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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1905)
APRIL 13, 1905 TAQB It T5he Nebraska Independent SQUALID DISTRICTS DISAPPEAR Applied Populism Brings Health and Happiness to English Cities (Sixth Article.) . In 1875 the most squalid district in t England la like a festering sore ad jacent to the business center of Bir "mingham. It was thus described by - Counselor White in an eloquent plea . before the town council for improved conditions: "It is not easy to imagine the dreary . desolation which acre after acre in the very heart of the town presents to those who will take the trouble to visit . it. Little else is to be seen but bow- ing roofs, tottering chimneys, tumble .down and disused shops, heaps of bricks, broken windows and coarse rough pavements, damp and sloppy. In one case I found a house of only two rooms, about, nine feet square and six and a half feet high, and in this hovel lived husband, wife and four children. Amid such deplorable conditions 12, . 000 of our fellow townsmen are spend ing their lives, with no bright thing "about them and nothing of joy or glad ness in their homes." . - Joseph Chamberlain was then mayor of Birmingham, and the city had not yet attained the proud distinction of the metropolis of midland England, nor had ' that brilliant young man climbed far toward his present fame. He had evinced marked talents in mu niciDal affairs and was an enthusias 'tic advocate of public ownership so much so, in fact, that his political en emies declared him a socialist. It .was due to his efforts and energy that Birmingham had purchased , the gas plant and the waterworks from private owners, and the success which fol lowed these ventures gave him a pres tige of which he was not slow to take advantage. "The desolate tract popu lated with thousands of miserable per sons aroused his sympathy, but he was more than a social reformer; he was "one of the shrewdest business men in Great Britain. He surveyed the field as a general does one of a coming bat tle. He formulated a plan, one so startling in its originality, so radical in its scope and so stupendous-in its magnitude that his friends and sup porters hesitated when he proposed it 10 tnem. - Mr. Chamberlain urged that Bir mingham proceed to purchase every and he included in it fifty or more acres practically in the center of the city. He" proposed to ignore all exist ing street , lines and to devote a large percentage of the land to broad thor oughfares. He proposed 'tb demolish every house in this district, to lease part of the site to reputable landlords who would erect dwellings under the supervision of the city authorities and to lease the remainder of the land for business purposes. He admitted that for years this investment would, im--pose a burden on the taxpayers, but contended that in the end it would prove a splendid investment. More than that, the eradication of the slum area would increase the value of every foot of property in the city. The future statesman formally intro duced the matter to the town council and, in one of the most masterly speeches of his career, urged its adop tion. He claimed that Birmingham could never aspire to the commercial supremacy of its natural territory so long as it permitted thousands of its townsmen to live in misery. ; "I believe," he said, "that the town and, above ' all, the next generation, will have cause to bless the town coun cil of Birmingham if it carries out this scheme and exercises what I ven ture to call a sagacious audacity. We know how from time to time upon our coast vast operations have been under taken by which large tracts of land have been redeemed from the sea, and what was formerly the sandy bed of the ocean has been converted into smiling fields.' I say that no less meri torious and no less necessary is the work which we are 'undertaking in this inland city by which we hop to wrest from the fell grasp of disease, misery and crime whole populations which would otherwise be abandoned to them. . . - . , "I heard it 'said the otb.er day that the position of these people was their gaily their fault if they steal, and when they do we send them to jail, and if they commit murder we hang them for 'it. But if the members of this council had been placed under similar conditions- if from infancy we "had grown up in the same way does any of us believe that he should have run no risk of the hangman or the jail? For my part-1 have not- suffici ent confidence in" my . -own -Inherent goodness to believe that' "anything can make headway against such frightful conditions as Ihave described. The fact is it is no more the fault of these people that they are vicious and in temperate than it Is that they are stunted, deformed, debilitated and diseased. The one is due to physical atmosphere. The moral atmosphere as necessarily and surely produces the other. It is the only occasion for which I ever wish to live beyond the ordinary term of human life in order to see the results of these improvements and to hear the blessings