The City Beautiful
By Charles Mulford Robinson, Author of
'The Improvement of Towns and Cities"
j I phrase expresses nn ideal held by
A I nunv Dranlii. Uv many marc it is
misunderstood, and although the
phrase la making conquests and
by Increasing numbers la used understand
Ingly, a great multitude utter it vaguely,
using it at all only because affectionately
drawn to the Indistinct vision which it sug
gests. In "The Voyage of Life" there la
pictured In the distance, dimmed to mortal
eyes by the fallen veil of death, a gleam
ing glorious cluster of spires and domes. A
great light marks the Celestial City's site.
Ho, to designate a hope, a dream nil un
certain now but to be realised later. Is the
phrase "City Beautiful" most frequently
used.
Those who use It most exactly, having
certain results in mind, And the phrase one
illy chosen with which to achieve things In
n busy and practical world. Hut they have
this to admit:' it Is popular. It has some
how seised on the Imagination of men. It
puts into a convenient term that dream
that made the ancient conception of heaven
a city, that was the inspiration of Babylon,
of Alexandria and Athens, that barbaric
Nero tried to realize, that tho Irish Gaelic
poets sang of, that found believers In the
merchant princes of the Renaissance, and
that faded not from view rn the gloom of
the middle ages. Today it wakes again
with undiminished vigor.
Admitting, then, the popularity of the
term In spite of its vagueness, there Is
reed not that It be set aside but that It
be made more definite, accurate nnd exact.
In the City Btau'.lful, as properly under
stood, beauty in the sense of lovliness Is
rot the first thuught. The brauty referrid
to is the beauty of fitness, of perfect adap
tation to purpose. If we ask, for instance,
for a beautiful street, the question will at
once arise as to the kind of a street in
mind, the purposes to which It la to be put,
the nature and volume of tho travel upon
it. and the character of the buildings at Its
a"" STRKKT CAR conductor rubs
A elbows with more people prob
ably than any man In the com
338 3$ munlty and necessarily has a va-
rlety of experiences with all
classes and conditions of men and women.
An observant memlier of the "fare, please,"
fraternity gives the following sketch of
life on the rear platform In the New York
Independent:
Working on the back platform of a
Street car is generally the last resort of a
man who has lost everything but Indus
try. I do not say this to belittle conductors
or motormen. I consider It high praise.
What I mean is that I know of no form of
labor, however difficult, that la harder
than working on u street car. Many ineu
who fail In business, cannot make ends
meet in their profession, or lose clerical
positions, say "No, thank you," when they
are offered positions on the cars. They
would sooner beg, steal or live off their
friends. You may rest assured that the
conductor or mbtorman, whatever his
faults, is not afraid of hard work. It
must not be assumed that it is easy to
secure employment on the cars. In the
last few years there has been a slight im
provement In the hours and a slight in
crease In tho pay, and there are hundreds
waiting for men to die or resign. Some of
them do one or the other, after a while;
and now and then but rarely, though
some man is discharged. In my time, and
since the introduction of the trolley in Chi
cago, where I first went on the cars, there
has been a distinct improvement in the
class of men who seek the work. And yet
the business Is not made up wholly of
Chesterfields and college professors. It
eouid not be.
Sarcasm? Not at all. Let me illustrate.
When I had been railroading a week I had,
one night, a very crowded oar. A crowd
of men and women blocked up the buck
platform. I called:
"Move up front; there's plenty of room
BP front."
Hut they stood there and never moved
an inch. I had actually to push them
up front. I had been working over ten
hours and was not feeling any too well,
nd I did not use very choice language.
When the crowd tinned out and we were
near the depot, a man with a high silk hat
and a fur lined overcoat came out and
lectured me. He said I was rude and he
had a notion to report me. lie told me I
Should treat each passenger as If he were
my guest, and as if I were anxious 1 e
should go away pleased. I was angry and
retorted:
"Do you suppose If I could talk and act
like that I would be working for (2.10 a
day during a blizzard?"
That was enough. He did not say any
more; but he reported me, and I did not
have a chance to resign.
I could not secure the transfer. to another
line. Finally I left Chicago, with permis
sion to use the company as reference.
