Vermont High School - Comet Yearbook (Vermont, IL)

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'rmz coMEr gg 1910 make these posts of concrete and a part of a curb, to be used in leveling steep lawns along boulevards. livery-one knows these lawns exist and what ugly places they are. They are too steep for the use of lawn-mowers and must therefore be, of necessity permitted to grow up in tall grass and weeds and these to be mowed ofi' and left lying. When this refuse is not gathered up, it forms brown, ugly spots until covered up by the next growth. By plac ing curbs along these banks they might be made in the form of a terrace and kept in good shape by a lawn-mower. I In the erection of telephone lines it is often thought necessary to trim away much of the shade trees along the streets, which in many cases spoils the shape of the tree for- ever and destroying the shade for some time. This tree butchery is practiced, not alone, by telephone companies, but even by property owners who hire their shade trees trimmed every year or two. Of course in case the trees are old and top-heavy it may be necessary in the interest of public safety to remove the top. But it is not necessary where the trees are young and stocky, that they be cut back to leave a large trunk, supporting a mass of ugly, stubs of limbs. 'l he Town of Vermont has in this the year of Halley's comet, purchased a few acres of land west of town, about one-half mile, as a site for a reservoir, to furnish water for the electric light plant. Why should not our town have an amusement park on this land? 'I his park in a few years would contain everything essential to a good up-to-date picnic- ground and in a few months would have aroused so much interest as to make its failure impossible. And its location being near town it is convenient to those persons who prefer walking a short distance, to ordering out their carriages. This park should be built and controlled by the business men of Vermont. They are the men best qualified for such an undertaking and l will endeavor to show why they can afford to do it. Would not their time be profitably spent in this enterprise, for the good of the town and the people who support their business? Who could look at the philanthropy of such a work without some mention of the men who accomplished it? Will not people patronize the benefactors of their home town? They will do all this and furthermore will furnish advertising such as these men could not obtain for much more money and time than they will put in this work. And not only will the people of Vermont patronize these men, but outsiders will talk of them and by bringing trade to the merchants, will build up this town. Wie have in Vermont the beginning of a great and powerful baseball association. Shall they be compelled to transport their visiting teams out, through three miles of hot, dusty, country roads to their practice diamond? Do you think the town will benefit from the talk of these baseball men? The home association is bound to lose money by the present arrange- ment, but by means of the park, which, being closer to town, would draw larger crowds, not only the team, but the town would gain by the increased gate receipts and larger crowds. Consider the impression each condition will give one, that received from a hot three mile drive over dusty, rough country roads, the other, that of a clean healthful city, where they may enjoy themselves and not stiffer discomforts of a jaunt through the country in the hot summer months. Which impression is it more desirable to have spread abroad, the favorable or unfavorable? There can be but one answer to this question, that they desire io appear as favorably as possible. But putting aside all consideration of financial benefit consider the long stride in advance such a park would be to the schools of Vermont. The High school is seriously handicapped in athletics by lack of an athletic field where the students may practice, for when they cannot practice they stand so good a chance of losing all games, that all enthusiasm in sport is destroyed. Some may say the lack of athletics is not so important as I would make it. But this is not my idea alone, but the theory of the most learned educators of the day. lihey encourage athletics and they are in a position to know, That such a park as I have described is not altogether new and untried, I will admit But all earlier attempts have failed. Vlhy? They have failed from a lack of co-operation between the promoters and the people. They failed because the men behind them were so few as to make the expense of a good foundation unbearable. By interesting the people, the affair may be made almost, if not entirely, self-supporting. In this co-operation of the managers and people, I see the only feasible plan for obtaining a park, since we have no John D's. to donate the money. By co-operation, I mean that the people shall com- bine with the business men in much the same way as is used to promote the Corn Show. The people must work with the business men and furnish their share of the money. Of course there are some who are unable to get away from a monetary consideration of the subgect and who are afraid the town will lose money if they invest in this park. Yet these men are not wholly to blame for their viewsg they say what they think, and tlnnk TKWENTY