which will be showered on those who have the courage to begin them." The above is a brief extract from a speech which aroused the staid Bir mingham councilors and aldermen to enthusiasm, as by a unanimous vote they indorsed and adopted the plan of their youthful colleague. This was in 1875. . Few men have lived to see so wild a dream come true. As I stood in Corpo ration street, which traverses what once was the foul center .of Birming ham's slum district, I wondered what are Jcseph Chamberlain's sensations when he gazes on that magnificent thoroughfare, the. finest in Great Brit ain outside of London. Where the hov els once reeked in -filth great-marts and business palaces rear their fronts. The district from" which respectable persons turned with loathing is now the fashionable. shopping district. Delicate-fabrics have taken the " place of the rags of the pauper. As if Aladdin's magician had waved a Wand, the grew some district has , v disappeared. . I would rather be Joseph Chamberlain and .walk up Corporation . street, Bir mingham, than be able to pay the Rus sian national " debt. At. an expense of $8,500,000-the city purchased about forty-five, acres of slums and proceeded to transform an irregular 1 strip having an - extreme length of about a mile; Starting at New" street, one of the best business thoroughfares, it surveyed a- broad road through the center of its new and strange property. Having laid out new streets in every direction;1 the municipality offered the frontage . to those who were willing to build in consideration of seventy-five "year leases. There was a demand from powerful interests that the leaseholds be extended to ninety-nine years, but Mr. Chamberlain was "firm in his- re solve that Birmingham should come into full possession of its reward at the end of the shorter term? He in sisted that it would be possible, to rent every square foot of the, land-on the terms specified, and his judgment was accurate. He also predicted ,tha'tthe average annual charge against the taxes would not exceed $60,000: , This would meet the interest on the, bonds and make up the deficit after allowing for rents and other revenues. -In brief, he estimated that the eventual cost of the investment would not; exceed. The scheme has been .greatly en larged since its inception, -but when the last payment is made in 1950 Bir mingham will own in "fee simple the most valuable tract of real estate in the world, and the price paid will fall below that set by the "boy mayor," who has a chance to live to see the partial fruition of his "audacious sa gacity." If offered for sale in the open market today the former slum hole would realize $15,000,000. Its improve ment did more than, any one thing to make Birmingham the "metropolis of the midland counties." It is no ex aggeration to assert, that the decision of the council of 1875 had the direct effect of doubling the value of every square foot of land in the business dis trict, and .it would be , impossible to put a money value on the blessings which have come with a lowered death rate, diminished crime, an aroused lo cal pride and the prestige which comes from a great campaign valiantly and successfully pushed to success. TALLIOW , ill Cheer upt lams' roses are bloomln?. Tbeio are bU wpitk" italllons (over ell). The pattern be tells at 1000-1M0. larnt' barna are "full to th toot" with "iojnatchara" end lamabason A"n elothat" every day (alwaja at borne.) - He owna and nll mora fiist-class stalllortf than any roan In U. S. He la "stlrrlaff upTHanlmala." Ho baa "earn poll tra out on th ' roof" - watching him aell Hop notchars lama hJW tlzea bis buyer wltb la class, yolins', sound, blj? "prHcb- nnd i-hiii" mliloiis at "let live prleaa." FranclaA finance. Is a "warm bunch." But It's a lOOO to 1 It you visit lams and will pay cash or (five bnnkablc notes you will positively buy a slallicmof blm and save $1000. lams sells stal lions "on honor," lams has . 80--Black Pcrchcrons, Belgians, Coachers--80 2 lo 6 years old, w't 170U to ftO lbs,; 80 rer cent black. 60 per cent ton homes. All registarad approved, stamped. It's n"ciuch" that lama Will unv? you SHOO and sell you a "money luakar."- ' . . Farmer Ikcy! What a "rich irraflM tlicpe'old brlrk atatilon nalesmen" are working on the "honest farmer", helling 4th rate slullions nt i'.GCO to H(W with worthless guarantee, lama sells "lop-notcheia" fo Kuod, bl and heap tbot they don't need to ha "peddled" to baaold. lams sells direct to "aseiV'suvts buyers aUc'ouiuitMtouat!d"middl-mun'fproflta. $1O0O-SAVD AT IAMS-$1000 Teddy, lams "mekf a irood" every fctntcnunt in idd or ealnloa;. Guarantees stallions as good or better than pictures in catalog or pay yon $100 lor troublu to sec stallions, lams is making . SPECIAL PRICES For 60 days. He owns every lit-2nd and twcpainkt-K winners in' all ages at 1904 state fair, In Ferohernns tirl;lttti, Coacher-. - lams shipped 100 etatllons by "apealal traia" l'JOt, the "wida-a-n-TvaBn kind." Mr. Stallion Uuyer; "Imttinfky." St-e Iarrs stallions yourself. Take no "rld brick stal