I went to Pittsburg, where I obtained
work easily. It paid 24 cents un hour for
a day of ten hours, the best wages paid
street car men in the United States. I
edge. For we are not merely to put
"beauty" on the street; we are to tit the
thoroughfare beautifully to its end. In
the making beautiful of a city such prob
lems as this are met with repeatedly for
the city Is the most complex of organisms.
We havo to consider Its many functions
and how it may beat be fitted in its vari
ous parts for their performance, and only
when we have finished that shall we behold
rising before us the City lieautiful.
To be sure, we shall not attain perfec
tion in our adaptation to purpose until
to the strictly utilitarian there have been
given the lines of grace and beauty, for as
long as a utility Is ugly there Is room for
Improvement. 11 ut first, in city building,
the beautiful thing must have a use. So
the thoroughfare is primarily, and must be
always principally, a way of going, but
it has not reached the height of Its de
velopment when with Its good pavement it
is merely an easy way of going. It must
be also a pleasant one. This is the
thought that. gives distinctness and deflnlte
ncss to the Idea of "the City lieautiful,"
and that saves the Ideal from the charge
of impractiealness.
Applying this standard, there is ex
plained at once the breadth and complexity
of the City lieautiful vision. To this
person it means parks, to that one play
grounds, to another sculpture nnd foun
tains, to a fourth splendid thoroughfares
and noble architecture. The test Is the
city's need, for completeness, of each of
these elements and then tho possibility
of making each of them contribute to civic
beauty or splendor. Does a city bettor
eerve any of its complex functions because
it has parks or public buildings? If so,
these have a use, and as utilities we are
only demanding that they bo given their
natural and appropriate development
when we would make them beautiful. Wo
are not making the extravagant demands
of a mere aesthete but are better fitting
them to Berve their urban purpose, and
Experiences of a Street Car Conductor
remained In Pittsburg for a year and liked
the place.
I do not want you to suppose that I had
a sinecure merely because I was satisfied
with my position.
A conductor on a frolley car can
scarcely call his soul his own. This may
sound strange to tho caBual observer, who
regards the conductor as a petty tyrant,
lording it over his poor passengers. As
a matter of fact, he Is subject to tho
whims of the most insignificant person
who enters his car. Any one can report
him for Incivility, or worse lie about him,
and he has a black mark put down against
his name at the office. Then there is that
awful hook of rules and regulations. Every
man employed by the company has to have
one, and every man has to learn the regu
lations by heart. He soon discovers that
there Is a tine and a threat of dismissal
for nearly everything under the sun ex
cept breathing. He finds minute directions
telling how he Is to act and talk in every
possible emergency.
He has to be most careful in case of ac
cidents, whether they are Berlous or trivial.
If John Smith sprains his foot In alighting
from the car tho conductor must interview
John Smith, and. if possible, examine his
ankle; and he must secure the names and
addresses of five or six persons who saw
John Smith sprain his ankle. Of course,
that is reasonable enough; but the same
thing cannot be said of some of the other
rules. For instance, if a reckless driver
comes along and runs the pole of his wagon
Into my car, breaking a window, I am
compelled to pay for that window. Then
again, if Brown's wagon scratches some
of the paint off the side of tho car I am
compelled to make that good or lose my
position.
A conductor's lot Is never entirely a happy
one. During the summer he risks his life
every time he goes to collect fares along
the edge of the footboard on either side of
the car. He is liable to collide with a brick
pile or a lime kiln at any time; and when
it occurs, ho is either killed or laid up for
repairs. In tho winter time he is on the
back platform, half frozen. It is only fair
to say that the inclosures around the plat
form of the cars of today are a great pro
jection during Inclement weather. I do not
believe the companies deserve uny particu
lar credit; It took a special act of legis
lature to make them do It. Then a man
never knows when he is going to get a
meal. Ho Jumps up before daylight in the
morning, gulps down a hurried breakfast,
and hurries to the depot to take out his
car. He cannot afford to bo a minute late.
That would be u mortal sin, not to be for
given. Patti could disappoint an audience,
but a car conductor must never fail to be
on time for the public. When the dinner
hour arrives a small boy who lives in the
neighborhood of the conductor's home, or
some member of his family, hails the car
and passes up the dinner pail. Ho cannot
eat the dinner until he reaches the depot,
and by the time he reaches the depot the
food Is cold. When he is through for the
day he hurries home for supper. He is no
sooner through than be has to go to bed.
thus are better fitting the whole city to its
work. We are really "improving" the
city.