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THE COMET 1910 WALTER F. MARTIN How Vermont May Be Made More Attractive There are conditions in Vermont and in all cities, the removal of which would greatly benefit the town. The Business Blen's Club of Chicago awoke a year or two ago, to the faults of their city and are devoting millions of dollars to the removal of these conditions. They are straighten- ing streets and placing parks where they may be easily reached by the poorer people who will thus have a chance to gain fresh air, which is obtainable in no other way. ln order that people may have the most pride and pleasure possible, their home town must'be beautiful. And not only will they obtain --1-l ' pleasure from the beauty of the town, but if a public park is added to its beauties, they will receive physical and moral benelit. And be- side the pleasure of the people. the iinancial profit of the promoters of a more beautiful town is to be considered. Therefore there are two reasons why the Business Mt-n's Club of Vermont should exploit the natural beauty of their town and remove the blemishes placed on this beauty by man, the first of which reasons is love of their town and fellow-meng and the second, the promotion of business. The tirst improvement to be made in Vermont would be a general clean-up of the streets. ln the street is to be seen every kind of refuse, from small bits of paper to old broken-down vehicles, varying in size from the baby's express-wagon to the largest wagons in use. This is a condition seldom found about a private residence. Therefore. if it is not desirable about a private residence it is not to be desired in the streets. The streets must be cleaned and receptacles, so placed as to conveniently receive the rubbish and facilitate the keeping clean of the streets. These receptacles should not be of the huge wooden kind covered on three sides with printed advertisements and on the fourth with a gaudy picture of the latest vaudeville favorite, but they should be neat metal containers, conspicuously placed. The practice of posting bills, advertising various things, is also as objectionable as unclean streets. There is a street, passing east and west by the Lehmann Hotel, which is very conspicuous because of its old buildings and the accompanying adventisements. There is an old board fence, a barn and other buildings, well covered with old bills and advertise- ments of such kinds as to produce a very disagreeable effect. That part of this street ex- tending west is also disagreeably prominent because of the proximity of the Christian Church which makes it necessary for the larger part of the congregation to pass this col- lection of old shantics. Yet this same church keeps up an ash-pile a large part of the winter, solely for lack of a neat metal receptacle placed in a corner at the back of the building. buch conditions as l have described above must be prohibited in the public park, if it is to have the greatest effect for good. It would also be undesirable to have such ugly, supposedly ornamental decorations as iron fountains placarded with advertisements. Another source of ugliness in the streets of Vermont is the mass of overhead tele- phone wires which are supported by ugly wooden poles and zigzag from side to side ot the streets. These wires could as well be placed in a cable such as is already in use on one street, and the poles all put on one side of the street. The poles should also be painted some color such as would be appropriate to the adjacent part of the street. And in this matter of overhead wires the town itself is an offender, for it maintains wires and poles to furnish light. These lights are situated high in air above the middle of the street and not close enough to earth to be of much use. considering the kind and size of the lamps. The lights being hung over the middle of the street on wires, must be high, so as not to interfere with traffic. But why need they be over the middle of the street? As incandescent lamps are used, it seems that they might be placed at one side on shorter poles. It might even be well to NINETEEN

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THE COMET 1910 what they have been' caused to think by their former experience. They would not oppose a project which was for their own advancement, but such a thing as a public park being for their good, they cannot unlerstand. They merely oppose the project because they do not understand, and perhaps they are doing more good by opposing it, than by taking up with it, fo,r their opposition will serve to raise arguments, and an argument over a thing is sure to bring it before the public. However the next question is of real importance. flow shall the money be raised to start the enterprise in the right direction? By reason of their wider experience it would probably be best to leave the managing in the hands of- the business men, but they cannot be expected to raise all the money, although they had best have a controlling share of the stock. The money must be raised by the people's co-operation in buying the shares which would be put on sale at a small price. By making the price of each share small more people may be interested, and may share in the profits. Of course during the first few years, it will seem as if all the rnonev is going out and nothing coming in: but this impression will be minimized by the speedy construction of a ball-diamond, which ought to be a paying proposition. By co-operation the park can be obtained for Vermont. For co-operation between many people is a power impossible to down, For instance, the mighty Elevator Combine was downed by the farmer's Co-operative Elevator Companyf' the high prices have been controlled to a great extent by the co-operation of people who never saw each other: the trusts are all controlled and will be put away, by the co-operation of the people in their protests against them. l say the trusts will be put away by eo-operation among the people. l mean bv this statement that it is only by a joining together of forces at the polls, that they can be done away with. But it the people elect the right kind of officers to coeoperate with them. the trusts are doomed. just as the North prevented the separation of the states and abolished slavery by co-operation, after years of struggling and quarreling, will the trusts be abolished. I have earnestly endeavored to show how Vermont might be made more beautiful, and attractive and more lucrative. lt is now up to the people of the said town. VVill they let the enterprise. which would make this town the equal of anv in the county, die out for want of a little exertion. l do not believe thcv will, since this plan can be carried out with so little expense and so much possible profit. Oh what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceivel' CR1BBERs. How poor are they that have not patience. BIADELENE CRAFT. Good Gods! how he would talk. jAMEs VAN ZXNTWERP. Of study took she most care, and most heed, And would gladly learn, and also gladly teachf' lX'IILDRED RALsToN. Most People are like an egg, too phull of themselves to hold ennything else. JESSE lllERCER. Prove we what I would not do. l'lELEN GARDNER. Fire in each eye, and papers in each hand, They rave, recite, and madden round the land. L1T. S0c1E'rx'. TYVENTY-ONE