The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-05-11

upward of two thousand teams an
hour-on but 32 feet of width. Wide
streets are fine but not when they are
unnecessarily divided into only
roadway and sidewalk. Thirty
feet of paved or macadamized road
way will accommodate much travel
and few residence streets need more
than that. Five feet of good side
walk is better than twelve of sloven-
ly bricks or stones. The remaining
space will put grass next to the
houses and grass next the street curb,
IL will also put GOODNESS into the
summer air and beauty into the town
when the open grass strip gives hos
pitality to the properly spaced and
properly chosen trees.
So the man or woman bitten of the
improvement bug can well work upon
others on the home street, to the end
that it shall be made as fine as Della
ware Avenue in Buffalo, East Avenue
in Rochester, 'and many streets in
many towns. Softly! The reduc
tion of street traffic surface saves cost
in paving and in sweeping and so it
commends itself many times to those
who care little at first for the beau
ty that is to come.
About the school there is much to
be done. Here young America is
educated Mark that The educa-
tion is inclusive, and it works i'm
| partially and quite effectively when
the teacher is an ugly building, a
| filthy outhouse, a barren school yard
a more barren school interior. True
| the school authorities do not direct
| ly pay for the instruction in bad
| health, bad civics and bad taste, but
| in instruction may be proceeding just
! the same.
See to it Improving American, that
| the teachings of the school are all
| good! Do not let the good bOOkwork
! obscure the bad eyework, so that you
| fail to have the whole school and its
surroundings an exhibit to civic
/ righteousness. Here are the boys
and girls who will be in control in
! half a generation or less. They can
do so much better for the town and
the country if we do a little better
for them!
think now of a city where a
great civic gospel was simply preach
ed through a good woman, who fore
ed the barriers of the school board,
To put before the honest acute open
minded children, be they natives or
foreign born, the vital facts of home
and community life, in a simple
phrase, fitted to their own environ
ment-isn't that splendid worh! Now
comes to mind Public School 20, in
Rochester, which | found one day to
be a true factory. and not a mere
book packery These boys and girls
really learned to live as Americans.
Has your home town one acre of
useful park or playground for every
hundred of its population? Is the
nearest playground so that any child
can get to it, without paying trolley
fare in not more than a half mile
walk? Do the parks have all manner
of Invitations to recreation and rest
in them, to win the weary workers
from sordid homes or hell outpost
saloons? Is there supervision and in
struction in play available?
Did you ever, Mrs. Improver, invite
visitor to your pleasant home and
ask him to arrive through the cellar
or barn yard? But your town invites
your visitors | suspect, to enter
through a railroad or trolley sur
roundings that would make youl
clean cellar a way of beauty in com
parison. Just think how it is will
those who pass through your com
munity. Do they see it's worst, or it:
best? Is the town inviting the pass
} er through to stop, rest and stay BY
, the stable, ware house, billboard AM
general trash conditions found abou
most railroad entrances?
So here's work to do, with credi
and profit as a reward. Get the worl
: started and it will go, and you viii
J find the railroad people usually ready
; to respond to suggestions. You
may need to talk to some factory peo
pie about their surroundings too
Tell them from me, if you care to
: that / find prosperity to always attend
attention to factory surroundings
! 4