The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-04
CIVIC BEAUTY IS
 GOOD INVESTMENT

Frederick c. Howe in the December Hampton's Magazine. explains why Ger uan cities are so much more beautiful than American cities. He takes the case of Dusseldorf as an example
 Dusseldorf has been planned by ex- pert architects and landscape gardeners who make a profession of city planning Nothing has been left to chance. The individual property owner is no more permitted to spoil the harmony of the whole than an incompetent workman would be permitted to wreck an evpen- sive machine.
 Streets. squares. parks. gardens, play grounds. all have their place in the scheme of the city architect, while in the designing of private and public work. open spaces and street corners, lamp posts and street signs, the skill of the artist has been joined with that of the builder and the engineer. Everything IS orderly symmetrical and beautiful In America, a man may do as he wills with his land He may erect dirty factory in the midst of residence dis trict. Me may put up a 2o-story sky scraper or a miserable tax earner. He may lay out mean and narrow streets and use the section for anything that suits his fancy. And the law protects | him in his lawlessness.
 Dusseldorf is planned in detail for | 50 years to come" says MT. Howe. Upon the maps in the city hall one can see the location of future streets, boule- wards, parks, open spaces. sites for pub lie buildings and school houses, all To- cated in anticipation of the city's growth. The streets are wide and spacious; large amount of land is dedicated to public use.
 Certain sections of the city are set l aside for mills and factories. while neighboring property is reserved for workingmens dwellings. In other sec tions the land is devoted to villas or ev- pensve apartments. Everywhere, even in the heart of the city, the height of buildings is limited, usually to the width of the street The area which may DO built upon is also fixed and must not ex- ceed from three-fifth to three-fourths O. the lot area Thus, neither the slum nor the tenement can reappaer as in the older sections of the city.
 ''The city says to the factory owner
 You must build your mills in the out skirts, and so located that the prevailing winds will carry the smoke away from the city. And wherever you build you
 
 smoke, dirt and noise You must pro- vide your factories with baths so that your employees can keep themselves clean. Your buildings must also be equipped with the latest and best safety appliances
 Tar from injurng the land owner, these regulations protect him; they in- crease the value of his property and safeguard him from the get-rich-quicll speculator, who divides his property in to cheap lots and paves and sewers his streets with worthless material, which in g few years time must be rebuilt by the city At the same time the gardens, open spaces and playgrounds add to the value of the land and yield a return to the owner as well as to the community. From every point of view municipal beauty is one of the best of city invest ments. It not only increases the value of reighboring lard. but lures population to the city as place of residence.
 Dusseldorf has developed system of municipal harbors and docks that are marvels of convenience. The cost of the improvement was $4,500000.i In ten years time this investment has increased tho river trade by 300 per cent. whilt 'ths cost of the harbor is being paid bl