St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1913-07-30

cans everybody who could went
west, and it was west then, rather
than westerly. The pioneers swept
over the borders of New England,
intent upon conQuering the remote
wildernesses. This has kept New
England drained of much of its
young vigor during all the years
since until almost the present.
New England and even to return
to it. Men whose grandfathers liv-
ed there are coming home. Young
men are beginning life there more
plentifully and more readily.
New England shows the results
of this renaissance in her blood. 1t
is today. in many vital respects,
the most progressive section of the
country, and the section Offering
the best opportunities for enter
prise. 1t is true, though seeming
ly strangely untrue, that in New
England today there is the best
agricultural opportunity the coun-
try affords. 1t is true that in New
England there are the most strik-
ing and alluring examples of agri-
cultural successes. There is moth
ing in the reports of rewards for
intelligent working of the land
from any section to excel those
from New England. All of the tales
from the apple sections of the
middle and northwest, alluring
as they are made by the boomers"
of those sections, can be more than
matched from the performances of
New England. Corn and wheat,
those great staples of the west,
land more proftably than in the
states noted for their culture.
A few weeks ago 1 went all about
the suburbs of one of the most
thriving and delightful of New
England cities, the city of Worces-
ter A few months previous to
that l had been through the west
and southwest, notably Texas, and
had seen all of the thriving cities
there. Many of them are in the
same class with Worcester. While
these Texan cities are indeed won
derful, they have much to learn
from this New England city, and
from many other New England
cities. This city of Worcester has
been growing at a marvellous rate.
Within the past few years it has
overrun much territory. Its
farms of twenty years ago are
now covered with beautiful homes.
Within five wears it has taken in
many square miles of farms and
made lovely and populous suburbs
of them. Its factories have doubled
and quadrupled. It's banks have
become swollen with surpluses. 1t
has expanded, and thickened, and
gone skyward with big Office build
ings.
The point is that if there had
been such growth in any western
city as has been going on in Wor-
cester of late there would have
been such trumpetings as would
have made the name of that city
ring in the ears of every reader of
gone it's swift and building way al
most in silence. Its growth has
been one of the marvels and mir
acles of American growth, but to
know ABOUT it one has to go there
and ferret it out.
But Worcester is no. the single
example of wonderful growth
among New England cities. There
are many others with records COM
paratively as significant and ex-
Springfield, Pittsfield,
birmingham, New
Bedford, Fall River, not to mention
Boston and the metropolitan zone
it, all present excellent
texts for whoever wishes to eXalt
New England; and there are many
towns that have made a
great record for enterprising
growth. l am minded to mention
one, and there are many almost as
deserving.
The lovely town of Littleton, New
Hampshire, has record for enter
prising growth that would make
many a western city green with en-
Wy if it were generally known. With
in less than 20 years-mostly within
half that time-it has been trans
formed from about the most unprom-
Using hamlet into one of the most
towns il the country.
The motive has been the energy
and perseverance of its citizens
of one citizen in particular. When
I was in Houston, Texas, last sum-
mer, 1 asked one of the leading cit
liens what had happened to trans
form the sleepy town of ten years
city of today. "Oh," said he, 1--WE |
er and make a real city. That's all. |
We got together and said we'd put |
it over; and we did" 1t was so
with Littleton. The muddy streets |
were abolished, there were side
walks, a fire department, new town |
building. etc. Then there were fac |
tories. and many new citizens, and |
general prosperity. The people just |
got together and dill things. New |
it is a model town without one |
shabby house in it, with many fac |
tories and industries, with fine |
streets, beautiful homes, big parks, |
and just reeking with public spirit |
and the determination to do things. |
There are many towns as fine as
this one, and as enterprising, and |
growing as rapidly; though none |
that I know of that has gone as far |
in community socialism, and carried |
it off so successfully. But it is Lot /
in the towns that we look for the