The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1911-12-07

should adorn his home with flowers
and shrubs, keep his paths shoveled
and sanded when icy.''
Mrs. Underwood then took up diff
ferent cities in Europe, showing how
they are handling the problems of
city government, and while the con-
ditions are different in many re-
spects from this country, yet in a
good many directions we might get
ideas that would aid much in handl-
ing the questions that come to us
constantly. Germany is far In the
lead In many lines of Civic reform,
and Berlin was shown to be a model
city, noticeably in the care used in
cleaning the streets. In fact the
streets are not allowed to become
Uttered up, as given space is
assigned to each one to keep clean,
and no dirt can accumulate in Ber-
lin streets. Manchester, England,
and Glasgow, Scotland, were each
taken up, and the conditions there
outlined. The following quotation
will serve to illustrate both the idea
of municipal control, and the result
of operating the various utilities
under public management:
"Gas. electricity, water and trans
portation, the four great public
ought to be controlled by
every municipality in the interest of
the people. There are, of course,
many other avenues of municipal
ownership. but the four mentioned
are indispensable" said Alexander
of Glasgow, Scotland, where
they separate gas, and electricity en-
tirely into two municipal depart
ments. They compete with each other
exactly as do private companies,
and, when large surplus is accumu-
lated it is turned into the common
fund. Glasgow has assumed entire
control of the city gas work.. and
today has so cent gas for lighting,
and 4S cent gas for power-less than
half the price when the works were
under private control, which shows
that municipal ownership is the only
practical cooperative gas company
American cities are unsurpassed
in the beauty of their private resi-
dences: but the public places are
frequently refused strewn. badly
paved, characterless and neglected.
adornment of private buildings; the
communal property is the care of no
one. The citizen leaves his office
and rushes for his home or his club,
as if the time spent upon the street
or IN the public places of the city
were wasted. Yet the same in
dividual in Europe will drink with
the boulevardiers of Paris, patronize
the German street cafes, and enjoy
the shaded piazzas of Italian cities.
In Amsterdam he will stroll with the
natives along Kalverstrasse. In
Budapest he will frequent the Franz
Joseph Quan and the parks along
the Danube He vows he never
anything more, he is having
a vacation, it is true, but when
he wishes to rest or chat with his
friends here, does he ever think of
going to a street cafe or to a park ?
1t would seem that one-half the
business and three-fourths Of the
visiting of Europe are done In the
streets. boulevards or parks. APP
parently the home is principally a
place to sleep.
The reasons for this contrast are
many, but a very important factor
is the great difference in the beauty
of public places. In American cities
streets are principally means Of
communication purely utilitarian,
usually devoid of trees, ill-kept,
threaded by noisy street cars and
wagons-narrow can0ns between
lofty structures. The man who
would choose to sit here in prefer
ence to his home or a place of
amusement would be a queer In
dividual. There are a few small
parks, but other facilities for social
enjoyment out of doors are very
limited. Occasionally in small
city or town, one finds beautiful
boulevard, and as certainly he also
finds a we'll patronized promenade,
a genuine social center. But these
are exceptional.
When one realizes how completely
the whole aspect of town is de-
termined by the character of its
public places, it is surprising that
more consideration is not given to
their appearance. If the streets Of
country village are overgrowr
with weeds, the whole town has an
unprogressive appearance, no matter
how fine its school buildings or its
churches may be. A metropolitan
city may boast of q magnificent ar