There remains a point for consideration.
Is this highest development of the city's
various functions worth whileT Granted
that as long as there Is not beauty there is
Incompleteness, Is any special barm done
by the Incompleteness provided that the
purpose of the utility still Is moderately
well served? An argument might be based
on the existence of beauty through all the
world from smallest flower to widest land
scape ef a beauty that, as far as we know,
can be appreciated only by man nnd that
must, therefore, have been stamped on
creation for his enjoyment and profit. For
then the beauty required of tho town,
where men are huddled together, would be
only the natural and logical extension of
its existence in nature. Considered thm,
we would not dare to deny it to the town.
Hut the argument can be brought down to
a more practical basi:
In all cities there la a large numtter of
persons whom poverty restricts to a nar
row existence and mean surroundings.
They cannot travel, and they possess in
their own right little or nothing that i
beautiful. Yet In many of these cases the
artistic sense is naturally pronounced, so
that tho hunfier for beauty Is keen; In all
there is a potential capacity more or less
consciously recognlxed for its enjoyment.
These people cannot of themselves possess
lovely gardens, beautiful paintings and
sculpture, feel music's inspiration In their
own homes, or retire for prayer to aesthet
ically satisfying private chapels. What
ever boauty they havo must be held In
common ownership with others. The parks
of the city are their gardens, and to many
are their one introduction to nature. Their
only paintings are In the public art gallery,
their only statues In the street; tho public
churches are their visible evidence of re
ligion's love and pride, and their music is
the music of the town. The artistic wealth
so that he will not oversleep himself the
next morning. It Is not a bed of roses.
Being a single man, I was not affected
by the loss of home life. I boarded with a
conductor's family, and the sacrifices he
had to make were really disheartening. He
hardly knew his own children, and cer
tainly did not have a chance to enjoy the
society of his wife. She was a tidy, good
natured woman, who knew how to cook and
take cure of a house. Her husband earned
on an average H8 a month, and $12 was
paid out in rent for a comfortable two
story house, that hud a neat bathroom
and some other modern conveniences. He
kept $5 u month for his tobacco, shaving
and other personal expenses. To my way
of thinking it wus quite moderate. With
the remainder, amounting to $31, she kept
the table, clothed the children and provided
for her own wants. The M a week board
I paid her should be added to the total in
come. I cannot see, for the 11 fo of me, how
she ever made any money on me; the table
she set was enough to eat up the whole
U- She was a natural manager, and with
habits of economy was able to do these
wonders. That family lived happily and
was able to keep out of debt. I do not pre
tend to say that the family of every rail
road man can live so well on the same
amount of money. So much depends on
the wife. If a man is fortunate enough to
marry an industrious and economical
woman, she can make ends meet, no mat
ter how much he makes, providing, of
course, he works regularly and turns the
money oVer to her at the end of each week.
Just when I thought Pittsburg was going
to be my home I lost my position. One
day two drunken men boarded my
car. They began to sing and soon be
came profane and abusive. I went in
side and quietly asked them to stop.
They did stop for a minute, and then be
came worse thun before. Beveral of the
male passengers began to offer hints for
my benefit.
"If the conductor knew hia business,"
one remarked, "he would throw these
fellows off the car."
"Yes." said another. "But did you ever
meet a conductor that had the courage
to do his duty?"
This decided roe. I went up to the nearest
drunken tough for that ia what the man
was inside the clothes and said:
"If you don't quit your abusive talk you'll
have to get off this car."
"I dare you to put me off," he retorted,
with a leer and a fresh flow of profanity.
I pulled the bell rope, stopped the car,
took my man by tho back of the neck, and
threw him Into the street. The women
passengers shrieked; the men, sitting aa
still as Chinese Idols, never offered to help
me. Tough number two came at me. In
self-defense I had to fight. When I got
through with him he was a sorry vision.
I tore his clothes, blacked one of hia eyes
and bloodied Ms nose. He hammered ma
pretty hard, too. They had plenty of money,
for they hailed a cab and drove off.
