Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-12-21
Romance in City Planning
John E. Lathrop
Address Before Omaha Rotary Club.

| Omaha should not permit that kind OF develop,
| ment which centers solely around the commercial
| and economic considerations. These, although
| important and the basis OF true city planning,
are merely means towards an end and that end
is cultural and spiritual existence on level as
high as it is possible to attain. My observation
is that Omaha is not doing as much as it might to
preserve the priceless traditions and marks OF
historic interest which invest this brilliant young
city with a national interest.
Lately | was a guest in New Haven, Conn,
and in Boston, and in Newark, N. J. These
proudly boast heritage of from $50 to 400 years
years since the early beginning OF their activity.
They are prone to scorne you of the west, and yet
you may point back nearly 400 years to Coronado,
the Spaniard, who came up from Mexico to look
over these lands. Then $50 years ago came Pere
Marquette down from Canada-way, to be fol-
lowed little more than 100 years ago by the
intrepid explorers. Lewis and Clark, sent out by
Jefferson, to make appraisal of what became the
Louisiana Purchase from France, OF that which
is now, in whole in part fourteen of our states
The records OF these events so far in the past
thrilling in their interest, must yet give way to
that matchless romance which began when
Omaha had its birth--born of that conception
which brought forth also the first transcontinental
railway. What period! Westward the star of
empire was indeed taking its way. Hither had
come the earlier scouts, but now here were those
brave men and women who, turning their faces
toward west, saw the dangers, inc tIldiS, tHc
tolls and the hardshps Of conquering this great
western "Wednesday them not with the quiv-
ering of fear hesitation, but with flashing eye
and dauntess breast, laughed in the face Of peril
and dared to do and live for the spread of civii-
cation onward to the sea.
II was only about fifty years ago when this
romance began. Beyond were trackless plains,
scrried mountains. riches OF gold and silver and
other minerals; and, greater than all this wealth,
was to be wealth Of the rolling lands-a granary
and pasture of the nation and of the world. Why
should you not preserve in systematic way, in
a planned way, the facts and marks of all this
marvellous romance Of the past'
| found sprng--listen, the fountain of eter-
nal youth, sought by the Mandon Indians-but
found it with difficulty as though you desired
to hide it from the prying eyes of strangers.
Who has not heard Of that Florida fountain of
eternal youth, voyaging to find which Ponce de
Leon crossed an ocean? And yet what less Of
romance, or, is it not more fascinating romance
that the untutored savage went upon such a
quest, thinking to find it here where Omaha
stands? Why do you not make known to the
world, why do you not make easy OF access this
center of poetic interest, and at the same time
preserve for your young people certain meas
ure OF its historic value? For always in every land
there is twilight zone between tradition and
the proven record.
The days Of Buffalo Bill the hurrying hither
of the engineers and graders the provisioning of
wagon trains, the beginning here of city-the
gateway, not gateway-of the real west! Why
arc you not developing local literary colony to
embed in novel, poem and historic volume this
story OF empire conquest than which none more
brilliant or thrilling was achieved? The
knights went in armor-clad to the holy land, and
literature is rich in the telling of the story. The
Jews made that unrivaled trek from Egypt back
to their beloved Patria, and the greatest book Of
all devotes large part to relating us the tale
And yet these movements were puny little
things compared with Omahas romance, its WOO
ing Of the great west Lincoln. the great Lin
coin, saw the inner meaning of II all, and came
here within sight OF Omaha that he might per-
sonaly have a hand in pushing onward the
progress of this brilliant story--a billion acres of
land with every climate known to man and every
variety Of natural resource which God ever gave
| to humankind, stretching onward across these
vast plains over mountain range down into a
table land, across another mountain range to
where rolls the Oregon, and then on to listen to
the waves Of the sunny Pacific lap the shores Of
our occidental states.
You sordid souls, il there be any such in
Omaha, II you want to coin romance into dollars,
urge on this work OF collating and systematizng,
making distinct these priceless values Of the past.
speak not for city planning that proposes
nodernity at the expense of tradition, but rather
| for city planning that would preserve intact
and emphasize these stories of the old day, these
| marks Of the intrepidties OF men and women who
came here to found an Omaha, the gateway Of
| the west.
| Omaha was laid out in its central area in .
way to express the large, fine nature of those
pioneers wish you had always emulated them;
but one is forced to say you did it not Later
came, as always come, some sma-souled selfish
men who sought to extract to the last dollar what
| they could from additions to Omaha from year
to year, and then, too. there were those who, not
| from selhshness, but from ignorance, made un-
scientific and unsocial engagements of the city
Until, as you study the map OF Omaha, you find
a hodge -podge, a helter-skelter, a sort OF Topsy
| town that lest growed' without plan, and with.
out harmony, and was therefore uneconomc, and
unsocial and wasteful and unbeautiful And SC
today we are attempting to correct these error.
| where we can and see to it that in the futufe al
new parts Of Omaha shall grow as they should
| grow.
| Finally, you cannot have a real city, strons
city, healthful city, an economic city, happy
city. clean city, city politically triumphant o.
democracy, city OF progress city Of industrial
efficiency, city Of commercial power-you can
not have this kind of city if you neglect t.
provide clean and healthful play and need O
this rich, historic wealth to those who come after
| ~