The Washington herald., 1921-01-27
Builds Toun
To Suit Self
Vanderlip Makes Tumble
dOIUn Village Into
Model for Homes.
BY RAYMOND G. CARROLL.

NEW YORK, Jan. 24-"Now I
have tried hard enough to give
money away wiseIy-most people
know have made the same attempts,
l surmise. 1t is no easy task to fix
upon a proper way to dispose o;
wealth. I finally decided that il l
could leave fifty or more houses in
the world fit for people to call their
homes, then. perhaps. l should have
done something substantial that
might help"
Frank A. Nand,rlip, banker and
economist. was speaking. had
asked him about Sparta. y. y. the
quaint village in WestcheSter Coun-
", half way between OssininG and
Scarborough n-tue-HudsUn which
he has bought up. and is modrrniz-
ing into a model community. He
looks upon Sparta as his personal
doorstep problem,' for t is less
than A mile from tho library win
dow of his own beautiful country
home.
Modest Over Plans.
a large thing has been made OF
really small matter he contla-
rcd. There was this tiny village,
d!lapidated. quite out Of date and
something Of a center OF wrong
doing. 1t Was that near to my own
house that could not dodce the
feeling of responsibility. ITS need
for my attention crowded in upon
me. So ! took on its reclamation.
huying up the houses and stores
one by one-the last to pass title,
| think, was the former village sa-
ioon-untn now I have them all,
some twenty-five altOErth'r
1T was as l said. N,rH tumble
down town. a place Wi'nnut lee
tricity, without Cas. without baths
and possessing not a SI"C}N hot
water heating plant. II had been
left behind, skipped over Ivy modern
ronvenienCcs and comforts. old:
Well, some Of the deeds ] hold run
back to 1875. The town j. laid out
in small lots with the h""Srs built
right up against Tie. highway
Being without front Yards, Sparta
suggests an old English village that
had deCayed. l believe tn. first set
tiers were small New York mer-
chants who had retired; lift their
city homes and went out into the
wilderness of the country, for thirty
miles century ago was many times
what it is today"
Restoration Work.
And your work of restorationH
I asked.
Progressing slowly" rrpIied
Nanderlip. r confess that it is one
of the most interesting undertaN-
ings of my life, not from the stand
point of financial return, as l am
sure that I will never get anything
lika an adequate return upon the
Investment, for you see I am afraid
that 1 am doing il rather too well.
The first house 1 remodeled cost me
$4,000. The second reDr scented an
outlay of $4,000. The least expen-
sive, judging from the estimates re-
ceived. will cost more than $4,000.
Now that I am in thu thing l want
to do it nicely Still there is a
great joy in creating nice homes for
decent people to live in"
The attention that the und artak-
ing has received from persons in
various parts of the world has
fairly staggered Vanderllp. THIS
morning came a letter from Bel
gium, addr essed: 'Vanderlip, Finan-
Cier. Sparta, America"
Some persons want to live there,
others desire to adorn the new
Sparta" with some pet idea in thu
way of gardening or architecture.
Many write to inquire as to the sue
cess of the reconstruction venture.
Prohibition may be the success
that its ardent advocates assert,
but the record of the New York
Police courts for 1920 are disquiet-
ing. More persons were arraigned
on the charge of drunkenness in
the greater city in the eleven and
one-half months Of. 1920. in which
national prohibition was in effect,
than in the whole wet year of 1919,
Copyright, 1871, Public Ledger oe.)