THE CIVIL-SPIRIT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24, 28 July 1911, Page 10

THE CIVIL- SPIRIT.

NOT VIVID ENOUGH IN WELLINGTON. WORK WAITING FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS. (By Eareye.) Leagues of all sorts come and go. Wellington has, public bodies enough, but not quite enough civic spirit. There is an association for Yorkshiremen, another for Welshmen, Ratepayers' Associations for Oriental Bay, Roseneath, Brooklyn, Hataitai, and other sections of the city, but no comprehensive association carrying the flag forward for Greater Wellington. The Citizens' League and the Arts Club have promised, to do something for the general good of the capital, but the promises are still oi> paper. There are no bands of representative citizens here* equivalent to the City Clubs, the Improvement Association.*, the Civic Leagues of American cities. Wellington has individual citizens keen enough, publicspirited enough, to wish to work tor the welfare of the ; capital, but they are not usefully organised. Therefore, the work of city betterment tarries sadly. "DO IT FOR ROCHESTER." On the banks of the Genesee, United States, there is a city called Rochester. The whole country is not allowed to forget that fact, "i'he slogan, 'Do it for Rochester,', has become lamous throughout the country," remarks the New York Survey. The people of Rochester have a strong civic and social spirit ; they have a city of flowers ; they have a little monthly magazine named The Common Good, of which the motto is, "Know your city." Rochester is only one of many cities where political differences rank *a poor second in importance to the general desire to strive for the common good. There is a. widespread healthy rivalry between cities in plans for beautifying, for housing improvement, for solid <*>cial advancement. "If the Town Planning Conference at Philadelphia had one special message," comments the Survey, "it was to emphasise tho human aspect of to-v\n-pknmng. There was much said about the service which town-planning Avould render, not to the rich by means of new boulevards and parkways, but to the poor through providing better living conditions.'' That aspect of town-planning is not overlooked by the civic organisations mentioned. WOMEN AT WORK. In some of the American cities the Women are not sitting idle while the msn fight for better things. Indeed, the Women, in some cases, have taken the, lead, and the > men have followed close enough to admire the good example of the pioneers. A typical Women's Civic League vigorously lives in Norwalk, Connecticut. The broad object Ls "to maka Norwalk a perfect city,'' and the method is work, hard work, cheerful work, every day, day after day. The women of NorWalk aro not hobble^skirted. They undertake to leap over any obstacle. The association lias quickly progressed to tho regular publication of a Civics Bulletin. The following passage is taken from a recent number i— "The Civic League has to its credit, after fifteen months' effort, a materialising new bridge over the Norwalk River, beautiful grounds about the Public Library, Boston ivy on the olu town-house, a most beneficial change in the trolley-car systems (did they once have the high' Step "palaces"), wafte-paper cans on streets, the Green and Union Park, mnch cleaning up, and the publishing of several numbers of its organ, The Civic!* Bulletin. This does not mean that the actual work has been done by the league on funds raised in _ every case by the league. Its policy is not necessarily to do the' work or to raise the money, but to help along a public opinion and a civic pride which shall eventually make Norwalk what she ought to be." There is one sentence there to be remembered by those good Wellington men and. women "who are a trifle too coy just yet to come into the open^=-"to help along a public opinion and a civic pride." THEY CATCH THE CHILDREN. It is taking the world long to. realise properly that adult citizens havo first to bo children. The industry of "citi-zen-making" is_ now well established, but much remains to be done. New Zealand educationists attend to some parts of the work and neglect other necessary part*. The plans of the evolution of "the complete citizen." .ife far from perfect. Something can Be learned from some of the_ American cities which are giving much intelligent thought and I energy to properly shaping the plastic ! material of the rising generation. They are eaily encouraged to have some pride in their town and city, for example. A fow months ago, at Iron Mountain, Michigan, a Junior Civic League was formed. It was expected that about a hundred children would join, but the tally soon rose to six hundred and fifty. Here is the membership pledge :— "I want to help to make our town a pleasante? place to live in. By helping to keep yards, streets, and alleys clean ; (2) by planting flowers, roses, and trees; (3) by making gardens and Keeping lawns in good condition ; (4) by beginning dt home and then helping^ others. I may not be able to do ALL these things, but will do as much as 1 can in these vvay6 to make my town and my ptreet more beautiful." It was decided to give five packages of flower seeds, through the local library, to any child willing to work at least one hour for the objects of the pledge. The children went into tho project with the vim of 80/ Scouts. Some were keen enough to toil thirty-four hours for the five packages. "It was not the amount oi reward that attracted the children so much as tho idea, ot the project aad the chance of activity," etatee on© report. "Everything was done voluntarily, which made it fun instead of work, and .the children were encouraged to look for spota that needed improving." .WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES ONE MAKE? . An individual citizen may resist an impulse to make a Mir for his city, and his excuse is : "What difference could one make?" The answer is one word: "much." The history of many great movements proves the enoraoue power of one active enthusiast. France, like England, Germany and America, has a garden-city movement, of which the head and front is a new society, "The Friends of Paris," with a large . illustrated monthly magazine to help the cause. "Why this new society?" remarks a writer in the opening number, probably with the timid citizen in view, "We are possessed by the passionate conviction that Paris has need of appealing to all her frie«ids in order to develop herself in an atmosphere of beauty and harmony. It is not sufficient to make Contributions if one would do his duty as a citizen. One must loVe his city as one loves his home. You think that your depnty and your municipal councillor, in whose election perhaps you' had a part and whom often you do not know, are sufficient to be occupied by public affairs, ami you justify your Jack of interwt !>y saying : 'I can do nothing.' Th»t i.« true, if you are alorte ; bilL you can d'> mnch if you are one of a group of force." The writer erred rather when he paid "nothing ... if you are alone." One man, with a will, can always do something for a city.

Par bfoneluHJ wuyhi Uk« Wood*'