The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-25
Utopian Plans of New Yorker
 Are Made Public
IDEA IS MOST UNIQUE
Edgar ChambIess Is the Originator of the Plan and New York Commits sion VIII Soon Give Him
 Hearing

New York, October 4.-(Special.) )-Be- fore the end of this week the New York city commission on congestion of popu- lation, recently appointed by the mayor pursuant to a resolution of the board of aldermen, will hold special session to consider the merits of a plan invented by Edgar Chambless of this city for the or ganization of production, transportation and consumption which MT. Chambless has named "Roadtown."
 Roadtown, in word is plan to build a city every part of which shall be in the country, and which shall still retain all
 the advantages of city life. The future
 Roadtown has been described as "the
 noiseless, dustless, smokeless, gernlless,
 streetless, horseless, trustless, graftless city,
 The appointment for a hearing by the New York city commission is the first recognition by any official body of MT.
 Chambless' remarkable plan which
 already has secured recognition, however, from some of the most eminent authori-
 ties in this country
 Thomas A Edison thinks so well of
 Roadtown that he has offered it the free
 use of his patents for building cement
 houses by the use of moulds. Favorable Impression
 MT. Boyes, inventor of the Boyes Mono rail Traction system, is so favorably i'm pressed with the Roadtown plan that he has offered 1t free use of all his traction patents.
 The United Electric Light and Power company became so interested in MT
 Chambless' scheme that it requested him to place picture of Roadtown and de-
 scription of its plans in its booth at the electrical show at Madison Square Gar den.
 | Pictures of Roadtown are displayed 1T
 over 50 of the most prominent show win
 dows in New York city, and crowds daily
 gather on the sidewalks before these win
 dows, studying the novel scheme. MT. Dana w. Bartlett of Los Angeles
 representing the Municipal Reference
 Bureau of the Los Angeles 1915 Move.
 ment, has written and asked MT. Cham. l bless to make an exhibit of his Roadtowr 1 plans at the first Southwest City Planning
 conference. to be held in Los Angeles | next month.
 Plans to Be Boosted | At the hearing to be held this week before the New York city commission MT. Chambless' plans will be advocated | by the Rev. Dr. John Haynes Holmes who succeeded the Rev. Lyman Abbott
 as pastor of the Church of the Messiah I Heretofore the tendency of city building | operations has been upward The evolu | tion of the skyscraper was brought abou | by the necessity for more office spac,
 within limited area, and the birth oi | the tenement is due to the congestet population incident to the close grouping 1 of the oity's enormous industries. | Chambless would revert building op I erations from the vertical to the horizon | tai
 1 His invention calls for the building oi
 concrete buildings in rows out over the | country, mile upon mile, with means oi transportation running through eacf l house, instead of outside 1t, cOupline housing and transportation in one mech
 anism and utilizing the tops of the houses
 as a boulevard. Roadtown will thus em | body all the advantages of the moderr 1 skyscraping apartment hotel with a hous, | in the country.
 Immense saving both of labor and
 money will be made possible by moderr 1 improvements and the cooperation tha
 can be effected by the peculiar construc I ton of the new town.
 l Rcfrigerating Plants 1 Refrigerating plants, placed every few
 miles, will cool the water and keep fooC 1 sweet and wholesome. Drinking water
 can be obtained by tapping any of tht | numerous rivers Roadtown will cross
 Express trains averaging 90 miles ar | hour will take the Roadtownist to hi
 destination. His apartment will be heat | ed by hot water circulation from heat
 ing plant by means of pumps. The hea
 can be regulated by pressing button Pneumatic tubes will carry scraps from l the kitchen to a common crematory. Tel | ephone. electric light, baths-in short, al the luxuries of the pampered city dwell er-will be combined with the manifold
 advantages to be derived from life in thu | open country.
 l Chambless has sought the advice O | the best consulting engineers in the coun l try and has obtained estimates showing | that the plan Is practicable In every sens l of the word. One mile of RoadtowI would cost the owner of each hous | s22 76 a month for upkeep. This include
 his heat, light. telephone, vacuum clear er water, gas for cooking, laundry an, | transportation. The cost for construct | ing a mile of Roadtown is estimated a
 s31o9 per house fully equipped. | -------s.------- 1 Home Rule Is Gaining