Manchester Democrat., 1910-08-24

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And then the fire chief came In with
a grievance. and the head Of the de-
partment of water, gas and electricity
and other officials. So the whole day
passed, and SO does the whole year
pass for the mayor of Skyscraper
City.
IA strange sort of place indeed, this
city" you will say. where is it?"
skyscraper City, to enlighten you, is
ubiquitous community located in
every part Of the Uiited States where
land has become SO valuable that, In
stead of capitalists building over
large area. they build In a limited
space. and straight toward the clouds.
In plain words. It is none other than
the great modern skyscraper. with its
population as great. In many cases. as
that of a third class municipality.
"But the mayor" you will say. .'Who
ever heard Of mayor Of build1ng?"
Yes. the mayor. You have heard
of superintendent of building, and
II the superintendent of skyscraper
housing from flve to twelve thousand
people has not as much right to the
title of mayor as the chief executive
of a community of, say one thousand.
spread along a couple of streets,
where the city limits are marked out
by fence rails and stone walls, then
the United States is not q democratic
country.
Building operations can't go on with
the spirit Of emulation that now holds
between contractors without the Sky.
scraper City of few years hence
being in sore need Of a real munci-
pal administration, with mayor, al
dermen and all the other public serv-
ants that make annual elections nee.
essary. 1t has them all now under
different names.
There are, for instance, the men,
bers Of the health department. which
sanitary body consists of corps Of
able bodied women, equipped with
mops and pals and compelling voices.
4A0I OOlPb Vi WOluSA dlOAc 10 buul.
cient to suggest an analogy between
i Skyscraper City and representa-
tive American municipality, and should
give the former lasting right to the
name Of thriving city.
Policemen on Patrol.
Then there are the members Of the
police department, whose main duty
In the suppression of criminality Is to
see that no one walks OF with any
rart of the building or its contents.
These are the watchnien, who patrol
continuously night and day. and the
main differences between them and the
police Of your recognized city are that
they are paid less and are, perhaps.
1 not subject to periodical, charges Oi
graft. Nor do they have toNparade for
| composed Of the electricians and az.
who stand out in the sun, dofing
their hats and smiling approvingly, the
while patting each other on the back
In appreciation of the department they
have developed.
What more heroic and picturesque
body is there than the fire depart.
ment. with its red shirted or blue.
shirted. or any other. color shirted,
men, ready and eager to grapple with
flames or anything else. under any
conditions and at every moment? In
Skyscraper City the fire department
consists of an efficient band Of men az
1 we'll trained as the firemen of large
municipality and equipped with all the
latest devices for combating flames.
And there is the department ot
water, gas and electricity, the latter
composed of the electricians and as
sistants in the engine room. These
large buildings do not depend upon
outside sources for their electricity
They have thoroughly equipped plants
for manufacturing their own. AS far
as the water department is concern
ed, one New York skyscraper has q
pumping station that is capable Of
supplying sufficient water to furnish
city of 350.000 people.
Now here is where the similarity
between the skyscraper and the recog
nized city is made strongly apparent
Skyscraper City often has within Its
boundaries establishments which can
supply every need Of hungry. thirsty
dirty. naked citizen.
No need to die of starvation were
you to be confined for life in Sky.
scraper City while Its restaurants are
able to get dinner together. It's cafe
would Danish all fear of longing for
something to render the throat and
stomach more comfortable without
hope ofreceiving 1t. Its haberdashery
and tailor could clothe you in the lat
est fashion; Its shoe store would at
tend to the task Of keeping your feet
well shod. Its baths would be ever
ready to open their arms to you. Your
every want for things procurable only
in confectioner's shop would be flll
ed. while you would merely have tc
go downstairs should you feel that
your happiness might be enhanced by
fragrant cigar. The fruit stand is
on the main floor, left.