The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1917-03-10
The City Beautiful.

dispensible if a town is to be made
attractive and kept so. 1t makes
no difference how neat and order
ly the citizens may be about theil
premises or the merchants about
their business houses, there are
bound to be a thousand and one
things that need the attention OF
special organization created fol
the purpose.
There never was a truer axiom
coined than "What's everybody's
business is nobody's business. -
This applies most forcibly to
many things that tend largely to
make Or mar the looks of town.
Now that the warm weather is
coming on, the labors of the city
beautifiers will be in great de-
mand. Just now, after the raw
ages of the winters inclemencies,
nature presents her most depress-
ing aspect, and much attention
will be required if she is to re-
clothe the face of the earth in her
original garments of beauty. Un-
slightly washes and gullies, filled
up bitches and drains, accumula-
tions of weeds and trash and
leaves and twigs aae to be re-
moved, and nature given her fair
chance to do her best.
1t is in this capacity that the
order-loving women of the town
show to advantage. Women al
ways have a keener eye for
beauty and harmony than men.
They are more given to neatness
and ordiliness than men. Start
out committee of energetic wo-
men to supervise the cleaning up
and beautifying of a town and
they will find nuisances and un-
slightly places of which the men
had never thought.
Just here we would like to of
fer suggestion in connection with
beautifying the town.
The problem of the vacant lot
has always been the hardest one
for the town beautifers to solve.
The average owner pays little at
tention to it, hence it invariably
presents a neglected and desolate
appearance. Now this season is
going to see demand for every
dollars worth of food products
that this country can produce,
and these vacant lots should.
wherever possible, be turned to
account to swell the output. Any
kind of growing crop - corn, po-
tatoes, vegetables - are far pre-
ferable to a coat of a weeds.
When this is done, turn atten
ton to the neglected back yard.
You'll find many of them that now
are refuse dumps, but that can
be made places of beauty and use
fulness.
Most towns are like some peo-
pie. They will keep the main
streets and buildings presentable,
but the more obscure places and
the back streets are neglected and
permitted to fall into decay.
Taken to task in the matter, the
authorities often reply that stran-
gers and visitors never see these
places, anyway, SO it doesn't mat
ter. No, but WE see them, which
is worse. Strangers might 60
away and forget them, which is
liable to breed neglect and disor-
der in ourselves. A man with
sore toe may know that it is hid.
den from the public, but HE new
er forgets that it is there.
Always bear this in mind: The
town will be beautiful or the re-
verse, fsjust in proportion as its
people are lovers of beauty and
order, or the reverse, A beauti-
full and well-kept home, with a
foul back lot or alley in the rear
and neglected street in front, is
a standing reproach to its owner.
He should have sufficient pride to
see that his surroundings harmon
ize with his possessions.
It's time to get busy in this town.
The anti-Vardaman papers say
the Senator was only seeking no.