lion aalaamn'a -word. Look out for "kncrkr." iams 1 as "(h Rood" you raad abont Ifis estnbllshnieut Is wortli volnif 2ti0 miles to tee, " lama mukes competitors "hollar" lie is knocking "high prices" out oi the "Xmaa tie", larus -uvs wood, "Butts lu" sells more staljlons each year. ; Gt orgie dear be good buy a stallion of lams. His J1200 stallions are ninth better than our neighbors paid those Ohio men HOl'O lor. (Hun 1 cun wear the diamonds.) lams speaks the languages buys direct lrom breeders pays no buyers, salt snuen or interpreters, has no 2 to 1J men as partners to divide profits wltb. His 25 years of suci eKsiul business makes blm a safe man to . do business with. lams guarantees to sell a better stallion at 11000 to $Hu0 than are sold to Stock Cos. f or 825U0 to J5O0O by slick nalamii" or pay you Jloo lor trouble, you to judge, lams pays horses, freight, buyers tare, plves 60 per cent breeding guarantee. Write lor "aye opener." ureaiesi catalog on earui. References: ftt. Pan! Stale Knnk and Citizen Katlonal Ilnnk. ... ' FRANK IASi St. Paul, Nebraskd We charges Ignatius Donnelly call him brave, who through A firing line of deadly foes, His work well done God only knows If it were well, or if he died For hate or glory, who stall tell; We only know that he defied His foes, "and a proud shaft arose, To guard the spot whereon he fell. ' One," gray, heartsore from truthless words, . And savage thrusts from shameless foes, . -Thrust through by oligarchs with swords " Of beaten gold behold! a sage arose, A braver man could never be. No braver man on earth or sea And beat them back Brave Don nelly. Who fights afield and wins a name All goryred, because he slew -Some 4 luckless foeman Christ, the ' shame '. ' To call It glory- Behold! the true Grand man, the sage we knew, Percheron and Shire St allions M ben you go to buy a horse ftop at Lincoln, Nebraska and tee Wat . fen M oods I5ro.$i Kelley's Fcrchercns and fc'hirep. fiOhead oh hand, fend lor bcsutiiul pboU gtapliB oi latett Importation, and price list. Ibese arc tree to all who mention The Independent. Address ' , WATSON WOODS BROS. & KELLY, , Lincoln,'' Kib " " yfPllghtnlin? Proof, niMTITnil ll Hiniiiiiimmiiiinii, 1 1 m i n 1 1 1 1 m ; 1 1 m i mmm in t m mw i ,-nt m Painted red on both aides i :. 'k G2.00 Per 100 CqzinrQ Feci Most durable and economical corerlng for Roofinpr, Sldlnpf or Celling, for Barna, Shed, Hoaaea. atorea, Churchea, Poultry Haue, Cribs, eie. Cheaper and will last longer than any other material. Sheets elx d eight feet Ug. Oam.aV ' 49 CSmmM . Wo Pay Uiq Freight ' points East of Colorado, ercept Indian Terrttnrj. Ofcinhoma and Texan. Write for priceii for shipment :h points. This rooting at C2.00 per square is our No. 10 grade, flat, semi-hardened. FMO for corrtifrateu, no experience to all to suci " V" crimped or pressed standing seam, y. - BentJ vs tou WRITE FOR FRKB CAT ALOW IK Ho. C 45 - on Building Material. Wire. Pipe, Plumbing; Material. noeessar? S2.S5fo brick sldlnir and beaded celling or sldlnar. ' ttena your oraer lor immrii&w stupmenc we nave otbe grades. Furniture, Household Goods, eta We Bay at BherlBV and Uecelvcrs' Bales. CHICAGO HOUSE WRECKING CO., 35th & Iron Sts., Chicago. The scholar, true as steel was- he, He strove for truth and fair human ity. ; . Peace lo his ashes who dare say I He was not greater than the lord,.' Who marshals hosts and wins the fray On murderous fields, with bloody sword. Tis sacred soil wherein he lies, Where prairie winds blow passing free. ' .": ' A bugle call for liberty. . Rest, rest in peace, brave Donnelly. The Old Guard falters, forithe ranks are thin, " And the soil is drenched beside the trail That Cooper blazed, but truth shall -win, The harvest ripens for sickle and flail. Asking No Questions In has armchair in his sanctum Sat the President of the Board To the oil.-king he was writing, "What rare good youj gifts - afford, to the poor benighted heathen! t And we heartily disclaim All intentions of rude questions As to how you got the same. We have met In solemn conclave And have voted, as you see, , , We're as thankful as can be t To your Christian charitee, Aand the never-failing bounty and the Providence of God." Then the stranger puffed his lips out,, And he blew a little flame Winked one eye, while through the sanctum , ? ' A most sulphurous odor came. -"Tell your naked Kanderroos Swinging under their bamboos, I'm a pious business gentleman Whom foolish men abuse. , . 'Prue I press on to my goal Though each penny costs a soul, 'Tis the way to honest profits These are strictly proper views , -In your donor's lists print me r" As the DeviL, and then see Just how thankful you can be '' To my Christian charitee,; ': And that never-failing bounty, and that Providence of God!" : . : , WILLIAM STEARNS DAVIS. Cambridge, Mass. Stock Merchandise For La. rid Large general stock of merchandise now running in . a good Minnesota town and doinjr good business which I will exchange for good improved land and some cash. FRED F. CLARK. 426 Boiton Bik.; . -Minneapolis, - Minnesota.