Oxford Democrat., 1910-04-19
Civic Bet,erment That is Not Costly.

(From Professor L. j. Sprsgue's paper, maine 3
Centennial" before the State Board of Trade)
The French people are building the
most beautiful homes in the world, and
the public spirit which leads Individuals
to desire and erect such artistic struc-
lures for themselves, is stimulated by
public exhibitions of architecture and
the study of the same in the schools.
We Americans often build largely and
richly, but not beautifully, and We have
a great opportunity for an educational
campaign for better domestic architec-
ture.
We should be especially carefully
about the architecture of summer cot
tages of the cheap kind. A prettily
formed cottage usually may not cost
more than a shack or commonplace
house type Some very fine American
scenery has been greatly injured by
badly formed cottages, and local assets
have been thereby reduced.
The wonderful scenery along the
Penobscot River has been injured by
the erection of sheds and barnlike
structures which are no cheaper and
which serve their purposes no better
than pretty cottages would. The Penob
scot scenery is an asset of Eastern Maine,
but it is an asset that can be greatly in
iured or much improved by the care
lessness or the arts of man. A man has
no more moral right to injure general
scenery by the erection of a shack be
cause he owns piece of the shore line
Could we not encourage through
Penobscot Valley Improvement Associa
ton the more careful treatment OF th'
river bank, and populsrize good types o.
cottage architecture? And what is sale
about this locality would apply to Others
in the state also.
If we are going to sport for our owl
sakeS or play the summer girl to eastern
America, we must buy our finery at the
best shops, homespun will not do.
The beautifying of the country high
ways, roadsides and bridge approaches
by systematic treatment with spruces
cedars and other trees, is easy and effect
i've. No country has more beautiful ma
terials at hand than Maine, and if th'
oranges and other civic bodies wOulC
take up the matter, great improvement
are easily possible.
Many country homestead could b'
much improved in appearance by thu
grouping of few evergreens aud the
planting OF hardy shrubs aud vines which
cost little and which often adds to th'
money value of the property.
1t is a pity to see SO many farm houses
standing bare, gaunt and uninviting IL
the winters snow, when they nigh
have a setting of warm protecting ever
greens in winter, and masses of luxurian
colors in the summer.
We need whole campaign for thu
improvement of railway stations alone
through the rural districts, so many o.
them are absolutely devoid of any points
of beauty either in architecture or en-
vironment, and about many of them II
plenty of room for Improvements IN th'
form of trees, shrubs and vines.
Many of our city parks and village
streets are allowed to go bleak and cold
fSr seven months of the year when they
might be made picturesque, warm ant
full of color, il treated with evergreens
Our winter scenery needs this color ant
with it the effect is unequaled anywhere
in the land. Hundreds of Maine towns
with a little effort could be made places
of characteristic beauty which woulC
add to their attraction as dwelling places
and to the happiness of the people. Some
of our towns are situated for remarkable
effects and might considerably increase
the property value by systematic cam
paign of decoration with trees anC
shrubs.
Let every village organize its force'
for cleaning up the street, removal o.
wood piles, manure heaps, old fences
and dilspidated buildings, plant {
thousand cedars and as many spruces
mass hydrangeas and other shrubs In
the waste places, and take series Of
pictures through the years to show the
Improvement in 1920.
Then we might have some central ol
distinct organization to award the
medals for the towns accomplishing tht
most within the decade. The mos
beautiful town with which / am &C
quainte5 in America, as far as the efforts
of its citizens could make it so, organic
ed street and block associations for the
improvement of the city, offered prizes
for the most improved street OF block
and incidentally increased the property
values and made the city famous for its
beauty and advantages.
These thugs do not cost money, they
take little effort and CO operation.