New-York tribune., 1921-02-06
C,,1rran Brands
Memorial Plan
Hotel Scheme
wouId Not Honor Soldiers
With Commercial Build
ing To Be Rented for
Exhibitions, He Asserts
Favors Outer Rim Transit
Urges Factory and Busi-
I ness Centers in Other
! BorougEls Than Manhattan

gsnrv Fl. Crrran, president of the
sorough of Manhattan. n q speech at
+he Hotel Astor yesterday afternoon,
rresented his city transit plan for the
relief of congestion; took occasion to
cr;ticise the Board of Estimbte as be-
inc incompetent and voiced his oppo-
.ition TO the Victory Hall movement
ond the Hylau soldiers meaaorial
,rbich Rodman Wanamsker proposes
skar be erected in Madison Square.
Wr. Curran, who was the principal
sneaker at n luncheon attended by
MEMBERS and guests of the Municipal
Art Society, the City Club tic Ameri-
zen Society of Landscape Architects,
the Woman's Municipal League and the
Architectural League, was introduced
by the POSTMASTER. Joseph Rowland
T,,nt. as the next best bet" since the
late Mayor Mitchell Tie Borough
President took for his subjecF "Decen-
REALIZATION and Zoning." In his pre-
JARED speech there was no reference
to the soldiers memorial projects. but
i was this part OF his speech that
aroused the most enthusiasm
Il am not interested iu the present
pIans for memorial t. the soliiers 4"
he said. "I am not interested in the
Arc de Triomphe or the Victory Hall
scheme Of the Forty-second Street ho-
el owners T-is hal, to be placed in
ron Of the Commodore Hotel, is to be
a commercial building, as a SORT of
Grand Central Palace for exhibitions
OF rental basis. Is that 4 fair con-
celtion Of soldiers memorialF
Opposes Hyian Memorial
sNJow Rodman Wanamaker has asked
the Board o. Estimate to appropriate
monay for the immediate erection OF q
monument in Madison Souare-an altar
Of liaerty. | hope that tn Hylan me-
mortal Will not be erected. fer it would
be like the putting of q great pitcher
into title saucer" The speaker illus
trated his point at the table and won
unanimous applause as he closed his
speech, in which he had said;
"0ur local transportation problem
goes far deeper than anyth ,ng being
talked about to-day. Beyond all ques-
items Of the proper governmental ma
chinery with which to bring about good
transit serv ce for fair payment, tie
controlling consideration in our pas
senger transport as we'll as in our
freight transportation, is one Of "
plan. That is the Foundation Of it all
In soly Hg this problem Of overcrowd-
ing it is the Board of Estimate and Ap-
portionment that must lead the way.
New York is beh nd in the construc
tion of homes, the building of schools,
in policing in fire fig ting but, more
than all, in transportation, both fre ght
and passenger. We have never caught
up. L we had an even distribution of
,To%i IL ~
should still be behind"
Mr.. Curran likened the present tran
SIT arrangement to hub of q whee
lower Manh sttan-rrom which radi-
ate spoEeS ending in thin air and not
connected hy a rim. tie suggested that
Aot cnly should there be q connected
9ut4r rim, but connecting inner rims
ana Ikened his plan to the spider s
web.
Urges New Business Centers
"What makes this condition still
worse" he said, "is the futile fancy we
have for doing cur work as far away
from where we live as possible. The
fault lies in the overcrowding of lower
Manhattan with business buildings and
the forcing out Of homes. We must
establish factories and business houses
n other boroughs That involves pas
songer and freight transit, dock de
velopment and the whole scope of in
-ellig5nt city planning.
Il believe It's should be the pri1
cjpa! work of the next Board Of Est
mate. The present board has neithc
he ability nor the vision to have anv
thing to do with it. But l hope t.
aext board vii be equipped to handl
1t. We have striven too long in our
transit end housing efforts to str
hoard horse galloping in the wronc
direction.
CAS- cit- we have made our mis-
gakes, and et present we are -endurine o
fou year mistake we made at khe
elections in 1917. But we shall survive
his mistake. In local government We
slip back a step occasionally, but the
next time we eo two steps forward"
Other speakers were Benjamin F
1resson jr.. consulting engineer, New
York Port Commission. whose subject
vas "The New York-New Jersey Port
treaty and its Relation to City Plan
Aing'; Major George Haven Putnam
Who urged . continuing park commits
son to prevent the deterioration of
Central Park; Mrs, Marion Booth Kel-
!ey who discussed what she termed
me billboard advertising nuisance ,
and j. Monroe Hewlett. who spoke or
The City's Responsibility in the De.
VeIopment Of Manual Art"