Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-05-17
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

attention to the faults of the city and emphasize them in a way,
perhaps, that is not altogether pleasing to those of Us who live here
Any criticism or faultfinding, however, should be taken with
good grace, if made without any Interior motives, for it is only by
having our faults thus pointed out to us that we learn and improve
If we are wise we will give more serious consideration to the
"knocks'' than to the words of fatery, for it is by being reminded
of our imperfections that we III able to correct the evils that exist
and which may escape our notice because of being so used to them.
"a person with a bad name is already half hanged, saith the
old proverb. A city with q bad name, no matter how undeserving
that name may be, is in a difficult position. Perth Amboy has suf-
fered greatly in this respect. We all know that many things are
said of this city that re not deserved. We pride ourselves upon
being the paeemakers. We are paeemakers in a great many parti-
eulars.
But ii just as well that we see ourselves as others SCI us once
in a while that we may take account of stock, so to speak, and see
wherein our trouble lies so that we may take steps to remedy it.
Practically everyone who has travelled any and who has met per-
sons who are just slightly acquainted with Perth Amboy o. who have
not been here within the last ten or fifteen years, get a knock about
the city. Every one OF these knocks hurts Perth Amboy: Every
suffer indirectly 1t is the unfavorable advertising a city gets that
just as an illustration of what adverse advertising means, The
EVENING NEWS has had sent to it a clipping from the journal %rns
ingtOn, in which the living conditions here are cSntrasted with tn
n nN4i cUnaia aont % ~ a u Ina0 nessn mn who had wr;tten o . friend in
Seattle criticizing some Of the things out there.
secretary of the Seattle Chamber Of Commerce has for that city,
i%s s as the sn tee ms S for '4 Per sSa Hm be- lra ae s Contrasting nas e IL the p y
best points of Seattle with the very worst conditions he has found
any more than a Perth Amboyan would dwell upon the dsagreeable
features here when writing about the city. c., n., o,.s
us here in Perth Amboy something to think about. 1t shows us what
here last October during the explosion, perhaps, when the city. was
at its worst) The fact remains that this is the kind of advertising
that Perth Amboy is getting in Seattle and even at that distance 1t
is not doing the city any good ~. c.o4,o
Chamber Of Commerce and printed in the publication Of that organ
ization and doubtless sent broadcast all over the United States where
ever there are other Chambers of Commerce;
Last Sunday I walked in West seattle-up through
the leafy, green beauty of Schmidt Park and along several
of the bungalow lined streets of the upper plateau
Everywhere that ! Went I was in the midst of a riot
of trees and vines and shrubs The air was sunshiney,
bracing and full Of the joy of living.
Every street that i travelled was faced with attrac-
tive homes, most of them small but all good to look at and
the larger portion of them showed the palnstaklng care that i
indicates the home and not the rented house.
people N dressed just as | was and especially did ] NEE.
s Sunshine ana and de eyes full ii s of that eont sa1 1 happy &c Expression
that can come only to the boy or girl that is living a full
"As I walked in West Seattle md out toward Faunt-
leroy it was not possible for an me to realize Z. that iasa this was o one
places of Seattle. In people and in beauty Of surroundings
homes me sSs not as $ big a some Of the districts that plume
themselves more but the foliage and the surroundings were
'''t Especially IS y was it difficult for me to realize that this
s a that I spent last October at Perth Amboy, down on the
Jersey flats just out Of New York City.
dustrial PEI plants for several miles through the district where
t thu p' tSst r rssfy looked lon cd ii like 'ei It V ~s I getting spd . joy sss out Of Fi life.
Everywhere er were squat little houses, dlapitated and rusty
l iSs streets h snd IN ths a 'hsys f% 1l Of s ~raSGshP pisias 7 thin,
with i1,s big e. eyes sns and lSoaing g0 p w5;sS t sna n Tsye and 'n,fep'
When | was at Perth A%boy I wondered 70 rsdn why anyone E0ns
Seattle: a.n,
when L walked IN vest Oedule III sdmo ous oa"o
back to me but with it this time there was a realization that
the men and women and the boys and the girls that live In
this city of ours, where there is no such thing as a slum, are
the men and women and the boys and girls who are doing
and who III going to do the best work that is done any,
where. With such surroundings and such inspTatiOnal
strength we cannot but do good work"
The first inclination after reading this is to flare up and holly
defend the city, which, of course, is the proper spirit. We are not
familiar with the city of Seattle which to a person living there,
particularly to the secretary Of the Chamber of Commerce, is the
finest city on earth. No doubt Seattle is a very attractive place.
certainly any place with a mayor like Seattle has must be well
worth living in.
Perth Amboy has many excellent points, too, but the faults
l---l4 - = 4bts GooftIa articla hriuU h0mR n iii that deserves
serious consideration. 1t must be admitted that there is a large sec
ton Of the city where the streets are not graded, where the cutters
are veritable gulhes and where for block after block there IS not
the sign of a. tree. These conditions can be remedied and they should
be. The streets should be graded and curbe and hundreds OF trees
should be set out and protected. By getting expert advice o the
kind of trees that will grow best here, this can be done
Vacant lots should be cleaned up and next week is the time to-
= -lAA it, hoo is aan.un eek IL Perth AmhnX will