When wo reached the depot the superin
tendent waa standing there, evidently
raiting for me. By his aid waa the man
of a community, therefore. Is not mereTy
the wealth of Its bettor clasres, Is not only
for the satisfaction of the demands of cul
ture and education, nor Is It designed for
the special enjoyment of those who havo
beauty about them at home, and are at le
to travel In search of It; It Is, far more
particularly, the blessed possession of tho
poor; the acquirement of beautiful objects
by those who otherwlso would lack them;
it Is the making possible and opening up of
a larger, fuller and richer life for the city's
multitudes.
Poverty were robbed of some of Its curse
could the lowliest resident boast from hia
heart that he was n cltlien of no mean city.
The poorer taxpayers of Paris, It hs been
said, are so proud of their city's beauty
that they would rather have cut from the
annual budget those Items which stand
for expenses that are elsewhere callrl ec
essory than those which adi Its
beauty. With the corresponding elssses In
any city the most popular thing that a
municipal administration can do with san
ity Is to make striking additions to the
visible glory, beauty and wealth of the
Incorporated community.
Out of such additions ps these there la
also a gain distinctly civic In Influence. Not
only does beauty In the town, considered
from tho spiritual side nlone, enrich the
life of the poor and widen tho life of the
tollers, it not only Invitingly lays bare now
realms of aspiration, thought nnd senti
ment, nnd so becomes nn educational In
fluence which In one way and another can
be readily turned to definite ends. It cre
ates civic pride. And that Is nn asset as
precious to a city ns Is patriotism to a na
tion. A municipality whose residents nn)
genuinely proud of It Is strong nlso In In
dustry and commerce, ns well ns polltonlly,
for It has the best possible advertisement
the pmlse of Its residents. That is one rea
son, aside from the attraction of visitors,
thnt urban beauty pays.
Rochester, N. T.
I had thrown from the car. Ho looked at
mo with one-eyed haughtiness und, turning
to the superintendent, pointed hia linger,
saying:
"That's the man."
Tho superintendent regarded mo quls
rlcally, saying, In angry tones, but with a
hulf smile, lifting tho corners of his mouth:
"You are discharged. TaKe your budge
Into the office."
"Hut, 1 cried, "can't I tell my aldo of
the story?"
"There's only one side to this story," ha
replied, grimly.
"Why?" I usked, with open mouthed
wonder. "Because 1 licked that dirty
blackguard!"
"No," lie said, lowering his voice; "be
cause the man you licked is the sou of one
of our directors."
That night 1 met a man who had two
passes east, and we resolved to try our
chances in Philadelphia. Wo got positions
at once, only to find out that a strike waa
going on. I did not like tho Idea of working
as a "scab,"' but 1 could not afford to throw
up my place. The strike lasted seven days.
For two days I did not do a thing, and the
other five days I made one trip a day, sur
rounded by four big policemen and dodging
now and then a rotten potato, decayed eggs
and un occasional brick, heaved Into the
back platform by the sympathetic friends of
tho strikers. I received $2 a day and the
assurance of being retained, no matter how
the strike ended. The papers said thus
seven days were a reign of terror; I could
not see It In that light. It took nerve to
work that was all. No one waa killed;
possibly three or four men received scalp
wounds from missiles thrown by boya.
The men went back with the assurance
that their condition would be bettered. It
was not bettered Immediately, but It has
been since. The pay nnd the hours are now
better than were asked fur when that strike
was ordered, six years ago. The pay is 20
cents an hour, for a day of from ten to
eleven hours. Incidentally, the municipality
has exacted good terms from the corpora
tion. The street car companies were givem
tho right to use the trolley system on con
dition that they would pave and keep for
ever in repair the streets on which their
cars are run. This, I venturo to say, has
made Philadelphia the best paved city la
tho union.
Every conductor there Is subject to petty
annoyances, both from the passengers and
the subordinate officials of the company. A
rule prohibits us from entering Into disputes
with passengers, arid yet thero are times
when the observance of tho rule Is out of
the question. A man cornea to you five
minutes after ho hns paid his fare and says
the change is 10 or 15 cents short. On two
occasions, when I felt morally certain that
I wus right, I gave tip the additional money
rather than provoke a quarrel and be re
ported for Incivility. A count of my money
on those nights proved that I was In the
right.
Perhaps the hardest feature of a conduc
tor's life Is the "swing" system. By this)
arangement, although a man may onlg
(Continued on Page Fifteen.)
