Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1902 edition. Excerpt: ...pictures here in Massachusetts to be thus destroyed or enclosed? Without stopping to consider the evil effects upon civilization, the wounds, as I may say, to art, and morals, and religion, which must follow this blotting out of beauty from the surroundings of life, let me, since I am speaking to business men, call your attention to the business aspect of this question. In the country and seaside districts of Massachusetts, the summer resort business is the best business of the year. Now the history of our summer resorts has been decidedly peculiar. Nahant over here once possessed large hotels. Newport was also a hotel town. Bar Harbor, in Maine, filled many huge hotels every year for a considerable period of years; but last year and this year the large hotels of that town have been entirely closed, and I very much doubt if they ever open again. Who wants to visit any resort where the seashore, or such other scenery as there may be in the neighborhood, is owned and occupied by private citizens who, if they admit you to their lands, do so grum-blingly, or for a fee? It is evident that our hotel men, and all people interested in the development of this great business of the summer resort, must go to work to preserve their goose of the golden egg, that is to say, the fine scenery in their neighborhood. Even in the case of towns of cottages, would not every estate owner be the richer, if it were possible for him to have access at any time to every finest spot within his neighborhood? As a matter of business, the proprietors and projectors of summer colonies ought to take account of this. The bookstores are filled with books in praise of the beauty of nature, and the picture galleries are full of pictures thereof. Meanwhile we are destroying...