The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-05-17

ucts, particularly flour ana tobacco,
we're well known throughout South
America. This was when New York
was a small town and Chicago I'M
heard Of There is every reason why
Richmond should resume this pre-
eminence. With q free public libra
ry the business man would have all
the sources of information to post
himself regarding this great foreign
trade. The enterprise OF merchants
alone is not sufficient, where the COM
| munity Is seeking such foreign trade.
knowledge Is just as important. Our
merchants must know what these for
| eign consumers want, in what quanti-
/ ties and how 1t can be made most at
| tractive. All These questions. the
| sound solution Of which means sue
| cess. can only be obtained through a
| study Of the books and consular re-
ports which supply us with informa.
ton regarding the trade needs. wants
and even prejudices of these foreign
communities.
| WHY JETER MEMORIAL
SHOULD BE PURCHASED
l. 1t Ia not claimed that the Jeter
| Memorial hall is an ideal place. But
| it is asserted without fear OF contra
dtction that. by its acquisition alone,
| can we obtain at once and open i'm
mediately a free public library. No
other building can be acquired which
will Immediately serve the purpose OF
such an institution.
2 The city would acquire valuable
/ real estate. which it could dispose OF
1 without loss in case the library should
be abandoned, and provided IL did
not care to retain the ground as a
| park. city playground. or for other
purposes. The city would acquire
without cost a well-constructed libra
| ry building large enough to be used
| for some years as a central circulat-
/ ing library. AS long as this should
be used as a central library. branch
| Libraries would he established In va
! rious parts Of the city The Jeter
| building will only be used as a cen
trail library until the proposed NUM-
cipal building can be erected on the
old Ford hotel lot. which will hardly
| be done under five years
g. In reply to those who insist that
the public library should be in the
neighborhood of the city hall. 1t Is
a sufficient answer that such
scheme would require, first. the pur-
chase OF the lot and then the erec-
ton of library building in keeping
! with the magnificent group Of build
| ings which the city and state have
]
makes such a scheme impracticable
and impossible of realization at this
| time. The lot and building would
i cost anywhere from $500 900 to half
a million dollars, and would require
a large annual maintenance fund. III
! such scheme is ever to be realized
1t must he in the dim future. In the
| meanwhile, Ii should not interfere
| with the only practical scheme FOR
/ y,1I 4 IN
free public library When the city
is ready to carry out the more expen-
sive scheme tsay FIVE years hencel
our people will have had the use OF
the letter Memorial hall during that
time. and. when a handsome library
I has been built near our present cry
hall. the college building can be turn
ed into a West End branch. In other
words. the talk OF more central Il
brary in the neighborhood Of Bror d
| and Eleventh streets is and must be
talk. considering the present finances
of the city and our future material
needs. What our people want Is not
talk. but a library. We have BEEN
| talking for ten years. An opportunity
| Is now presented OF putting in opera
ton at once free public library svs
tenn for Richmond. a rejection Of
this plan means indefinite postpone
| ment since no other definite scheme
IL presented, though we have great
! deal of loose talk about more cen
| trail library location,
a. The objection that is most urged
against the letter Memorial hall is
that it Is too far west The same
objection was urged TO the erection
| of General Lees statue and yet there
are now 10000 people in the neigh
borhoul OF that statue The Jet"r
Memorial hall will be nearly the cen
ter OF the city when We have taken
| in the new territory We are now
seeking to annex. Certainly this OBJ
| lection will grow less and less every
year, since the natural growth OF the
city la westward. 1t will be but a
short while before the most popular
depot will be placed half mile fur
Their west than this college building.
S. Nor does the location OF tho
main building count so much in the
1 establishment OF a modern public H.
/ brary. Wherever you put 1t. you
/ would have to have three or four
! jackson ward to meet the constitu-
| tional requirement Of equal rights
! for our colored citizens. another
! branch in South Richmond, and a
/ third branch in Fulton or on Church
| Hill. Still other branches might be
| suggested We repeat. wherever you
put this library. these branches will
have to be established.
g. Thus the frst branch to be es-
| tabliahed should be In the neighbor-
| hood Of the City hall. That is the
student center Of the city. whAre Is
grouped the Medical college. the Me-
chanics' institute and the John Mar
shall High school. This branch can
be put in the old high school build
ing. now used as an administrative
building. There you would not only
have the books. which could be got
ten from the main library housed in
the college building, but you could
have the present John Marshall High
school library put there and combine
1t with the Rosemary library. which
has we'll selected volumes, numbering
between FIVE and six thousand. In
this way you would start with a small
but efficient library In the present
center OF the city.
The other branches would be sup
piled from the main library and 1t
would not be necessary for citizens
in order to get their books, to 80 TO
the main library. All one would have
to do would be to leave his order at
tho hro NhrArv and caIl for hts