Evening star., 1918-06-22

Washington. D. c., Is one OF the
few cases Of a great city that was
definitely located and planned In
advance by mans conscious action.
Petrograd. Gary. Letchworth (Eng).
and the new capital Of Australia are
the other cases.
But in America many little towns
of 1000 to 5000 population are being
established every year by action of
ton of new plants. They are learning
how to copy the English garden
suburbs and make their industrial
villages beautiful and healthy.
Next they must learn the stirring
economic possibilities that lie within
their power when they find them
selves able to pick out stretch Of
cheap vacant land and say: Here
there shall arise populous town of
well paid workmen.''
Land at Tidewater Cheap.
Plenty of suitable land alongside
railroads or tidewater can be bought
for 5000 an acre. and when the streets,
sewers and water are provided the
cost need not exceed 5000 a lot. Good
planning will keep down the amount
of grading and paving, and a compact
development will avoid the necessity
OF carrying pipes and wires past
empty lots
Now. 5000 lot equals about $50 per
capita. But the normal per capita
land value of such towns within range
OF good industrial jobs is in the neigh
borhood of $500 per capita. And when
the new industry is duly established
and population has arrived, that Is the
figure which a full-value tax assess
ment is likely to show. based on
actual market sales.
The $3.50 per capita difference be-
escapes into the hands Of miscellane-
Gus private owners when the corpora
tion sells OF the houses and lots at
cost under the common method.
The ideal way is, roughly, as fol-
lows:
Select a tract apart from any exist
ing town and buy enough land to give
your projected village a broad pro-
tective belt Of your own land. Then
your action in bringing an influx of
population to that area will not con-
fer a windfall Of rising land value
upon the downtown business 'front.'
ages Of a neighboring town. nor en-
rich lot Of undeserving nearby land
owners on your borders. The incre-
ment will be all your own.
Keep Money in Town.
Plan your town SO as to discourage
the movement of the people into out
side uncontrolled areas for purposes
of buying supplies. SO that the man
who wants your peoples trade must
establish his store on your land and
come with his family and clerks to
live in your town. Make 1t, in other
words, self-contained and self-suf-
flcient town by every legitimate de-
vice! II possible, make shopping at
tractive by the provision of a good
store center. lights, arcades. etc. so
as to draw trade from the neighl or
ing villages and farms. Your COM
mercial values will be your velvet"
and you can make your Main street
frontages worth $500 a front foot.
Encourage and facilitate the COM
ing Of other industries.
Don't sell a foot of land except to
churches and, IL necessary, to fac
tories. Lease the land with or with
out buildings and make the leases as
short as possible SO that as the town
grows and land becomes still more
valuable. you can readjust the rentals
Residential streets will not alter
much in value even II the town grows
large, and land leases of fifteen or
twenty years are permissible. But
your business frontages must be on