Modern cities : progress of the awakening for their betterment here and in Europe / by Horatio M. Pollock and William S. Morgan.

  • Horatio Milo Pollock
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Modern cities : progress of the awakening for their betterment here and in Europe / by Horatio M. Pollock and William S. Morgan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    by which the city councilman’s work was de- scribed. The “boss” was cursed for enriching himself at the expense of the public and for his success in corrupting the body politic. The citizenship was blamed for its apathy and inert- ness. These criticisms were just for the most part and served to stimulate a large number of patri- otic citizens to more earnest work on behalf of the city. City problems were studied, both at home and abroad. Local leagues for civic better- ment were formed. Great national organiza- tions, such as the National Municipal League and the American Civic Association, were cre- ated. New forms of city government were intro- duced and a comparison of results was instituted. To these efforts much of the present hopeful attitude in Aonerican cities is due. But the modern city is not alone an American product. The cities of Germany and England have advanced even more rapidly than ours. Ancient Rome, ancient Turin, medieval Paris and medieval Florence are also modern cities. There is scarcely a city anywhere that can be called civilized that has not caught something of the modern spirit. What then is the cause of this new product of the world’s civilization? Whence comes the genius that has wrought so marvelously in many lands? The modern city is not the result of a [2]