EDITORIAL. 305 



village in detail. It is of interest to note that the King expressed 

 himself as most heartily approving the project, and especially its 

 esthetic phases as " a natural movement to uplift the rural popula- 

 tion and to stimulate the mind and the heart of the tiller of the soil." 



The results of an undertaking of tliis sort are obviously beyond 

 exact estimation, yet it is difficult to imagine a means which could 

 have been more effective under the conditions. Surely, if " seeing is 

 believing," even a cursory observation of so complete and attractive 

 a spectacle could not fail to make a deep and lasting impression upon 

 large numbers of those who came within its borders, and its psycho- 

 logical influence must have been far-reaching both in time and dis- 

 tance. 



At the close of the exposition, a complete descriptive account of 

 nearly 250 pages and plentifully illustrated was prepared and dis- 

 seminated, and a permanent national commission was organized by 

 those in charge to further in the future the improvement of country 

 life and the beautification of rural communities. This commission 

 has decided to hold a congress to consider these subjects in detail 

 and to foster and extend the awakening public interest along these 

 lines. These measures should do much to extend and perpetuate the 

 influence of the enterprise. 



In any event, the benefits accruing should be by no means re- 

 stricted to Belgium, for while many of the details are necessarily 

 applicable to only a localized area, the fundamental conception of 

 enhancing the attractiveness of rural life is one of world-wide sig- 

 nificance and importance. Already, a Swiss village is announced 

 for the national exposition to be held in Bern in 1914, in which the 

 same general principles are to be followed, and in view of its many 

 merits it would seem that the idea could well be considered by those 

 in charge of expositions, state fairs, and similar enterprises elsewhere. 



In the United States nothing of precisely this nature has thus far 

 been attempted. Until quite recently, in fact, community develop- 

 ment in this country, even in the larger cities, has been in general a 

 somewhat haphazard and utilitarian affair, with too little attention 

 to esthetic considerations for either the present or the future. This 

 is not surprising, because, as compared with Europe, ours is a rela- 

 tively young country with new sections still developing, with im- 

 provements not yet so permanent, and with conditions of life much 

 less rigidly defined. Of late, however, with the passing of the pioneer 

 stages, there have been many indications of an awakening interest 

 in civic improvement in both city and country, and a growing realiza- 

 tion of the opportunity for leadership) in this direction. 



Among the numerous forces which have been identified directly 

 with the improvement of conditions in the open country may be 



