs ef business. Montreal was beanliiled 10 the same way. 50 maHy other cities that were started on tbe hapaazafd plan, a. Putnam was.
 Napoleon III. @ill be forever honor. e1 for the great work be did ,e beaBiify Paris. The streets through the heart of taat great city were naffow, crowded and filthy 4 Boulevard over 59 feet wide q. planned, and al owners were paid the fuii value Of their property, amounting 10 many millions, as the Boulevard extended several miles. Al ter the Boule, ard was finished it be. came the most popular thoronqhfare in the city, and the remainder of the property was sold for more than the entire cost.
 Elm street will be widened by com pulsion at some future day, if not now IL Is bound to be the great business cen ter. Most Of the dwellings now stand Ing will gradually give place to bus- ness blocks-as some are being already changed. There k no way of making another business center, and therefore IL was but wisdom 10 prepare now to avoid having to pay future unnecessa- " expense.
 IL is not needed to incur one dollar expense. All that k needed al present k 10 fix the building lines so that The street will be at least sixty feet-and the rest will take care Of itself. No new building should be allowed 10 ex- tend beyond the sixty-foot line. When a dwelling Is bought or burned down whatever replaces 1t shall not extend beyond the sixty-foot line.
 ft Is useless to talk about cutting down the trees along Elm street or changing the line of the sidewalks, or inenrring any other expense. To urge that being done right away will de- feat the main pufpose-the fixing the sixty foot beyond which no new build ing shall be put up. Putnam is not ready for widening the street at once. IL has other more urgent improve. menls to make. While Elm street Is growing more and more crowded, It Is not as efowde as the ordinary streets of Worcester or any other large city, nor will IL be fer twenty years 10 come unless the city attains Il population of al least 20,0oo before that time, which k not likely. Besides, business will continue to increase in other streets of the city also.
 Whenever il becomes essential for the needs of business and the eity's prosperity, there will be no question of the widening of that street at once, re gafdless of cost. The duty of citizens now is te have that cost as small as possible That duty Is to prevent any new buildings being put up inside of all established ziNly=feot line.
 Ii Is certain that if business tgoes on incfeasing'to any larger extent than at present., the new blocks will snpplant dwellings, and thus dimini, h future cost when the street must be .idened
 The fifst step ta be taken therefore is to fix the si&ly.toot line as the width of the street. and whenever the city sees Il necessary to oralef the work Of widening being dene-that eau follow in order, whether il be soon er twenty of more years henee.