Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 269, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 November 1919 — NEED TO SHOW CIVIC PRIDE [ARTICLE]

NEED TO SHOW CIVIC PRIDE

Individual Citizens Must Recognize They Are Responsible for Town’s"" Good Appearance. Prosperity and a spirit of progress have caused a vast charige for the better in the appearance and development of the smaller towns of the country in the past 25 years. This is strikingly noticeable in’lndiana, which formerly showed too many villages with ragged edges, uninviting < streets, tumble-down sheds and other unattractive features. Now the outlook of the traveler is quite different. He sees clean, paved streets, cement sidewalks, beautiful shade trees, well-kept lawns, and a general appearance of cheerful wellbeing. There are exceptions to the rule, however; Indiana has many beautiful towns, but there are still some which are slipshod and carry the suggestion ' that their public spirit languishes. Some stimulus to their pride, something to encourage local improvement and arouse the people to the fact that they are not keeping up with the titnes, is needed. It might be dohe by a state society that would grade the work, offer suggestions and show that a town may be made beautiful without great expense and with each citizendoing his .part.—lndianapolis Star.