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HOME AND FLOWERS 



very well spared. In the ideal city there 

 will be no organ-grinders, no solo-instru- 

 mentalists, and no German bands ; all such 

 small enterprises will be banished from the 

 streets. Bven the newsboys are a nuisance 



THE MAYOR OF NEW YORK 



when they fill the air with their noisy cries. 

 It would be a good thing to have a supply 

 of artistic kiosks in the streets, where peo- 

 ple could buy their papers in peace. 



"Another great reform, which could be 

 advanced with good effect in every Amer- 

 ican city, is the removal of offensive ad- 

 vertising. At present there are great 

 shouting letters, and every other form of 

 eye-torture which will indelibly sear the 

 brain, and there should be some sort of 

 control over these street distractions, so 

 as to secure some uniformity of effect. In 

 New York this advertising evil is not so 

 great as in some other cities, owing, I 

 suppose, to the great expense of space, 

 but . there is a great field even here for 

 improvement. 



"Xew York is also superior to other 

 American cities in having a considerable 

 number of little parks and open spaces. 

 In every ideal city the question of color. 



both natural and artificial, must be con- 

 sidered, and natural color resolves itself 

 into grass, trees, shrubs and flowers. A 

 strip of green grass in a city street will 

 work wonders. In City Hall Park, Union 

 and Madison Squares, and other congested 

 districts the trees and flowers are a price- 

 less boon to the public, and of wonderful 

 effect in improving the city's appearance. 

 It is the duty of every citizen to preserve 

 these parks and open spaces, and the city 

 must add to them as opportunity occurs. 

 We are all in New York to reside in it, 

 and we must do all in our power to make 

 it a place worth residing in.'' 



Mayor Low is in favor of providing 

 every convenience which will improve the 

 welfare of New York's poorer citizens. 

 "As regards public conveniences and priv- 

 ileges," he said, "the American city has 

 always been far behind its European pro- 

 totype. In the variety and excellence of 

 public facilities for exercise, indoors and 

 out, for bathing, and for the recreation 

 of the people, we have much to learn from 

 what has been done abroad. 



"The wonderful growth of interest in 

 athletics and in various kinds of outdoor 

 sports which has taken place within the 

 past few years has naturally directed at- 

 tention to municipal gymnasia, play- 

 grounds and baths. In New York I be- 

 lieve we are somewhat behind Boston in 

 the adoption of such schemes, but the pub- 

 lic is awakening to the fact that these 

 conveniences can be supplied by municipal 

 agency at an expense very small, com- 

 pared to the benefit derived. The duty of 

 every city is to promote the civilization, 

 in the fullest sense of the word, of all its 

 citizens. No true civilization can exist 

 without the provision of some opportu- 

 nities for exercising the physical and men- 

 tal faculties, of experiencing some of -the 

 healthful pleasures of life, of feeling at 

 least the degree of self-respect which per- 

 sonal cleanliness brings with it." 



I inquired of Mr. Low whether he had 

 noticed that there is an increasing interest 

 all over the country in the esthetic im- 



